Quail country
10,000-acre ranch once owned by Texas politician hopes to lasso $29.75 million
A massive South Texas ranch once owned by the family of the late Texas politician Lloyd Bentsen can now be yours for $29.75 million.
The 9,780-acre Arrowhead Ranch, about 30 miles northwest of Edinburg, regularly hosts hunters in search of quail, white-tailed deer, turkeys, wild pigs, and other wildlife. Some of those hunters arrive by private jet, as the ranch features a 5,000-foot landing strip and a hangar.
The landing strip and hangar were added to accommodate foreign and U.S. officials visiting Bentsen, who was a four-term U.S. senator from Texas, as well as U.S. secretary of treasury and the 1988 Democratic vice presidential candidate. Bentsen’s family owned the ranch for about 50 years. Bentsen, who was born in the Rio Grande Valley town of Mission, died in 2006 in Houston at age 85.
The current owners of the ranch, Homer and Linda Gomez, “nurtured the brush habitat on the sprawling property to make it an ideal home to tens of thousands of … quail,” according to Uvalde-based Foster Farm & Ranch, which has the listing.
Why are the Gomezes selling the property after owning it for 20 years?
“We’re ready to head up north to the Hill Country. Most of our extended family is in Austin and San Antonio, and after all we’ve done for Arrowhead, it’s time to be closer to the people who matter most to us,” Homer says.
They’ll be leaving behind a ranch with a 9,500-square foot main house offering five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two half-bathrooms. Outside the main house is a 5,000-square-foot outdoor space featuring paved patios, a pavilion, a TV, a wet bar, a grill, and a fireplace.
The fully restored lodge, dating back to the 1930s, comprises four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and an office. Three smaller homes surround the lodge, with a total of eight bedrooms and five bathrooms.
The property also contains:
- A 6,000-square-foot enclosed barn
- Two smaller barns
- Several RV sites
- Seven groundwater wells
- Dozens of ponds