The original ownership first appears in July 1860, when Texas Governor, Sam Houston signed a land grant to Peter Haag. Peter Haag and ten (10) others of the Haag family are buried in a cemetery on one corner of a tract of the ranch that we sold some twenty years ago to friends, Dr. and Mrs. Wayne A. Johnson. These resting-places are enclosed in a rock-fenced area. The headstones are made of marble and the engraving is all in German.
This area is located behind the locked Iron Gate which is now located near our mailbox area. It is said that one of the Haag men was killed breaking wild horses in the rock corral behind the original ranch house where Tom and Cindy Taylor now reside. “Haag Settlement School” was located on the neighboring Mickesch ranch from 1865 until about 1872 according to the “History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas 1844-1976 written by Oscar Hass.
The records are not clear on ownership after the Haag family, but at some point in time the land became part of the vast Wuest ranch land that covered from Cibolo Creek to Bulverde Road. In 1951, it is recorded that our portion was deeded to Ernest Hein and wife, Clara Wuest Hein, who sold it to C.C. Perry who in turn sold it to H.A. Birkelbach from whom Charles (my late husband) and I bought the land in June, 1966. We lived in the original ranch house from then until I sold the entire ranch, including the house to J.W. Wood of Westwood Investments, Inc. (later called LEWIS RANCH, LTD.) in September 1996. The sale to J.W. Wood transpired after the death of my husband in May 1995 from liver cancer.
During our tenure of the ranch, we had a small cattle operation but soon concluded that there was less responsibility and work in leasing the place for deer hunting. So, we leased the land and enjoyed retirement for most of the years of ownership. Our cattle pins, loading chute, barns, and dairy barn used by our hunters to dress their deer and turkey were all located on lots in Unit 1, located near the entrance of the subdivision. The hunter's cabins and Charles' workshop were also located there.
Prior to September 1993, Mickesch Lane, the dirt road running parallel to Lewis Ranch Road, was our only means of ingress and egress to Schoenthal Road. Finally, after 27 years negotiating with an adjoining neighbor, Charles was successful in a trade for the Lewis Ranch Road we now enjoy.
Charles, along with neighbors, Herman Blank, Martin Krueger (former owner of all the land now making Garden Ridge, Garden Ridge Estates, and Trophy Oaks), Allen Heirholzer, and Harry Heidmann (of Natural Bridge Caverns), using their own chain saw and getting covered with Cedar Ticks, assisted the County Surveyor in cutting out, pulling brush and chain for the center line of Farm-to-Market Road 3009, also known as Natural Bridge Caverns Road from IH-35 to the Caverns entrance. These men are all now deceased.
Lots of the past lies on Lewis Ranch, so I chose to remain here and look forward to years of sharing the peace and tranquility with you as friends and neighbors.
By: Gloria Elaine Lewis
Mrs. Lewis sold her home in 2011 and moved to assisted Living
