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The house on Herff Farm, which was recently acquired by the Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne, TX. The house and property were recently listed as one of Texas' most endangered historic places. Photo Credit: David Martin Davies
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Cibolo Nature Center
Preservation Texas
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It has survived hostile attacks and the fury of Mother Nature but the Herff Farm in Boerne could face its toughest challenge yet: urban sprawl. But now the historic homestead is getting some needed attention after it was named an Endangered Historic Place. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies has the story.
March 10, 2010 · A lot has changed around the farmland that Dr. Ferdinand Herff bought in the Texas Hill Country 1852. The town of Boerne has grown almost to the doorstep of his two story limestone homestead.
With a clatter, Carolyn Chipman Evans, executive director of the Cibolo Nature Center, opens the front door and steps into the farmhouse living room. Evans’ boots clomp on the hardwood floors as she points out what made the house livable in the age before air conditioners.
“You see how high the ceiling is and how thick the walls are? That’s part of what made it cool during the summer and warm during the winter,” Evans said.
The old house is almost empty except for a few chairs and a lot of dust, but the house still stands, and it’s full of promise – thanks to the efforts of the Cibolo Nature Center.
“It came up for sale, and the Nature Center, after wanting it for many, many years, decided it was critical for us to buy it to protect the nature center and also protect the Cibolo watershed,” said Evans.
The Cibolo Nature Center is about 100 acres of nature trails and wilderness preserves. It’s just across the Cibolo creek from the Herff Farm. So many school children come to visit the Nature Center and learn about the land that it is called an "outdoor classroom."
Ralph Lay is the Nature Center’s grounds supervisor and a former teacher. On this pre-spring day, he’s back from inspecting part of the Nature Center that he set on fire.
“We actually lit off part of the prairie and burned sections of it in order to regenerate the grasses and give it a chance to come back in a healthier fashion,” said Lay.
Lay’s job got more difficult when the Nature Center added the Herff Farm, but that doesn’t seem to bother him.
“The farm right now is just a place that we’ve been able to hang on to in order to keep development away from it. And one of the primary goals over there was to save and preserve some of the watershed for the Cibolo Creek. It’s a really necessary part of the entire water system around here – even down into San Antonio,” he said.
Doctor Ferdinand Herff was a German doctor who pioneered Texas. He practiced in San Antonio and was a founder of the Santa Rosa Hospital. He bought this property at the confluence of the Menger and Cibolo Creeks. During the Civil War the farm became an internment camp for Germans who were deemed aboltionists and supporters of Abraham Lincoln.
Today the Herff Farm looks frozen in time.
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Photo Credit: David Martin Davies
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Evan’s finds an artifact next to the old barn that’s like a fly trapped in prehistoric amber.
“Look at this tree. It must be at least 200 years old, and it’s got an old hay rake from a tractor propped up against it and these other trees have just grown through it,” she said.
Standing beneath a canopy of bald cypress trees, it isn’t difficult for Evans to imagine how things could have turned out differently for the Herff Farm.
“This would be – this boundary on the bluff of the Cibolo – would be the backyard of a development or the parking lot of a big box building. It could be right there,” said Evans.
The Cibolo Nature Center had to fight several battles to purchase the land to save it from development. They even had to fight the city of Boerne itself when the municipal government wanted to put its wastewater treatment plant on the historic farm.
"I don’t think that going to be the last of their fights. I know they are talking about widening the road. Adjacent neighbors are wanting to sell their property too. It’s not 'We’ve won this battle. Okay we’re done.' I know there will be more," said Krista Gebbia, director of Preservation Texas.
The organization recently named the Herff Farm one of the state’s most endangered historic places.
“Ownership is the first step in securing these places – ownership by a responsible steward – but it takes a lot of money and it takes a lot of planning and community buy-in to make sure the place is still around,” said Gebbia.
The Cibolo Nature Center still doesn’t own the Herff Farm outright. They still owe half a million dollars of the $2.5 million purchase price.
Evans said while they work on that fundraising challenge the Nature Center is in the process of working on a master plan for the Herff Farm.
“Part of the plan is to restore the natural areas because really what the Nature Center is about is protecting the natural areas and watersheds. So some of it will be restoration area and critical fish and bird habitat and protection of the creeks so it has a good buffer to make sure the water is clean,” said Evans.“In addition to that we hope to find partners to help us restore the house."
But no matter what form the Herff Farm takes Evans said it will be eventually be opened to the pubic to give access to open green spaces and protected natural areas. |
