Welcome to the official website of the
WATTERSON RANCH

A  BIT  ABOUT  US:
The Watterson Ranch is a 5th generation, family owned and operated working cattle ranch located in Bastrop County, the heart of Central Texas. Once a way station stop for the stagecoach traveling from Austin to Port Arthur, Watterson Ranch is rich in local history, character and beauty.  We are also a proud recipient of the prestigious 100 year Heritage Plaque from the State of Texas, having been in one family for over 100 years.

Under the current management of Scott Miller, just like his Grandpa (Claude Watterson) before him, ranching continues to be the main focus of our operations, striving towards preserving the rich history and legacy of it's origins for generations to come.  Remaining true to the traditional roots and values on which the ranch was founded is proving to be a tall order to fill in 2009; when the present economy is not very friendly to the family rancher and farmer.  However, as our founders did in their journey to make a place in this world, we humbly plug along, continuing to diversify our supplemental services to help meet the demands and operating costs of today's unstable market.  Scott and Trina live and work on the Watterson Ranch with their 3 children:  daughters, Callie Nathalie (11) and Cate Lane (4); and son, Samuel Watterson Miller (1 yr).

In November of 2002, under the entrepreneurial vision of Trina, we began a supplemental career path down the AGRITOURISM trail, producing equine-focused events on a very small scale.  In fact, our first public trailride in November '02 was nothing short of a near disaster!  You name it, it went wrong; from mesquite thorn flat tires on trucks and trailers, to broncy horses and nervous trail guides.  But as with any new business venture - they say “give it 5 years” and here we are in 2009 - our 7th year operating - and the growth and education we have experienced has been nothing short of an adventure!  We have come to take great pride in producing quality, family friendly events.

Since 2002, we have expanded our horizons to encompass multiple endeavors and services offered.  From equine-based event productions, such as our RANCH SORTINGS and other EQUINE EVENTS (like COWGIRL WEEKEND, Ranch Rodeos, Horsemanship Clinics, Competitions and Trailrides) to ANNUAL HAY PRODUCTION available for public sale (round and square bales).

Just this year, our AGRITOURISM services have grown to encompass NATURE TOURISM interests; including the addition of RV SPOTS here on the ranch, along with offering BIRD and WILDLIFE WATCHING PACKAGES and SEASONAL HUNTING and RANCH TOURS.

And most recently, we have expanded our CLIENT SERVICES to include the design and development of BUSINESS or PERSONAL WEBSITES. In fact, Trina developed and maintains our very own home on the web and would be more than happy to visit with you about the development of a business or personal website designed to meet your needs!

Along the way, we have been so blessed with a faithful client base, many who have become like family to us over the years.  And while our services continue to diversify in this ever changing, ever unpredictable economy, one thing has never changed:  our commitment and care to our clients.  Without question, your experience with WATTERSON RANCH will be unique and memorable.  We appreciate each and everyone of  you who choose to come to us for your business, event or recreational needs and we consider it a blessing to be able to do what we do for a living..... it's not just a job to us -- this IS our lifestyle! 

Thank you, from the bottom or our hearts.


THE HISTORY BEHIND WATTERSON, TX:
WATTERSON is located in southern Bastrop County about nine miles south of the town of Bastrop, on an old road between Bastrop and Red Rock. Named for pioneer Charles Coffin Watterson, who with his wife, Martha, settled in the area about 1852 and began farming and stock raising.  Samuel and Caroline Wolfenbarger were also among the community's early settlers, most of whom depended on farming and stock raising for a living.

A post office with the name Live Oaks was established in 1878 with Charles Coffin Watterson as postmaster.  In 1891 the town was renamed in his honor. In 1896 the community had a population of 100, a Methodist Church, a gristmill and gin and general store.  Students attended the Lentz Branch and Hilbig schools, which combined to form the Watterson School House in 1900.  The post office closed in 1904, and the Watterson School House was consolidated with the eight Live Oaks school's in 1927.
 
In the 1930s Watterson still had a community club and Methodist Church. By 1962 many of the large farms had been broken up, but Watterson remained a farming community made up in large part of descendants of the early settlers. Though no population figures appear for it in any twentieth-century Texas Almanac, in the mid-1980s Watterson continued to be listed as a community in Cities and Towns of Texas and to appear on county highway maps.

**The above history of Watterson, Texas was taken from The Handbook of Texas Online.**

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bill Moore, Bastrop County, 1691-1900 (Wichita Falls: Nortex, 1977).
 D. L. Vest, Watterson Folk of Bastrop County (Waco: Texian Press, 1963).
 D. L. Vest, Watterson, A Texas Rural Community (M.A. thesis, St. Mary's University, 1946).