Welcome...
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Circle Star Ranch, part of Circle Star Land & Cattle, Co., Inc., is located five miles south of Pontotoc, Texas, (Pop. 40). Pontotoc is in the Northeast corner of Mason County, Texas, where Mason, San Saba, and Llano Counties come together. This area is affectionately, if not proudly, known as the Heart of Texas, and it is part of the famed Texas Hill Country.
Mason County is the only place in Texas where topaz, the state mineral, is found and Pontotoc is bragged about as, "The only place in the world where Blue Bonnets and rattlesnakes grow knee high!"
Circle Star Ranch is part of the lands of an early area rancher, J. B. Tuckness, and an area of Mason County known as Hickory Grove, which first was settled circa 1850. The original ranch home and out buildings, including a church and school are no longer on the property, but remnants of these sites remain. It is said of Mrs. Tuckness that she was fond of roses. Rose plants are found on the ranch grounds where she planted them.
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The "ghost" community of Hickory Grove and The Ranch are nestled in a small valley entered and exited from the north and the south by one road - a bumpy, dusty (or muddy), dirt road, which from the state highway to the ranch gate fords several wet weather creeks and streams, and which after a good "toad-strangler" make The Ranch inaccessible, except to those on horseback or the most courageous four wheeler.
The topography is dominated by beautiful rolling pastures dotted by old post oak trees, and large granite outcrops. The east and west sides of the valley in which The Ranch is nestled are bordered by 300 foot granite bluffs over which hawks and an occasional eagle effortlessly hang in the air enjoying motionless flight on air currents rising from the bluffs. As the sun rises and sets over the valley, these bluffs change from gray-purple in the mornings to burnt orange in the evenings.
The Hickory Grove area of Mason County is said to enjoy a little more rainfall than the rest of the county. Hot summer evenings are cooled quickly when unexpected rain showers from thunder cells passing in a southeasterly direction lower the temperatures, clean the air, and irrigate the pastures. Lightening from these storms light up the nighttime sky and granite bluffs, and casts eerie shadows of old oak snags, which appear to be monsters in full flight from the bright flashes. Thunder from close strikes shakes the house and barn and causes man, horses, and cattle alike to wish for a little more rain and a lot less noise.
Aside from our dogs, horses and cattle, we enjoy daily sightings of fox, rabbits, deer, quail, turkey, dove, an occasional coyote and, once in awhile, the rare mountain lion. Of course, there are the ever-present turkey vultures, rattlesnakes, scorpions, fire ants, and sand burs, which apparently were put on this earth to be a lesson in humility to newcomer and old hand alike.
Our passion is horses and The Ranch affords a peaceful, if not a soulful, place to pursue our passion.
A COWBOY
“A cowboy is the image of freedom: a hard ridin’ boss of the range.
His trade is a fair one, he fights for what’s right and his ethics aren’t subject to change.
He still tips his hat to the ladies and he lets you water first at the pond
He believes a day’s pay is worth a day’s work and his handshake and word is his bond.”
…Red Steagall
Circle Star Land & Cattle Co.
Circle Star Ranch
Pontotoc, TX 76869
Tel: 325.251.6688 - Toll Free: 866.297.2752 - Cell: 325.320.3250 - Fax: 817.887.1215
Email: ranchmanager@circlestarranch.com
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