350 More Acres of Rolling Savanna and Riparian Forest Protected Forever
Gray Charlie Ranch is a scenic 350-acre property in the Limestone Cut Plain of western Hamilton County. This unique region is characterized by its distinctive landscape, featuring limestone formations shaped and sculpted over time by natural processes such as weathering and erosion.
Landowner Kimberly E. McCullough has dedicated the past two decades to the thoughtful care and stewardship of Gray Charlie Ranch, utilizing the land for cattle grazing and providing a thriving habitat for wildlife. Now, Kimberly’s commitment to conservation will leave a lasting legacy with a donation of the first privately held conservation easement in Hamilton County.
The beautiful rolling uplands are made up of oak savanna grasslands and oak-juniper woodlands. This thriving ecosystem supports perennial water features that endure Texas’ most intense droughts, as observed in 2023. Gholson Creek and its bottomland riparian forest meander through the property. Its towering hardwood trees and lush understory are a hotbed of diversity and, like most riparian areas, contribute an outsized share of ecosystem services to the watershed. A showy limestone stretch of the creek’s streambed displays an exquisite look at the Glen Rose Limestone formation, known for its rich fossil history such as those found at Dinosaur Valley State Park. The limestone streambed has an impressive number of circular Sauropod-type impressions/tracks and well defined three-toed Theropod-type tracks. Long, parallel scars and scratches in the streambed also suggest historic uses of the property, such as a wagon trail.
Gray Charlie Ranch is a member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Vista Mountain Wildlife Management Association. Habitats on the property support a diversity of wildlife, including Painted Bunting, Chimney Swift, Loggerhead Shrike, Field Sparrow, and Black-capped Vireo—species identified by the US Fish and Wildlife as Birds of Conservation Concern. These bird species and many more, such as Wild Turkey and Northern Bobwhite, have been documented on or near the property and are supported by its habitats. Additionally, white-tailed deer, armadillos, and even beaver sign are plentiful throughout the landscape.
Texas Land Conservancy has become the first nonprofit land trust to complete a conservation easement in Hamilton County—a county facing the same pressures of subdivision and development occurring throughout the region between Austin and DFW. Two existing conservation easements held by the federal government’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Grassland Reserve Program demonstrate the priority and importance of protecting the natural resources and open space of Hamilton County and the Limestone Cut Plain. TLC hopes to expand upon this most recent conservation success.
Gray Charlie Ranch, a peculiar name at first glance, recognizes the landowner’s heritage and how her family arrived in Texas. Gray Charlie was the cavalry horse who carried the landowner’s Great Great Grandfather, Captain Ed McCullough, Sr., through his journey from Missouri to Falls County, Texas where he settled in 1865.
Help protect more properties like this across the state!
Texas Land Conservancy could not do this important conservation work without our members, partners, and supporters. With your support, we can work with more landowners and protect more land across the state from the negative effects of land fragmentation and poorly-planned development.
