Michaelis Ranch

History

Michaelis Ranch is a historic ranch located in Hays County, Texas United States. Soon after the town of Kyle, Texas was platted and the first lots auctioned off, Max G. Michaelis Sr. (19 July 1864, Round Top, Texas - 11 April 1950, Kyle, Texas) moved from New Braunfels and became a good friend of Capt. Fergus Kyle and Giescke, both of whom had served with his father, Theodore Michaelis, for the Confederacy. Michaelis purchased a 288-acre tract of land from Fergus Kyle, about four miles west of town. According to family lore, Michaelis actually won the ranch from Kyle in a horse-racing bet.

Previous owners made limited improvements to the land before its sale to Michaelis. The first known residents, a family named Young, purchased the property in 1873. They may have built the earliest dwelling near the site of the present house, to the south. Fergus Kyle obtained the tract from the Youngs but did not reside there. He probably purchased the property as an investment in hopes that the presence of the railroad would increase land prices in the area surrounding his new town. Kyle deeded the tract to Michaelis soon after he bought it, in 1898. Michaelis may have built the core of the present house shortly afterward. It was completely remodeled to its present appearance in 1902 when Michaelis married Anna Louise Huettig (1877 - 1967) in Brenham, Texas and brought her to his ranch. The enlarged house was a country showplace. Fashionable Queen Anne ornamentation including multiple gabled wings, an attached gazebo, projecting bay window and patterned shingles were added to the frame dwelling. A wrap-around porch with decorative turned posts, spindle frieze and clipped corner entrance enhanced its appearance.

Michaelis spent the next three years building his ranch and what was reportedly the largest barn in Texas. He raised cattle and ran a small dairy operation in the early years of the ranch. But he loved horses and bred matched teams (picture) for color, size and action. However, mules were his stock in trade. The Michaelis Ranch supplied mules to the U.S. military and mining companies and exported them to mines in South African and coffee plantations in Guatemala. As motorized vehicles became more common in the United States, the demand for mules declined. Michaelis sold most of his mules to South Africa and turned his attention to horses and cattle.

M. G. Michaelis was 38 years old when he married and his only son, Max Michaelis Jr. (3 November 1905, Kyle, Texas-?), was born three years later. His wife’s sister, Corrine Huettig soon came to live on the ranch, followed by their mother in 1912. Born in 1891, she was only 14 years older than her nephew, M.G. Michaelis Jr., and was his constant companion. The family enjoyed a pleasant lifestyle during a period of relative prosperity in Hays County at the turn of the century.

In addition to the home ranch, Michaelis purchased other nearby property and expanded his local ranch holdings. At the same time, he maintained several businesses in Kyle. Throughout the 1910s and early 1920s, Michaelis improved his stock and property, establishing a family ranching legacy in Hays County that continues to the present. Many of the historic barns, pens, sheds and infrastructure, including fences and walls, were originally built during this period.

In addition to his ranching activities, Max Michaelis Sr. collected old buggies and saddles that he stored in his big barn. In the mid-1930s, the enormous barn caught fire and burned to the ground, killing dozens of mules and horses. The fire was so immense; it was seen from the town of Kyle, about four miles to the east. The volunteer fire department arrived in time to protect the house and Michaelis donated land he owned across from the Kyle City Hall for a fire station in gratitude. Loss of the barn and its contents, including the collection of antique buggies, is said to have broken his heart. He never rebuilt the huge barn but instead erected several smaller barns, sheds and pens to serve a variety of related purposes. Many of the existing ranch features date from this post-fire period. Despite the tragedy, Michaelis continued to breed and show livestock at his Kyle ranch. M.G. Michaelis Jr. grew up on the ranch and graduated from Kyle High School. Like all ranch and farm children he assisted with the numerous chores and developed skills necessary for the successful operation of the ranch. He also worked on ranches in Mexico where his grandfather had established ties during his sojourn there after the Civil War. In 1925, Hays County experienced a terrible drought and Michaelis spent that summer working for David McKeller on his ranch in northern Mexico near Eagle Pass, Texas. At the age of 19, M. G. Michaelis Jr. drove a herd of shorthorns from Mexico to the United States where he traded them to local cattlemen. Within five years he was branding his own herds of shorthorns and Herefords. He partnered with the Walker family of Luling, Texas and his grandfather helped him buy the El Fortín and Carrizalejo ranches in Mexico. When he married in 1932, the partners split the farms and Michaelis kept El Fortín.

Michaelis Charolais

M.G. Michaelis Jr. spent much of his time in Mexico during the 1920s and 1930s. Like his father, his interests lay in breeding champion stock. He was living in Mexico when received a pair of Charolais bulls from his friend Mexican General Acosta, in 1934. Acosta had acquired the French bulls from General Perez Trevino, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock in Mexico. Michaelis sent them to his father at the Kyle ranch for experimental crossbreeding with purebred Shorthorns and Herefords. This importation is thought to be to be the first time the Charolais bloodline was introduced into the United States. Ultimately, the Michaelis Ranch achieved fame in cattle breeding circles for its success with the Charolais.

When Max Michaelis, Sr. died, two-thirds of the ranch passed to his son and the remaining third to Corinne Huettig, who assumed control of the ranch until 1955, when she relinquished the job to Max Michaelis Jr. After his father’s death in 1950, M. G. Michaelis Jr. purchased the Pugibet Herd of purebred domestic Charolais from the original French importers. He launched an ambitious building program that included the construction of new barns, sheds and other support facilities and the rebuilding of fences and corrals. Max Michaelis Jr. developed the strong herd of domestic Charolais that are now well known around the world. Between 1955 and 1970-71, the Charolais market boomed. Eight men worked on the ranch, raising and showing the cattle. Numerous buildings and structures, including the large concrete-block show barn, were added to the ranch complex when the Charolais surged in popularity.

The Ranch Today

The Michaelis Ranch is operated by Max Michaelis III, his wife Sharon Michaelis, and their two sons, Max Michaelis IV and Carl Michaelis. The ranch continues to breed Charolais Cattle. The ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.