Farmers, Ranchers, the Land and the Falls - Texas Parks & Wildlife ...

A History of the Pedernales Falls Area, 1850–1970
Circle Bar to the state, and a study of the property was conducted that year. In
March 1970, Mrs. Wheatley deeded the Circle Bar to the state a second time, but
this contract did not contain any restrictions against hunting on the land. The
purchase was paid for with funds provided by under a $75 million state bond
issue approved by Texas voters in 1967.
In a public ceremony held on March 27, 1970, Mrs. Wheatley accepted a
check from Governor Preston Smith for $930,465 in payment for the Circle Bar.
“I think you have the best of the bargain,” Mrs. Wheatley told the governor. “It
wrenches my heart to part with the ranch. But it would be harder if it were not
going to the state. ... It is my wish that it be conserved, and all of the wildlife be
taken care of, and that it be enjoyed from generation to generation.” 102
Harriet Wheatley died in 1985, and was buried next to her husband in
Mission Park Cemetery in San Antonio. A few years later, in 1992, Herman
Reiner died; to help pay estate taxes, his heirs sold two parcels of his land to
the state, thus enlarging the park. Reiner had witnessed more than a century
of life along the Pedernales, from the days of the Trammells and the Maumes
through the Wenmohses and the Wheatleys. His passage in a way marked the
end of an era. Visitors to the park today can enjoy its scenic beauty, and they are
surrounded by reminders of those who walked the ground before them—if only
they will look.
45