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

This is the story of a special place—a 5,000-acre stretch of land along the
Pedernales River, the area that is now Pedernales Falls State Park. In words,
photographs, and maps, Farmers, Ranchers, the Land and the Falls explains
how nature and human dreams intertwined in an isolated and untamed place,
leaving a lasting mark on the land.
The author charts the evolution of the area from savannah grassland to the
hill country brush and cedar trees that we know today. Deftly interwoven
are the stories of those who settled and worked it—the German settlers who
established the community of Cypress Mill, the farmers who moved into the
Pedernales Falls area during the 1870s and 1880s, and the ranchers who moved
in after the dry years of the late 1880s and 1890s. Focused on the one hundred
years between 1870—when Indian incursions declined and a wave of farmers
began to move in, and 1970—when the Wheatleys, the last owners of the land,
sold it to the state of Texas—the human narrative moves like a quick distant
tune dying on the wind.
Anyone visiting the state park today will want to read this book, not only to
see some of the real footprints of those one hundred years, but also for the
window it eloquently opens into the lives of the farmers and ranchers who
briefly peopled this land.
Janice Pinney, Past Director of Publications,
Texas State Historical Association
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John J. Leffler has been researching and writing Texas history for more than twenty years. He
received his B.A. in history from the College of William and Mary and his Ph.D. in history
from the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught history at Southwestern University
and Southwest Texas State University, and now teaches at the University of Texas at Austin.
He lives in Austin with his wife and sons.