John Fletcher Vann was born in Madison County in East Texas in 1861. His parents died at a young age and he was raised by an aunt. He and his cousins migrated to the Texas Hill Country in 1877 to the area known as Buffalo Prairie in northern Burnet County. As a young man he made several trips up the famed Chisholm Trail on cattle drives and became well established in the ranching business. The Vann Ranch had its beginning in 1889 when he began establishing a large ranch holding along the east side of the Colorado River west of the community of Naruna. The location was a mile or so up river from the historic Tanyard area which was first settled in 1860. The Tanyard got its name from a tanning factory that had been there since the Civil War days.

John T. (Jigger) Vann was one of seven heirs and inherited this portion of the ranch and he purchased additional land along the river in later years. Buchanan Dam was constructed some 20 miles downstream in 1936 and backed water up along the ranch's river frontage. Jigger enjoyed having friends around to share the magnificent beauty and serenity of boating, fishing and hunting along these headwaters of Lake Buchanan and there were many good times held at the old "Green Cabin" on its banks.

Terrain:

The mountain country views are magnificent including a view of Post Oak Falls which is located directly across the river in San Saba County. Unlike many of the scenic ranches along the Colorado River in this area, this ranch allows for excellent access to the 3,600 feet of river frontage. The ranch has been managed for livestock production and for the past twenty years the whitetail deer hunting has been managed to produce trophy bucks. The ranch is loaded with wildlife that are native to the area including whitetail deer, turkey, bobcats and varmints of all kinds. Non-native species including Axis deer, Aoudad, Blackbuck antelope and feral hogs are also viewed on the ranch. Hunting income brings in approximately $27 per acre for a season only lease. Fishing along the river is excellent including year round fishing for catfish, stripers and other lake fish. The white bass fishing is fantastic when they make their spring run up the river from the deep water of Lake Buchanan.

The terrain is diverse with elevations ranging from 1,000 feet along the river to 1,450 feet on top of Buzzard and Greenwood Mountains. The eastern part of the ranch is rolling live oak savannah, the middle portion along the mountain ridges is red gravel post oak country, while the western portion approaching the river is rugged with cedar and live oak being predominant. The ranch has numerous springs that provide approximately 1.4 miles of year round flowing water including Greenwood and Simpson Creeks. The brush and tree cover is scattered to fairly dense. The ranch has a good mixture of palatable native grasses, with the predominate grasses being Texas Winter Grass, Mesquite Grass, Bermuda Grass several varieties of Gramma, Bluestem and a favorable mix of Forbes. Soils are stony clay and loamy soils underlain by limestone.

The ranch is fenced and cross fenced with barbed wire fencing into 8 pastures. There is approximately 0.6 mile of high fencing along a portion of the perimeter.

Water:

The ranch is considered to be well watered with livestock and wildlife water provided by the creeks and river plus five earthen ponds. There is also a water well, which was drilled in 2011, on the east end of the ranch that provides water for the hunting camp area where electric hookups for eight travel trailers are available. The pump is set at 380 feet with the standing water level being 115 feet below the surface. The well yields approximately 10 GPM. An electric line runs the length of the ranch and along the river frontage allowing for easy availability to electricity throughout the ranch.

Access:

The ranch is very private being located at the end of Burnet County Road 105 and is accessed by approximately 1/2 mile on a 50 ROW easement. It is joined by only four other large ranch holdings and the lake.

Improvements:

Structural improvements on the ranch are modest and consist of two primitive living cabins on the river, a small one room cabin in the southwest corner and a new one room log cabin located in the approximate center of the river frontage with a view of Post Oak Falls. These cabins have electricity and a telephone land line is available but there is no running water to the cabins. They serve as great weekend retreats.

Hunting/Recreation:

The Vann Colorado River Ranch has a great blend of fairly open country transitioning to areas with moderate to fairly dense cover, offering outstanding habitat for wildlife, but still maintaining good grass cover.

Whitetail deer, aoudad (barbary) sheep, axis deer, blackbuck antelope as well as other native and exotics frequent the Vann Ranch.

Remarks:

Few ranches ever become available like this one, with Lake Buchanan access. This portion of the river provides for large boats to be utilized and miles of pristine and unbelievable scenery. The ranch is located on the upper end of the route up river from Lake Buchanan that the Vanishing Texas River Cruise takes and is now available for your private enjoyment.

Price:

The ranch is priced to sell on today's market at $7,500,000 or approximately $6,089 per acre. One half of the minerals currently owned will convey. It is believed that a majority of the minerals are owned by the sellers.