Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Waggoner Ranch For Sale

The Legend

Land leaves its imprints upon the people who care for it, manage it, live on it and love it, just as surely as these people leave their mark on the land. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than deep in the tree-studded, canyon-broken heart of the Texas Hill Country where the Y.O. Ranch has permanently branded six generations of the Schreiner family and those same hard-working folks have left their indelible prints on the Y.O.

This legendary ranch sprang from a young man�s dream and his single-minded determination. In 1852, at the age of 14, Charles A. Schreiner became the man of the family. At 18, he staked his first claim in the rugged country that had claimed his heart. In the Civil War�s aftermath, Captain Schreiner, using rangy Texas Longhorns as a foundation, began amassing an empire that included banks, retail stores and 566,000 acres of ranchland. In 1914, he chose to divide his holdings among his eight children.

In the division, his youngest son, Walter received 69,000 acres located 40 miles west of Kerrville. The Y.O. had been owned by the Schreiner family since 1880 when Captain Schreiner purchased the land, the cattle and the Y.O. brand they wore on their ribs. With the ranch came the responsibility of the Schreiner legacy.

Walter embraced his heritage, capably managing the ranch through the tumult of World War I, the Roaring 20s, and the onset of the Great Depression. Upon his death in 1933, his wife Myrtle, with her young son, Charlie III, by her side took up the Schreiner mantle of stewardship. She learned the ranching business quickly,



earning a reputation as a savvy businesswoman. In fact, she was the first Texas rancher to lease land for hunting, a practice that diversified the income of ranches across the state. Diversification helped the traditional ranch survive the drought that ravaged Texas for seven years in the 1950s.

When Charlie III took the reins in the early 1950s, he reached back into history to further diversify the ranch by establishing a registry for Texas Longhorns and bringing the legendary breed back from the brink of extinction. He also introduced exotic wildlife to the Y.O., proving that the animals could thrive outside their native homelands and creating another lucrative enterprise for Texas� landowners.

Louie Schreiner assumed the helm of the Y.O. in the late 1980s, earning it the reputation, world-wide, as �America�s Original Game Ranch.��

Today, the visionary, entrepreneurial spirit that shaped this land is still evident. The current generation � all *19 family members led by Managing Partner Charlie IV � is setting new standards in recreation, outdoor adventure and hospitality. The Y.O. Ranch is their home and they proudly share their legacy with the world.

*Charles Schreiner IV and his wife Mary Helen, their daughters Tiffany Schreiner, her daughter Harper Schreiner, Tessa and Tyndal; Walter Schreiner and his wife Teri, their daughters Catherine, Aimee and son Tres; Gus Schreiner and his wife Lori, their daughters Audrey and Gazelle; Chrisie Schreiner and her sons Griffin, Bobby and Luke.