BarJar Ranch

The BarJar Ranch in Hardeman County, Texas has 1,407 +/- acres, is ideal as a family getaway or corporate retreat! The ranch has many unique features and improvements, here is a quick synopsis: LAKE AKERS: a private 27 +/- acre stocked lake, currently under professional management; complete with five fishing pavilions, feeders, aerators, fish cleaning station, bathroom, dock and boat ramp GROESBECK CREEK: 3 miles of frontage on both sides, two concrete creek crossings LAND: scenic terrain, rolling hills, thick wooded bottoms, improved grass pastures, irrigated farm land, hay pasture RANCH LODGE: two-story 3,500 +/- sq. ft. 7 BD/6.5 BTH lodge, completely furnished; attached 2,000 sq. ft. shop & gameroom with stone fireplace & movie projection screen; attached two car garage; outdoor kitchen and entertaining area; keypad-operated electronic entry and irrigated lawns BUILDINGS: two large metal barns, two equipment carports, two pipe cattle pens and overhead feed bin LOCATION: The ranch is all contiguous with no public roads dividing it, and has paved road access on both its north and south ends. The main ranch entrance on the south side is at the end of the road, directly across from the Quanah Country Club, which has a nine hole golf course and swimming pool. The ranch itself is just a few miles from the city of Quanah (pop. 2,665), where there is a large grocery store and meat market, feed store, hospital, several restaurants and two boutique stores. A municipal airport is just south of Quanah, with a 4,445 ft. asphalt runway. Approximately 30 miles away is a slightly longer runway (5,099 ft.) at the Wilbarger County Municipal Airport. The closest commercial airport is Wichita Falls (1.5 hours away), which offers daily commuter flights to DFW airport; international airports are in Amarillo (2.5 hours) and Dallas (3.5 hours). LAKE AKERS: In 2009 Lake Akers was built on the west side of the ranch. Constructed in one of the ranch’s deepest canyons, this lake boasts 27 +/- acres of surface water, with a 32 ft. depth at the dam. Careful attention was applied at every stage of the planning process. Before the dam was even built, the bottom of the canyon was dozed out and truckloads of stone and concrete culverts were hauled in to create multiple fish habitats. After the dam was built, four bottom diffuser aerators were installed, each of these capable of churning eight acres of water so the lake is more than adequately circulated. While the lake has a natural spring that feeds up, the owner connected two water wells and ran a 2 inch pipe 1,800 ft. to the lake to supplement it during the hot summer months. A variety of species of fish were imported over the first two years, including pure Florida strain large mouth bass and hybrid strain bass, native bass, blue and mud catfish, hybrid and native bluegill, Red Ear perch and crappie, plus bullfrogs, crawdads, shad and several varieties of minnows. Six feeders are positioned around the lake to feed the large numbers of fish. Surface lights by the dock come on at dusk, attracting insects to the lake’s surface to supplement the fish’s diet too. Since its inception, game warden Matt Thompson has professionally managed the lake and is an invaluable asset to the productivity of it. A different pond is used to raise blue gill, which are then moved to the lake annually for the bass. Under its current management, the lake is producing 10 lb bass, and Mr. Thompson believes 12 lb bass are obtainable in 4-5 years. KID FISH: Every spring Matt Thompson coordinates a free Saturday fish event for all the area youth, with contests and prizes. This annual event serves to give back to the community, while at the same time helps cull the large numbers of catfish in the lake. The event is part of the arrangement Mr. Thompson has with the owner in exchange for managing the lake. Around the lake perimeter is a series of covered metal pavilions. The main pavilion “BarJar Point” is approximately 40 ft x 30 ft, has electricity, lights and a concrete slab, with picnic table and attached storage building. A floating covered dock is here too, which has two jet ski ramps and a diving area with two ladders. (The styrofoam on the dock is in need of some repair.) A concrete boat ramp is located next to the main pavilion. Just up the road is a covered fish cleaning station and a bathroom for guests, which is heated and cooled. Four other pavilions are located around the lake, two of these have attached storage buildings and metal boxes to house generators. Three of the four are 20 ft x 20 ft; the fourth is a small covered sitting area located on the highest point on the lake. All of the pavilion areas have sodded lawns and trees around them. Truckloads of rock was also brought in to the dam and where the pavilions are, to prevent erosion along the bank walls. ADDITIONAL SURFACE WATER: Winding through the heart of the ranch for over three miles is a beautiful livewater stream, Groesbeck Creek. It is home to native catfish and lined by thick wooded areas. Two wide concrete crossings give access across it. One of the crossings alone took over 40 truckloads of concrete to complete. A fishing pier was built on one of them too, right off a deep fishing hole. Parts of the creek are wide and deep, and other parts are narrow and shallow. This allows places for wildlife and livestock to easily get to and across it. The ranch has an intricate road system, and the creek is easily accessible. Eighteen dirt tanks have been built across the ranch, thirteen in the last 10 years. LAND TERRAIN and VEGETATION: The land has over 110 ft of topography change across it, with ridges that provide dramatic views. Taller trees include hackberry, elm, cottonwood and chinaberry. The current owner has done extensive mesquite grubbing and pasture improvement, including aerial spraying the weeds every spring. Two deep draws run across the land that run water to Groesbeck Creek, one of which has shooting targets set up in. Most of the 214 +/- total acres of farm land is on the north side, with one 71.5 acre field on the south, next to the headquarters. The cultivation has been used to grow winter wheat for cattle grazing. Approximately 285 acres on the northeast end were sprigged in coastal and now used for hay production; of this acreage, 126 acres are irrigated by an 8 tower T-L pivot, service by two water wells. In the 111 acre wheat field on the west side, 58 acres are irrigated by a smaller 8 tower pivot that is serviced by one water well. The ranch has perimeter and cross fences, all of which are five-line barbed wire in excellent condition, with metal t-posts and piped corners & braces. Most of the pasture gates have cattle guards installed, so getting around the ranch is easy. The interior road surfaces vary, from gravel to grated, to shredded. The main ranch road going from the headquarters to the lake is gravel, so you can get to Lake Akers under any weather condition. All of the interior ranch roads have been named, and street signs have been put up to guide the way. WILDLIFE and HUNTING: Hardeman County is known for its excellent whitetail deer hunting, with bucks from either end of the county being harvested in the 170+ B&C range. Several nice ones have been taken off of the BarJar itself. The ranch is set up with seven box blinds, six spin feeders and several quail feeders. A 16.5 acre field, surrounded by the creek and tall trees, would be an ideal place to develop a food plot. The ranch also has year around hunting for feral hog and predators, such as bobcat and coyote. Lots of turkeys are also seen down by the creek. Bobwhite quail and native dove can be seen throughout the property as well. The ponds and farm fields are great for dove hunting in September. While the lake has not been developed for waterfowl, it certainly could be to provide some awesome waterfowl hunting! RANCH HEADQUARTERS: On the south side, the ranch headquarters sits surrounded by a pipe fence. Three electronic, keypad-operated gated entrances grant you access to this area. The ranch lodge has approximately 3,500 sq. ft. of living space, two stories and a total of 7 bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. It was built in 2007 and is completely monitored by a security system, with video cameras accessible remotely via an internet connection. Both the downstairs and upstairs have dens with gas fireplaces. The kitchen, dining area and office are downstairs, as well as two of the bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms; five more bedrooms are upstairs, with the other three bathrooms. The kitchen and bathrooms all have granite countertops and custom oak cabinetry. The kitchen has high-end GE stainless steel appliances, and the refrigerator is brand new. A separate utility room has a brand new stackable washer-dryer unit too. The lodge comes fully furnished with everything needed – tables, couches, beds, TVs, wardrobes, plus plates, utensils, lines, towels…everything you need! The owner only has a few personal objects inside the lodge that will be reserved. Attached to the lodge is a 2,000 sq. ft. heated & cooled, spray foamed shop, which also has an attached carport. The shop doubles as a game room, complete with floor to ceiling limestone fireplace in its middle. A hot tub, pool table, ping pong table and foosball are all here; a projection screen is also set up for watching sports or movies. Attached to the shop is a storage area/gun room with a basement. This room heated & cooled and has concrete walls. A spray foamed 60 ft x 40 ft metal barn is directly behind the lodge, with a concrete slab and two 15 ft tall x 18 ft wide bay roll up doors. An attached two-car garage can be accessed through the lodge too. All the driveways leading to and around the lodge are concrete, with gravel around the barns and equipment areas. An outdoor kitchen and entertaining area is also by the lodge, constructed in 2012 out of limestone block. It has a granite bar capable of seating seven people, woodburning fireplace with sitting area and cabinet-enclosed flat screen TV mounted. The building has glass walls that open as doors. The kitchen area has a 48 inch stainless steel propane grill, a Big Green Egg smoker, cook top, bar sink, mini-refrige, warming drawer, microwave and storage drawers. A new half bath for the outdoor area has been started; it has plumping in place and just needs the interior finished (barrel sink is purchased). The lawn is landscaped and irrigated through a water well. The lodge itself is tapped into the Red River community water system. A basketball playing area and river rock lighted driveway add even more features to this enjoyable ranch headquarters. Outside of the pipe fence are other improvements: 75 ft x 30 ft spray foamed, three-bay metal barn with roll up doors; 1/3 concrete, 2/3 gravel floor Pipe cattle pens with covered working chute and covered riding pen, water trough and multiple sorting pens (Second set of pens is located in the northern coastal pasture.) 85 ft x 30 ft equipment carport 100 ft x 30 ft enclosed equipment carport Overhead feed bin EQUIPMENT: This sale includes lots of ranch equipment, including two tractors, grain drill and other implements, backhoe, firetruck, two ranch pick-ups, multiple trailers, mowers, two ATVs, a bass boat and about every tool or wrench you could imagine. A detailed equipment is available from Listing Broker. DEPRECIABLE ASSETS: In addition to the above mentioned improvements and personal items included, the BarJar has approximately 14 miles of fencing, 3.7 miles of gravel roads and over 7 miles of dirt roads. It would be easy to schedule at least $3.75 million in depreciable assets. MINERAL RIGHTS: No mineral rights are owned so none will convey. A few oil and gas wells are on the far south side. The oil field owner has his own entrance and does not use the ranch’s entrances. PROPERTY TAXES: With the current agricultural exemption in place, the 2023 taxes were $12,246.32. ASKING PRICE: The BarJar Ranch is being offered at the flat price of $6,870,000, including the equipment and furniture. CONTACT: To arrange for your private tour of this amazing northwest Texas ranch, call agent Benjamin Belew at cell phone (940) 357-9940. ***** All showings require Buyer pre-qualification. Buyer’s agents must be disclosed upon initial contact and be active in all showings and inspections to participate in full commission split. Listing Broker will be present on all showings.