Est. 1905

The Ranch

Six generations on the same land. A working hunting and cattle operation in Central Texas.

From the Beginning

300 Acres in 1905

Arthur MacArthur Monteith of Belton bought the first 300 acres in 1905, just west of Salado. He and his wife Hitie raised the family there and grew the place to 1,000 acres before passing it to their son, Walter Embree Monteith.

Walter served as Mayor of Houston from 1929 to 1933. He registered the -V- brand for the family cattle, named for his wife Vera, and acquired another 1,300 acres. When Walter passed in 1953, the ranch went to their niece and nephew, Carolyn Monteith Clarke and Edgar Monteith.

Carolyn and Edgar acquired the neighboring Willingham tract, refined the cattle herd, and began opening the land to friends and family for hunts. That was the start of today’s hunting program. Now the ranch is about 3,000 acres, owned and operated by their descendants, down to the great-grandchildren, the sixth generation.

W. E. and M. E. Monteith at the Monteith Ranch, mid-20th century. — W. E. and M. E. Monteith at the ranch.

The -V- Brand

The Brand

The -V- has marked Monteith cattle since the Walter and Vera Monteith era. It still runs on every animal we put on the ground. Read aloud, it’s bar V bar, the way cattle brands are spoken.

The Lodge

After the day.

The lodge is built for groups: hunting parties, company outings, bachelor parties, and family weekends. A big dining room where our crew serves every meal, pool and shuffleboard, and a patio and bar for the evenings.

Plan an Event

Rooms: 4, queen + bunk each
Layout: 2 lodge, 2 casitas
Casitas: About 25 yards off
Lounge: Pool & shuffleboard
Screens: Several large TVs
Evenings: Patio & bar

The lodge great room: a stone fireplace, a spiral stair to the loft, and mounts on the wood-paneled walls — The Lodge

A cut-steel Monteith Ranch sign with running deer, over a doorway in the lodge — The Brand

The pool table in the lodge lounge under a hanging lamp — Pool

The open kitchen and dining room, with a round table, bar stools, and an antler chandelier — Dining

A shuffleboard table lit red in the lodge lounge — Shuffleboard

Private range

For ranch guests only. Not open to the public.

The Range

Rifle, pistol, and clays.

A private rifle and pistol range with a clay shooting setup, for ranch guests only. Hunters and lodge guests can use it by arrangement, whether that’s a sight-in the day before a hunt or a session between hunts.

Rifle: Lanes out to 250 yards
Pistol: Lanes beside the rifle line
Clays: 3 launchers, 1 stand
Open to: Ranch guests only. Not open to the public.