It’s getting hard to imagine a time when the area around the intersection of Highway 71 West and Hamilton Pool Road wasn’t a rapidly growing suburb with housing developments, commuter traffic and shopping centers. Yet, just a mile from that busy corner is a portal to the area’s past.Â
Star Hill Ranch, located at 15000 Hamilton Pool Road, is a faithful re-creation of a Texas Hill Country community typical of the early 1900s. The property is currently home to 22 historic buildings as well as several other primitive structures that were originally built between 1850 and 1935 and relocated from around central Texas.Â
The ranch is the project of Adam and Matt Woolley, who are brothers, native Austinites and fifth-generation Texans. Adam, an architectural engineer by trade, started the project in the early 2000s inspired by childhood visits to the historic town of Industry, Texas, located between Brenham and Columbus, and founded as a German settlement in 1831. He opened the historic Little Chapel, which had been built around 1899 in Pontotoc, Texas (northwest of Llano), on the Star Hill Ranch property in 2004. Matt joined in 2014 after having spent 20 years in operations, sales and marketing.
But Star Hill Ranch is more than just a collection of old buildings. In addition to being historical and architectural preservation site, it is also a popular event center, hosting weddings, church services, corporate functions and other special events. Buildings, including a school that was constructed near Willow Springs, Texas in the early 1920s, and the old post office and store (circa 1873) from the nearby town of Bee Cave, have been repurposed to host events and are conveniently situated around a central Main Street. Together, they create the feel and configuration of an actual small Texas town.
For more information, including event rental rates, building histories and how to schedule a tour, visit starhillranch.com.