A historic Texas property on the Guadalupe River could soon offer a chance to live a life right out of the pages of an adventure novel.
Sisterdale Farms, an iconic 310-acre Texas Hill Country ranch located 10 minutes from Boerne, is up for grabs, and for the first time, the real estate agents behind the property are publicly unveiling the price of the listing – $21.5 million. The land the home is built on was once owned by Baron Ottomar von Behr, one of the Hill Country’s original German settlers and believed to be the Lone Star State’s first known librarian.
According to the Texas State Historical Association,  it is not known exactly when Behr, the son of German nobles, first arrived in Texas, but the property dates back to the mid-1800s. He was a naturalist, a meteorologist and a member of the German freethinking intellectual class that settled the Hill Country, and he is credited with helping to bring the sense of knowledge and culture that defined the early days of the frontier.
Sisterdale Farms, a Boerne-area ranch, is up for sale. The home was once a frontier homestead, owned by a man believed to be Texas’ first librarian. (Courtesy of West and Swope Ranches)
According to the historical site, Behr is believed to have started the state’s first lending library, where he would have shared his book and magazine periodical collection with other settlers in the area.
“In his complex of log and fachwerk cabins on the banks of the Guadalupe River he had a lending library (possibly the first in Texas), held court as justice of the peace of his precinct, and is said to have operated the post office,” the association’s website states.
Behr’s oldest son’s homestead was built on the land in 1870 and still stands on the farm to this day, according to the West and Swope Ranches, the real estate firm behind the property listing.
Sisterdale Farms, a Boerne-area ranch, is up for sale. The home was once a frontier homestead, owned by a man believed to be Texas’ first librarian. (Courtesy of West and Swope Ranches)
Sisterdale Farms, a Boerne-area ranch, is up for sale. The home was once a frontier homestead, owned by a man believed to be Texas’ first librarian. (Courtesy of West and Swope Ranches)
The restored historic German homestead was designed by San Antonio architect Don McDonald in 2015. The restored historic German homestead is located in Sisterdale, a small enclave and historic “village” located mostly on a remote two-lane road.
Today, the land is home to an 11,800 square-foot stone facade home, with hand-carved limestone mantels, seven Rumford fireplaces, and a kitchen with a wood-fired pizza oven. There is also a two-bedroom guest house and office, a “rustic” apartment quarters and an 85-acre hay field on the property. According to the property listing, the five-bedroom home comes with large windows in every room, looking out over “rolling hills, ponds, gentle fountains, and a beautifully tended organic garden.”
The main house comes with two octagonal libraries and a lookout tower with 360-degree panoramic views. Other amenities include a formal sitting room, a gym, a private media room and a large outdoor pool.
Sisterdale Farms, a Boerne-area ranch, is up for sale. The home was once a frontier homestead, owned by a man believed to be Texas’ first librarian. (Courtesy of West and Swope Ranches)
Sisterdale Farms, a Boerne-area ranch, is up for sale. The home was once a frontier homestead, owned by a man believed to be Texas’ first librarian. (Courtesy of West and Swope Ranches)
This article originally published at Historic farm near San Antonio along the Guadalupe River on sale for $21.5M.