Down Home Ranch history

In 1990, while still living in Austin, the first issue of The Spirit is published and sent to the few hundred names on the Ranch mailing list.

Jerry, Judy and Kelly moved onto the land September 9, 1991, installing a tiny mobile home underneath a canopy of large Spanish oaks.

In 1992, two men with disabilities began riding the bus from Austin to the Ranch two days a week to help clear brush and take down old fences.

In 1993, the first greenhouse was donated to the Ranch and four local adults with disabilities began coming to the Ranch on Tuesdays and Thursdays morning for our first formal day program.

In 1995 Ranch Camp, a sleepover camp for adults and teenagers with intellectual and physical disabilities began.

In 1998, thanks to a generous gift by the board president, the mortgage was paid off three years early, and the Ranch qualified for foundation grants to begin building permanent structures.

In 1999 the Pavilion was built.

In 2005, the Ranch qualified for status as a provider of Home and Community-Based Services, a Medicaid program administered by the Department of Aging and Developmental Services of the State of Texas.

In 2006 the Hortons moved to Benedict House, having managed Gabriel House for four years.

In 2008 the Swim Center is built; plus two lodges and two bunkhouses.

In 2015 three micro-houses were built to provide independent living for three Ranchers.