HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Sunshine Ranch

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

SUNSHINE RANCH FOR 50 YEARS, THIS WAS THE LOCATION OF THE SUNSHINE RANCH, WHICH WAS PARTICULARLY KNOWN FOR ITS MILK PRODUCTION BUSINESS. IN 1905, WILLIE MAVERICK GAVE 173 ACRES OF LAND ALONG BABCOCK ROAD TO ALBERT (HIS NEPHEW) AND JANE (MAURY) MAVERICK. JANE NAMED THE PROPERTY SUNSHINE RANCH AND THEY BUILT A HOME DESIGNED BY NOTED ARCHITECT ALFRED GILES ATOP THE HILL ON SUNSHINE RANCH ROAD. IT WAS ALSO KNOWN AS THE “BIG HOUSE.” JAMES SLAYDEN (JIM) MAVERICK, THE EIGHTH OF ALBERT AND JANE’S ELEVEN CHILDREN, AMASSED A SMALL HERD OF PUREBRED JERSEY AND HOLSTEIN CATTLE AFTER GRADUATING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. IN 1917, HE OPENED THE SUNSHINE DAIRY, SELLING WHAT HE CALLED SUNSHINE CERTIFIED MILK. MAVERICK STRESSED CLEANLINESS IN HIS MILK PRODUCTS, WHICH INCLUDED MILK FROM EACH OF THE HERDS, HEAVY CREAM, COTTAGE CHEESE, AND TWO RARER PRODUCTS: BUTTER CREAM AND SOFT CURD MILK. THE COMPANY OFFERED ITS PRODUCTS AT THE RANCH AND BY TRUCK THROUGH AREA DELIVERY ROUTES; BORDEN’S, DAIRYLAND AND KNOWLTON CREAMERIES ALSO DELIVERED SUNSHINE CERTIFIED MILK. JOSKE’S DEPARTMENT STORES USED THE MILK AND CREAM TO MAKE ICE CREAM IN THEIR RESTAURANTS. SUNSHINE RANCH INCLUDED ELEVEN HOUSES FOR EMPLOYEES, MOST OF WHICH WERE OF MEXICAN DESCENT. MANY MAVERICK FAMILY MEMBERS LIVED NEARBY. VISITORS WERE ENCOURAGED AT THE RANCH, WHERE NEARBY CITY DWELLERS COULD VISIT THE RURAL DAIRY FARM. IN 1955, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ANNEXED THE PROPERTY. MAVERICK AUCTIONED OFF THE HERD AND SOLD THE PROPERTY, WHICH WAS REDEVELOPED AS A SUBDIVISION. HE THEN RETIRED WITH HIS WIFE, HAZEL. SUNSHINE RANCH WAS A SIGNIFICANT AREA INSTITUTION IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY, AND REPRESENTS A RURAL EXPERIENCE THAT HAS ALL BUT DISAPPEARED FROM TEXAS. (2010)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In 1905 Willie Maverick gave 173 acres along Babcock Road to family members who named the place Sunshine Ranch and built a hilltop home designed by architect Alfred Giles. Their son Jim Maverick opened the Sunshine Dairy in 1917, selling "certified" milk prized for its cleanliness and supplying creameries, delivery routes, and department-store restaurants across San Antonio. The city annexed the land in 1955, and the ranch was sold off and redeveloped as a subdivision.

Why it matters

Sunshine Ranch preserves the memory of the family dairies that once ringed American cities—a rural way of life largely erased by twentieth-century suburban growth.

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Related people

  • · James Slayden (Jim) Maverick
  • · Willie Maverick
  • · Alfred Giles

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