A piece of Texas agricultural history is on the market as heirs to the “Big Valley Pecan Farm” decide to write a new chapter. The 2,650 acre property, listed for $25 million, has been growing pecans for some 70 years, a venture started by Obadiah Leonard as a side-project to his main department store business, the eponymous “Leonard Brothers.”
Listed by Hall and Hall, Big Valley Pecan Farm is in central Texas, north of San Saba on Highway 16. Though the listing notes that it offers great hunting opportunities, Big Valley is being sold as a pecan-producing operation, with all of the equipment needed for the operation – including on-sight processing – included in the sale. Currently, the third generation of the family oversees the operation.
Irrigation for the trees is provided by 13 miles of Colorado River that run through the property. Pump stations along the river provide water for sprinklers, flood, and drip irrigation systems. Much of the drip system is new and has been installed in the last few year. The ranch has 5,500 acre-feet of adjudicated water rights to be conveyed with the sale. The listing also notes there are possible mining opportunities with rock deposits found around the ranch.
Obadiah got his start in central Texas in 1918, when he and his brother Marvin founded the Leonard Brothers department store in downtown Fort Worth. The two brothers, known as “Mr. Marvin” and “Mr. Obie,” built the store into one of the largest businesses in Fort Worth and were among the leading retailers in the Southwest.
Obie apparently had a passion for farmland. According to The Land Report, he began purchasing properties in Hood and Wharton Counties in the 1930s. In 1933, he planted 400 acres of pecan trees. At its peak, the family cultivated pecans on 6,600 acres in Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. By the early 1970s, Leonard was the largest pecan grower in Texas, harvesting 4.5 million pounds of the tree nuts each year.
Leonard is credited by the Fort Worth Star Telegram as being the first person who “envisioned planting Texas pecans as a successful commercial crop.” Leonard and his wife had four children, and his heirs continued the tradition. His son and namesake, Obie Paul Leonard, Jr., followed him into both the department store and pecan farming business. Obie Jr. passed away in 2021 and his heirs kept the property up until now.
