Ranch History

In 1856 Isaac Huber, a Swiss immigrant, acquired a small piece of property in Cat Spring and began a lifestyle that has transcended 168 years to create the 2,100 - acre working cattle ranch it is today.  This lifestyle is witnessed in the three descendants who continue to live and work on the ranch everyday raising cattle and making hay.  Faye and Mary the twin great grandchildren of Isaac, share the land that comprises the original ranch.  

Lawrence Huber, their father, developed the 7IL cattle brand to keep his cattle separate from his neighbor's.  It also formed the basis of our business name.  Since Lawrence was a card playing gambler and calf roper, it was only natural that he used the number " 7 ", his lucky number, as part of his brand.  In remembrance of his Grandfather Isaac, the original founder, he put the letter " I " next in the brand.  To make the brand complete and to personalize it, he placed the letter " L " (for Lawrence) as the final character.  This brand, 7IL, is still used on the ranch and is registered with the state of Texas. 

Faye Huber Reznicek (4th generation) and her son David Reznicek (5th generation) are the owners and managers of 7IL Ranch. 

Cattle, hay and the public keep this historic ranch alive and working today. The cattle operation is still comprised of branding, ear marking, vaccinating and castrating as it was done in the 1800's.  Hay is harvested off of the land each year by modern equipment that saves half the time. Both square and round bales are made for the cattle herd and horses in the boarding stables.  

7IL opened to the public in 1999 as a trail riding and entertaining facility to help pay the ever increasing land taxes. In 2003 the 7IL boarding stables were built to further help keep the ranch in the family for many generations to come. With the ranch being open to the public, there are always horses and riders enjoying the facilities daily.

In 2013 Faye and her son David received their 150 year Family Land Heritage award from the Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. The ceremony in our state capital was to honor those that kept their land in continuous agricultural production by the same family.

Faye and her son David get great satisfaction watching the "extended horse riding and running families" have such a good time on the ranch and never take for granted their little piece of heaven they call work.