A 264-acre ranch featuring a home designed by a cowboy-turned-Western-artist is up for sale for the first time, offering a rare shot at a property that blends cattle land, hand-hewn timber architecture and the legacy of a man who died doing what he loved. The Lightning C Ranch sits between Granbury and Glen Rose, roughly an hour from downtown Fort Worth, and comes with a bunkhouse, a pool house and the rustic studio where its late owner once painted.
The ranch is being marketed by The Mock Ranches Group, according to Mock Ranches, which describes the listing as the first time the property has ever been offered for sale. WFAA reports the ranch is on the market, though the station also notes it has not been officially placed on the market, leaving the exact status of the listing unclear. The asking price has not been disclosed by either source.
A Home Built From College Stone and Century-Old Timber
The roughly 3,450-square-foot main residence has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and its builder incorporated historic stone salvaged from the original AddRan College building, the institution where Texas Christian University traces its beginnings to 1873, per Mock Ranches. The home also uses hand-hewn timbers dating to the 1800s. An upstairs bunkhouse adds extra sleeping space and its own half bath, while a pool house sits alongside the main residence.
The home's designer was Dan Coates, described in his obituary by Legacy.com as a retired financial-services executive who became an accomplished Western artist. Per the WFAA report, Coates designed the ranch's main home with his wife, Judy Coates. He died at age 67 on April 18, 2005, in the saddle while rounding up cattle in Palo Duro Canyon, according to his obituary.
The Studio Kasey Mock Calls Cowboy Poetry
Just behind the residence stands Coates' historic art studio, a rustic building styled like a Western saloon, per the WFAA report. Mock Ranches describes stepping inside as walking into a piece of cowboy poetry, a description attributed to Kasey Mock, CEO of The Mock Ranches Group. Mock called the Lightning C Ranch one-of-a-kind and said the property's history and legacy make it unlike anything else currently on the market, according to WFAA.
Coates' imprint on the area did not end with the ranch. The Shanley Park Association unveiled a life-sized bronze sculpture of him on July 3 in the Shanley Sculpture Garden, and the city of Granbury honored him for his contributions to the community, per the WFAA report. His influence on Granbury's art community continues through the annual Dan Coates Western Art Exhibition and Sale, according to Mock Ranches.
Water, Grass and a Mile of Road Frontage
Beyond the buildings, the land itself carries the kind of working-ranch infrastructure buyers look for. The property sits at an elevation of approximately 1,042 feet, just below Comanche Peak, and includes a 1.8-acre lake, grass pastures and cross-fencing designed for cattle grazing and rotation, per Mock Ranches. A water well on the property produces approximately 100 gallons per minute, and the ranch has more than a mile of frontage on Neri Road.
Kasey Mock said ranches combining these features are increasingly difficult to find, particularly this close to downtown Fort Worth. The ranch is available for private showings by appointment to qualified buyers, and The Mock Ranches Group has scheduled a Qualified Buyer and Broker Open for October 20 at 10 a.m., with RSVP required, according to the firm's listing.
A Tight Texas Land Market
The listing arrives as Texas rural land prices climbed 6.02 percent year over year to $5,246 per acre in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. The center's report also found the typical tract size shrank 24.41 percent year over year to 1,573 acres, even as annualized sales activity rose 5.45 percent. Researchers described the overall market as healthy and stable, though activity remained roughly 30 percent below 2019 levels.
Other recent Texas ranch listings illustrate the range of the state's rural market. The Rocking C Ranch, also known as Forever View Ranch, covered nearly 61 acres in Washington County near Brenham and was listed for $3.35 million, according to CultureMap Houston. At the opposite extreme, the storied 6666 Ranches in West Texas listed for $341.7 million in 2020, as reported by Mansion Global. Whatever the Lightning C Ranch ultimately fetches, its combination of working pastureland and one artist's handbuilt legacy sets it apart from either comparison.
