The History of Thunder Heart Bison
and the Shape Ranch

For thousands of years the Coahuitecan people have lived as indigenous hunter-gatherers in extended family groups or tribes from just north of present day San Antonio south to the Rio Grande and the Northern Mexico state of Coahuila. They were a bison culture whose lifeways, religion, and culture revolved around their relationship with the sacred animal that sustained them.

A map of South Texas from 1703 with the French inscription,"Pays rempli de troupeaux de boeufs sauvages" (Country filled with wild Oxen)
Click on image to see enlarged picture.

By the mid 18th century, the Spanish incursions onto these lands had all but eliminated both the vast herds and the native peoples which they sustained. In 1806, the ranch was granted by the King of Spain to Juan Fransisco Lombrano, a loyal subject of the crown who stocked the ranch with cattle, sheep, and goats. In 1933 my grandfather, H. A. Fitzsimons, bought the ranch. Here he raised registered Hereford cattle along with steers that he grew out on the strong native grasses.

In 1998 the ranch was divided among family members and I started my bison herd:

The History of Thunder Heart Bison and the Shape Ranch

The History of Thunder Heart Bison
and the Shape Ranch