A Bed and Breakfast in a Pecan Orchard

November 13, 2006
By Bill Sontag
Feature Writer

Pecans – sweet, nutty fruit of the state tree of Texas – are literally the roots sunk by the progenitor Felix O. Weyrich who came to Eagle Pass toward the close of the 19th century as an apprenticed blacksmith. He planted trees, the first in Maverick County, in 1910, and the groves now encompass 178 acres.

Leah Gray Leonard and her husband, Kyle, are the determined stewards of this oasis above the bluffs overlooking the Rio Grande into Mexico, as well as the gracious hosts who welcome visitors. And they are prepared to put guests up in the historic Weyrich homestead, now operated as a comfortable, relaxing bed-and-breakfast, seemingly light years away from urban distractions.

Tuesday (Oct. 31), Leah explained that the family patriarch was not only a forward-thinking agrarian, but a humanitarian, as well. Refugees fleeing the devastation and chaos of the Mexican revolution found refuge, indeed, in his groves overlooking the fled homeland below. The escapees built huts of mud and river cane for shelter before moving on.

Though the growing Weyrich lineage is somewhat scattered now, Weyrich Farms remains a family farm in an increasingly incorporated era of agribusiness. To meet rising demands for healthy produce, the company has nearly transformed all the groves to certified organic produce.

The Weyrich Farms Bed-and-Breakfast is nestled in a tree-shaded pastoral landscape a few miles north of Eagle Pass, just off Farm-to-Market Road 1589. Surrounding croplands as one approaches the orchards on sandy roads, also owned by the Weyrich company, have been variously planted to watermelons, cantaloupe and spinach.

“We’ll be planting spinach this year,” laughed Leah, explaining that the watermelons were simply too large to be profitable, but last year’s cantaloupes were seductively sweet and a temptation to consider in future plantings.

The bed-and-breakfast accommodation is a large home, with many rooms added on over the years. Leah says it can accommodate several families, but pricing – on request – is based on number of occupants, whether a couple looking for romantic solitude or a family reunion seeking spacious digs in a place where kids can play with friendly farm dogs and parents don’t have to worry about traffic.

Three bedrooms, two baths, a large living room that Leah has dubbed “the gathering room,” thick adobe walls, high ceilings, a furnished kitchen, porches and verandas, and antique furniture combine to create a “homey” setting that is instantaneously captivating when visitors enter to settle down.

But technology is not absent. There’s one television, and the house is fitted for wireless, high-speed Internet.

Leah and Kyle cheerfully greet visitors, and, interrupted only by daily chores of running the farm and maintaining the bed-and-breakfast, will give tours to acquaint guests with their surroundings.

To learn more about the bed-and-breakfast and the sweet products of Weyrich Farms, see www.wfpecan.com, or call (toll free) 1-877-898-0991.