OUR STORY

Bonham Foundation is located in Colorado County. Bordered by the Colorado River and Harvey Creek, the Bonham Ranch property has been in the Bonham Family since the 1970’s. It was to be a family gathering place for city dwellers. Nancy Lee Bonham, a former “city girl”, was given the task of finding a property with live water, beautiful views, and “off the beaten path” privacy. To her surprise she found the perfect ranch in just one day. She managed to convince her father that no matter how long she looked, she would not find a more special place meeting the desired criteria. Nancy, founder of the Bonham Foundation, developed a deep love for the land which instilled in her a desire to share it with others in hopes they would also want to preserve and protect open spaces just as she does. 

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In 1989 Nancy married E.M. Holt, a long-time Angus cattle breeder. Bonham Ranch originally raised F-1 Braford calves out of a commercial Brahman cow herd. The ranch was awarded the Absentee Conservationist Award by the Colorado County Soil and Water District in 1988 for their efforts in caring for the land despite no members of the family living on the ranch during this time. E.M. and Nancy liquidated the Brahman herd in 1998 and relocated from Navasota to Colorado County along with their registered Angus herd. They soon signed up for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program with the NRCS and began projects including riparian buffer zones to protect the river and creek, pasture subdivisions, and fresh water development since cattle would no longer have free access to the river. In 2003 the ranch was awarded the Resident Conservationist Award. 

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In order to better market their registered seedstock, E.M. and Nancy founded the Lone Star Angus Alliance along with several other Angus breeders. Their inaugural sale was held in March 2000. They continued to have both a female and a bull sale until 2020. In January 2000, E.M. was awarded the prestigious Historic Angus Herd Award after 50 years of continuous production. In 2011 Nancy and E.M. received the Texas Angus Association Hall of Fame Award. The ranch continues to produce registered Angus seedstock uniquely adapted to the tough conditions of South Texas. 

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During the summer of 2018 Nancy and E.M. were thinking about the future of the ranch and how they might be able to conserve it in productive rangelands forever. Nancy met with the outgoing extension agent, Stephen Janak, about her idea and he agreed that the ranch was very diverse and had a great deal to offer. In October 2018, Nancy made arrangements to change her will so that the ranch would belong to Bonham Foundation. 

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In the 2 years following, a board of directors was chosen who shared the Holt’s vision for the future of the ranch and had experience in critical areas to help guide the ranch into the future. The Foundation held its first organizational meeting February 29, 2020. With the start of the Covid pandemic the board was unable to meet again until February 6, 2021. A few scholarships were awarded and plans for infrastructure improvements were discussed during this time. In July the Foundation began the task of filling the critical Ranch Manager position. Nancy prepared an extensive list of qualifications and responsibilities. In April 2022 the Foundation’s Project Manager posted the job opening to several university job boards in Texas and Oklahoma. After an interview in July, the Board unanimously agreed on a candidate. Chance Muehlstein started his role as Ranch Manager in October of 2022 and has been a great asset to the Bonham Foundation team.