by Gage Matthieu
originally published in The Madisonville Meteor on 6/12/24
In 2021, Winter Storm Uri devastated more than just the power grid. When the freeze took hold and didn’t back down for days, an industry was rocked in the process that left the state of Texas’ ability to grow certain crops in question.
Christine McCabe, her business partner Cathy Bernell, and their Lone Star Olive Ranch persist in Madisonville despite the destruction caused in 2021, and they have now decided that it is time to do more.
Expensive groves of Mediterranean olive trees were lost in the winter storm, and with it taking around three years for olive trees to be ready for production, the women behind Lone Star Olive Ranch had to consider the fact that Texas may not be able to keep up with their plans, so they changed them and re-adapted to Texas.
“Agrotourism is the future of this ranch,” said McCabe. In all directions, new life has taken shape at Lone Star Olive Ranch.
From sprouting peach trees, fresh herbs and tomatoes, a newly minted area for sunflowers, a pavilion placed delicately in the middle, and an old church building on top of a hill looking over it all, it is almost difficult to believe anything was ever destroyed here. And indeed, it is easy to see why couples would want to drive out here with their children and walk amongst the groves, picking peaches and spending time in the shade of the pavilion.
If agrotourism is what the olive lady sees in her ranch, nothing will be stopping her. The passion McCabe exudes over her work is palpable and they were determined to keep the old Union Baptist Church building that had existed on the property long before any crops did. “The bones of this building are beautiful and the building itself holds so much meaning to the community that it would have been criminal to not keep it,” McCabe said.
The significance of this building remaining on the property and overlooking the new world they have built lies in the possibilities of its restoration. Gorgeous from the outside with minimal exterior work needed, the project inside is what sparks intrigue. With a necessary pivot away from the hard reliance on olives to sustain their operation, the women have plans for this building that may grow further with their vision.
They built a bar inside, renovated the restrooms, and are in the process of clearing the space out and formulating what comes next.
“People probably don’t know they can come right here and buy olive oil from me,” she mentioned. She means it quite literally; the intent is for people to visit the ranch more often and everything they are doing is in preparation for that. One can see it in the work they have put in to making the ranch look appealing from the outside—sunflowers grow around the entrance inviting people in from the main road with their bright yellows and greens. Following the road along the property, it is lined on one side with peach tree sprouts and an herb garden on the other.
Lone Star Olive Ranch supplies produce to local restaurants, something they would like to do more of. They have grown herbs and tomatoes for the Woodbine, flowers for Heart to Heart, and they’re currently working a large sunflower haul for a new client. For a ranch named after and previously known for producing olives, owners Christine and Cathy are now out to make it clear that they can grow nearly anything on their farm, and if they are not sure— they will try it.
Their production facilities behind the window dressing are where most of the action takes place. A science lab area is set up for the ladies to formulate and create the extracts that flavor their oil, adjacent to it lies product storage. A few boxes line the walls with olive oil ready to be sold, while others remain in a corner for infinite testing.
“If a batch of this tastes even slightly off, we will throw the entire thing away—so we don’t produce much of this,” McCabe says as she brings out a liquor shaped bottle and points to a whiskey barrel in the corner. One day Bernell got curious and decided to fill an empty barrel of bourbon with their olive oil; what they ended up with was a product unique to Lone Star Olive Ranch. Small Batch Bourbon Barreled Olive Oil, an oil aimed at bakers, is something one can only purchase in a few places and is hand-crafted in Madisonville, Texas.