The front gates of the Yturria ranches along U.S. Highway 77 represent a contiguous network of brush lands with a history that dates back to the pre-Civil War era.  

The patriarch of the Yturria ranchlands is Francisco Yturria, a close business associate of Charles Stillman and who would become known as Richard King’s banker. The former is considered one of Brownsville’s founders and the latter became a rancher of legendary proportions with a name and brand known around the world.

Francisco Yturria would become a formidable South Texas historical figure in his own right. He would eventually own over 100,000 acres of ranches between the King Ranch and Raymondville. Today, generations later, the vast ranch lands have been sectioned off in broad swaths to Yturria’s descendants. Quita Wittenbach is a sixth-generation member of the historic South Texas family whose great-grandfather, Herminio, was a grandson of the patriarch. 

Wittenbach has opened a specialized retail shop in Harlingen that features handpicked and unique items in clothing, jewelry and leather products she believes reflect South Texas ranching culture. H. Yturria Ranch Mercantile represents the Herminio branch of the family, which today operates a 10,000-plus acre ranch north of Raymondville. Wittenbach’s long-term goal is to have a store on her family’s ranch along U.S. 77. The new Harlingen store is a first step toward that objective.

“I’m trying to find unique items that I believe represent South Texas and the South Texas culture,” Wittenbach said of the region she defines as running from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande Valley. “I am trying to go back to the old values where everything is handmade.”

Seeking New Revenue Streams

Wittenbach grew up in Harlingen and many of her days were filled with visiting grandparents on the family ranch nine miles north of Raymondville.

She spent a few years as a schoolteacher before pursuing what she really wanted to do, which was work at the ranch. Wittenbach, a TCU graduate, went back to the Fort Worth school to complete an intensive one-year course in ranch management that included instruction in everything from rotation of grazing lands, livestock care, financial management and marketing.

Wittenbach would spend 20 years working at the ranch and is still active in its business affairs. The ranch has diversified its operations as many have to include hunting leases, oil and gas opportunities, stocking exotic game and some ecotourism with birders. 

“You’re always figuring out different ways to make money because ranching is always a big gamble,” she said. 

Going into retailing and featuring ranching-themed items is an additional way to diversify and generate a new revenue stream. The King Ranch has done that on a national and global scale with the family brand name on pickup trucks, boots, jackets, bags and caps, just to name a few of the items it sells. 

Wittenbach has made a start to do the same with H. Yturria. She has realistic expectations in beginning her business out of a 450-foot-square space inside the Velvet Magnolia home decor store in Harlingen.

Keeping Family Name Alive

Wittenbach’s store may be small for now, but it’s a well-designed space featuring an array of products. 

Some of the items are sourced from the ranch such as the mesquite on carving boards and tables. Many products were made elsewhere in the United States – and Mexico – from artisans Wittenbach has met whose work she believes reflects the styles and tastes of South Texas.

There are H. Yturria-branded wallets and purses, bird bags and scabbards that hold rifles in stylish cases. Handmade plates are on display with the H. Yturria name on the back. Caps, shirts and scarves do the same with the family name on all items to highlight the historic connections the Yturrias have to South Texas and the Valley.

“I hope people think of South Texas when they see the things I have here and that are being highlighted,” Wittenbach said. “I want people to feel like they can step into a ranch gala or into a hunting camp with the items we offer here.”

Beyond the retailing opportunities, Wittenbach is seeking to highlight the Yturria family name and accentuate its historic connections to the Valley and South Texas. She feels deeply tied to the land and its traditions and takes great pride in the historical elements of the ranch, which includes a mid-1800s-era church where she was married. Her birth name includes “Yturria” as a middle name, as is the case with many of her fellow family members. 

“We’re trying to keep the ranch intact,” Wittenbach said. “My father always said to give the land to the next generation in better form than you got it. Doing this, (retailing), helps to keep the family name alive and to keep the historic elements going. Little by little, we’re preserving history.”

H. Yturria Ranch Mercantile is located at 1130 U.S. 77 Frontage Road in Harlingen.