Big Springs Ranch for Children

Big Springs Ranch, located 9 miles north of Leakey, was given to HCYR in 1996 by Oma Bell Perry to build a children’s home. Miss Perry settled here in 1928 at age 15, ranching its rugged canyons with goats and cattle for 75 years.

Oma Bell loved the land and she loved children. Though she never had children of her own, Miss Perry delighted in visiting the girls and boys who came to live at their new home on the Frio during its formative years. Until her death in 2003, Miss Perry enjoyed being a grandmother to the children.

The Ranch surrounds the headwaters of the Frio River and four miles of its banks. The healing qualities of canyons, with the sounds of the river and wildlife, were well-known to Oma Bell, who believed they would help wounded children, and they have.