Wild Springs Ranch. Experience the essence of the Almighty

Explore the beauty and anointing of Cedar Grove's heritage.

About Wild Springs Ranch

A beaver near water in a lush forest setting.

Our Region

Imagine standing knee-deep in the Piney Woods of Cedar Grove, Texas, where the air smells of wildflowers and pine sap, and the only sounds are the rustling needles and the soft murmur of Little Cow Creek in Newton County. This is nature’s playground—a place of untouched beauty and raw, natural power. This 26-mile-long spring-fed creek flows through the ranch from areas of loamy and sandy soil supporting rich growths of loblolly, shortleaf, and longleaf pine trees common to the region, along with voluminous species of hardwoods. Here, on the edge of the Big Thicket, is the home of Wild Springs Ranch (WSR), a resource as pristine and unspoiled as the wilderness it flows through.

Pure Water from a Source as Old as the Land

Little Cow Creek isn’t just any creek—it’s spring fed entirely by a vast underground aquifer, untouched by industry or pollution. With a recharge rate of 500 million gallons per day, this aquifer is as abundant as it is pure, feeding hundreds of hidden springs, creating small but mighty branches. Following along these hidden waterways, nestled among the deep pines, one can still find remnants of old mills once used for grinding corn, sawing lumber, and ginning cotton.

Daniel Ayres, the steward of this land and this water, has the vision to bring this natural wonder to the world, sustainably and responsibly. From WSR a water bottling plant is slated for development to share this pristine water to the world. He plans to draw just a small fraction of what the aquifer naturally replenishes—ensuring this treasure remains undiminished for generations, making this pure ancient water available for natural hydration of the highest order.

Nature's Glory

A Creek with Stories in Its Sands

As you walk along Little Cow Creek, you’ll find more than just sandbars. The banks are littered with petrified wood from ancient palm trees, remnants of a time when the Gulf Coast stretched all the way to this southeastern edge of Texas 150 million years ago. These fossils that took at least 100 million years to turn the trees into stone—are a reminder that this place has always been a sanctuary, a refuge of wild natural beauty.

At the Edge of the Texas Big Thicket

WSR sits on the northeastern edge of Texas’ Big Thicket in Southeast Texas—a heavily forested region known as the Piney Woods, the most dense forest region in Texas. This unique area is home to a vast network of rivers, creeks, wetlands, and is internationally recognized by UNESCO for its rich mosaic of ecosystems and plant diversity. Originally inhabited by nomadic Native Americans, the Big Thicket holds centuries of history alongside its stunning natural beauty. Proximity to the Gulf of America gives the region a distinct climate of mild winters, hot summers, and high humidity, creating the perfect environment for this thriving wilderness.

About Wild Springs Ranch

Our Heritage

Founded in 1985, Wild Springs Ranch is a family-owned and operated ranching business located in the heart of Texas. On the edge of the Big Thicket, within the Piney Woods of East Texas in the community of Cedar Grove. Wild Springs Ranch sits atop an amazing aquifer of ancient artesian water. The pressure creating the artesian effect is manifest in the hundreds of springs found on our parcel comprising our homestead and ranch. These wild springs are where we derived our name. The heart of Wild Springs Ranch (WSR) is the Cedar Grove Community Church and cemetery. Many of the graves date back to the mid- 1800’s. The church had fallen into decay from almost a century of abandonment. When the Ayres family began building their home across the road from the church, they were inspired to restore this sacred house of worship. Organizing weekend workdays of friends and community residents, a complete restoration was accomplished. They invited the residents of Newton County to an open-house celebration of their house and the Lord’s house on the same weekend in 1985. The following year, local residents of Cedar Grove and the surrounding communities formed a non-denominal bible-based congregation and began Sunday services. Little Cow Creek that flows behind the church, is the northern boundary of WSR. It’s spring fed crystal-clear waters with white sandbars provides an idyllic setting for the church’s baptism services.

The Community

Cedar Grove:

Cedar Grove was a community of slave families with stores, school and church. Following the end of the Civil War in 1865 all the slaves in Texas became free and began to seek homes to support their families and to begin building …They were not seeking security but an opportunity to enjoy freedom and to establish homes for their loved ones.

Following the Civil War, a group of freedmen established the Cedar Grove Community, coming here to take advantage of the area’s strong cotton market. The community was named for the cedars that once existed here before they were cut for lumber. A focal point for the residents was the Cedar Grove Community Church, which the members of the Spears Chapel Church helped organize in 1868. A school which first met in the church building, and several businesses also existed. Cedar Grove declined due to the discontinuation in 1885 of the steamboats that navigated the Sabin River, which passed the settlement and furnished ready transportation to the cotton markets of the world; thereby destroying the markets for the cotton crops. By this time most of the older people had died out. Then came an epidemic of continued fever, which took a toll on the population, then followed the great overflow of 1913 which almost washed away the graveyard and ruined some of the most valuable farmlands. Following the big storm and overflow of 1915, the young people began to move out. It’s been said that the Cedar Grove Community Church was among the first integrated churches in Newton County.

(Excerpts above taken from A Brief History of the Early C.M.E. Churches of Jasper and Newton Counties by A.A. Simmons and the Texas Historical Commission marker erected by the State of Texas at the church in 2008)

OUR DEER

Bucks establishing dominance

We are dedicated to providing high-quality Axis venison, an exotic African plains deer, and being good stewards of the land. At Wild Springs Ranch, we raise only the finest Axis deer. We have endeavored to build upon the excellent genetics we started with many years ago, ensuring that the deer get proper nutrition. Our deer are free-range grass fed, grazing from a seeded pasture we established from a hearty proprietary blend of three perennial varieties of bermudagrass seeds adapted to southern soils for extended germination throughout the growing season. This proprietary blend was the number one yielding seeded bermudagrass in production trials at TAMU Agri Life Extension & Research Center, Overton, TX and Mississippi State University. Grazed and mineral supplemented, results in a healthier and more sustainable animal throughout their lifespan.

We exclusively raise and sell wholesale our deer for breeding stock and trophy buck hunts to exotic hunting ranches throughout Texas.