Tax Credit Program Highlight: Herff-Rozelle Farm

Boerne, Kendall County

1855

Designation	Individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Historic Use	Residence and farm
Current Use	Non-profit educational space and event center
Total Rehabilitation Cost	$552,000
Qualified Rehabilitation Expenses	$552,000
Date Certified	April 21, 2016
	Certified for state tax credits only.

History

This two-story limestone house was used as the summer country home for Dr. Ferdinand Herff (a pioneer and physician) and his wife Mathilde. The farm is an example of a true Hill Country farmstead that has not changed substantially since the early 20th century. In addition to the home itself, agricultural and domestic structures remain intact including aviaries, a barn, worker’s quarters and a smokehouse. The farm stayed in the Herff family until 1935 when George and Erma Rozelle purchased the property and continued its use as a farmhouse. In 2007, the Cibolo Nature Center, an environmental not-profit group, took over the home and land to safeguard the property against encroachment by local development.

Rehabilitation Project

The farmhouse on the property had been vacant and poorly maintained for decades prior to purchase, and much of the rehabilitation project focused on repairs and conservative modernizations that necessary for the building to be brought back into use. The original wood windows were repaired and stone walls shored up and reconstructed; modern utilities were installed, and the historic front veranda was rebuilt based on evidence from archival photos. The rehabilitation of the farmhouse represents the first major development project on the Herff farm property, which now operates as an educational and interpretive space for the adjacent Cibolo Nature Center. Future tax credit work is planned for other historic outbuildings.