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    live like royalty

    Fairytale castle just 3.5 hours from Houston returns to market for $5.5 million

    Amber Heckler
    Nov 15, 2023 | 9:00 pm

    A grand fairytale castle less than 140 miles from Austin has re-entered the housing market for $5.5 million.

    Parsons Castle Austin

    Photo courtesy of Hackers Property Group

    The five-story Parsons Castle is back on the market.

    The Parsons Castle in Clifton (near Waco) is a glorious cliffside escape with a very apt nickname: The Getaway Capital of Texas.

    As CultureMap previously reported, the castle was listed for sale in 2021 for $6.5 million. It didn't sell at the time, so it was taken off the market. Eric Hacker of Hacker Property Group now holds the listing.

    "With the price adjustment and with the time lapse in our market, we felt that [$5.5 million] was going to be a much more appealing price for the public and for what this venue has the possibilities of [accomplishing]," Hacker explained to CultureMap.

    The castle and event venue, which overlooks Lake Whitney, features 10 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms across 11,500 square feet of space that's destined to make every guest feel like a real royal.

    There are balconies on every floor of the five-story castle, a private pool and hot tub, a 3,000-square-foot ballroom, a bridal suite and groom's dressing room, gazebos galore, and much more. Like every good castle, it has a drawbridge and a moat.

    Parsons CastleThe 3,000-square-foot ballroom can do more than host large formal dances, like setting the stage for a beautiful Photo courtesy of Hacker Property Group

    The property was bought by its sole owners – Stuart and Rebecca Parsons – in 2005, and the slab that would become the genesis for the castle was poured in 2009. By 2017, the magnificent structure had been fully constructed, and has since lived an illustrious life as a venue for weddings, reunions, and many other special occasions.

    Hacker expects his primary audience to be those who already have a business plan lined up to keep the property as an event venue, but he's not counting out potential buyers who fall in love with the castle.

    "There could always be an individual who comes in and just falls in love with how special it is and find it appealing for themselves," he says. "But it's really highly accommodating for someone who sees it as an event venue that can hold large events and parties."

    Back in 2021, the castle caught the attention of Zillow Gone Wild's Facebook page, with one commenter dubbing it "Taj Ma Y’all."

    If $5.5 million seems, well, almost affordable, consider this: The Parsons Castle is cheaper than this other urban palace outside Houston that was the most expensive home in Texas for two years in a row, with a hefty price tag of $65 million.

    More information about the Parsons Castle can be found at theparsonscastle.com.

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    rustic ranch livin'

    17-acre Hill Country ranch with stunning views listed for $3.7M

    Amber Heckler
    Nov 6, 2026 | 9:00 am
    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, Spanish-style main house exterior
    Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches
    The 17-acre ranch is located at 1601 Creek Rd. in Dripping Springs.

    A spacious property for sale in the bustling Austin suburb of Dripping Springs is now offering just over 17 acres of land for $3.7 million.

    The HC Carter Camphouse, located at 1601 Creek Road, presents a rare opportunity for its next owners to live less than two miles from downtown Dripping Springs. The 17.03-acre ranch was once part of a much larger, 205-acre ranch that contained "one of the finest Longhorn cattle herds in Texas," according to the listing description.

    The property features two renovated homes: a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, Spanish-style main house that was originally built in 1956; and a restored "Pioneer Cabin" that was built in the mid-to-late 1800's and currently serves as the guest house.

    The primary home has a gated stone courtyard with a water fountain, and a tiled wraparound porch overlooking the front yard and in-ground fire pits. Terracotta tile runs throughout the interior of the home, and rustic wood details cohesively tie the rooms together. The spacious primary bedroom features wide French doors that open to the front porch, a high angled wood panel ceiling, and a Santa Fe-style fireplace.

    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, main house primary bedroom The fire place in the primary bedroom will be very handy during the winter.Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

    The restored cabin maintains its vintage charm with stone flooring, all-wood ceilings, log beams, and antique furnishings. The home contains two bedrooms with window AC units, two fireplaces, "working bathrooms," and a kitchen.

    Onion Creek runs through the property to provide stunning Hill Country views and a barrier of separation from Creek Rd. However, it also means a majority of the land south of the creek — including the areas where both homes sit — is in a FEMA 100-year floodplain and a Dripping Springs localized floodplain. The property's survey map fills in the details.

    "The property has approximately 1,600 feet of frontage on Onion Creek, providing year-round water, and stunning views of the creek," the listing says. "The creek has never gone dry on this part of the creek since the owners have owned the property."

    The ranch first entered the market in late July as a 9.999-acre parcel of land, but the listing has since been updated to add 7.031 more acres in an adjoining lot. The land addition improves the property's privacy, nearly doubles the Onion Creek frontage, and increases the size of the "most probable new home site location," according to the listing. The expansion also effectively reduces the price-per-acre by a third.

    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, Spanish-style main house exterior

    Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

    The 17-acre ranch is located at 1601 Creek Rd. in Dripping Springs.

    Whoever purchases the ranch will also become the owners of an additional one-acre lot located "outside of, but contiguous to" the 9.999-acre lot. This portion of land is leased to the property's caretaker, who previously managed the original 205-acre ranch for 25 years. The listing specifies that the caretaker "does not have the right to sell this 1 acre, which will revert to the owner in case of his death."

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