What We Know About Tommy Lee Jones’ 3,000-Acre Texas Cattle Ranch
Tommy Lee Jones, the Oscar-winning actor known for The Fugitive and No Country for Old Men, isn’t your typical Hollywood star. He’s firmly rooted in Texas ranch life when he’s not on set. A native of San Saba, Texas, Jones makes his home in the Lone Star State. And he owns a sprawling 3,000-acre cattle ranch in San Saba County, where he raises livestock and often splits his time between ranch work, polo, and quiet country living far from the Hollywood spotlight. Here’s what to know about the ranch and his life away from the limelight.
Tommy Lee Jones owns a 3,000-acre cattle ranch in San Saba County, Texas
Tommy Lee Jones’ Texas cattle ranch is a reflection of the actor’s lifelong connection to the Lone Star State. And it shows his preference for privacy over Hollywood flash. The Oscar winner owns a 3,000-acre working cattle ranch in San Saba County, Texas. Here, he raises livestock and spends much of his time when he’s not filming, according to Wide Open Country.
The ranch itself is steeped in history and functionality rather than luxury. Reports describe the main residence as a century-old ranch house, underscoring Jones’ appreciation for preservation and authenticity. In addition to cattle operations, the land supports his long-standing passion for polo, a sport he has played competitively for decades.
“In the summers, we’ll work cattle, and then at about 7 o’clock at night, we’ll start playing polo,” he previously told Texas Monthly. “We’ll play until about 9, and then when we’re done, we put the meat on the fire and watch the dark come. It’s a good life. Everyone is happy.”
According to Texas Monthly, Jones’ cattle ranch has an electronic gate that opens automatically, and two beautifully-kept polo fields can be immediately seen from the first turn. From there, Jones has a two-story, 150-year-old limestone ranch house. The property also contains several guest cottages near a creek and a saddle house.
“The gates are locked,” Jones also said. “We keep it shut down.”
The actor also reportedly owns a ranch in Van Horn, Texas
Tommy Lee Jones’ ties to Van Horn, Texas, go beyond casual land ownership. The West Texas landscape played a pivotal role in one of his most personal film projects. Jones used his own ranch near Van Horn as a primary shooting location for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), the neo‑Western he directed and starred in, according to the Texas Film Commission. The rugged ranchland and surrounding desert terrain provided the authentic backdrop that the story required.
The wide‑open expanses near Van Horn, located in Culberson County in far West Texas, are characteristic of the state’s dramatic high‑desert environments. Jones chose these locales deliberately for their unforgiving, remote terrain. The actor was drawn to the area’s harsh weather patterns, from blistering heat to sudden storms, because they visually reinforced the emotional core of the film’s story, the publication states.
The specific details of Jones’ Van Horn ranch, like acreage and livestock operations, aren’t widely publicized.
Tommy Lee Jones has a deep connection to the Lone Star State
Tommy Lee Jones was born on Sept. 15, 1946, in San Saba, Texas, to working‑class parents. Growing up in Texas deeply influenced him. He spent part of his youth in Midland and later attended St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas on scholarship. The transition from rural life to an elite prep school broadened his horizons but also strengthened his Texas identity.
“I am a child of West Texas, and whether anybody admitted it in the 1950s or not, it’s a bicultural society,” Jones said in 2005, according to the New York Post. He then explained how he spent his school years studying Spanish, as he “employs a lot of cowboys” who don’t speak English.
In another interview with The Telegraph in 2008, he described Texas’s unforgiving landscape.
“It can be a hostile country,” he said. “There’s nothing living in those mountains that won’t sting or bite or stab you. … If you disrespect the country, it will cripple you.”
