Just outside the charming west Texan town, Marfa, the Aufdengarten family has run the Fletcher Ranch for many, many years. It’s been supported for generations by this tight-knit crew. Austin Aufdengarten joined the family officially almost exactly a year ago today. Now she shares in this rich legacy of hard work and tradition.
“Mitchell’s ancestors were some of the first to come to Texas when Texas was still part of Mexico, and they started ranching around Marfa in the late 1800’s. I love digging into his family history, and I’m proud that I am now a part of their story. They are some of the hardest working people I know, and they do everything they can for the wellbeing of the land and animals with which they have been entrusted. His family has ranched at the Fletcher for several generations, and I can’t imagine too much has changed. That amazing old house has to have SUCH an amazing story, but I’m still piecing it together. I love exploring while trying to imagine what life would have been like there 100 years ago.” -Austin Aufdengarten
“I have an unfathomable love for far west Texas that overcomes any gaps in my knowledge about what is now my livelihood. My roots run deep out here; my ancestors from both sides lived, farmed, worked, and loved west Texas. Being out in the crisp, west Texas air, surrounded by desert cacti, and watching the mountain landscape revolve around me is absolutely heavenly. There’s something to be said about looking at a landscape and knowing that 100-plus years ago, folks were surrounded by the exact same scenery. Knowing that our children will have the same view is, in a sense, a promise for our future. I’ve always been one for adventure and new experiences, and there was a stark moment of realization before we were married that by marrying this man, I would never leave west Texas; it only made me love him more.” -Austin Aufdengarten
Crafted in Carhartt 