An FLDS member had bought the land in and initially said it would be a hunting retreat. The sheriff dug a little deeper to find out who they were, learning about their religion, visiting Utah law enforcement and talking with FLDS members in Utah.
They wanted to know how many people lived on the property and what was being built to know if the county would be equipped to handle a three-story structure fire or respond properly in the aftermath of a tornado.
At the peak of , I guess prior to the raid or about the time of the raid, there was probably pushing the number out there. Residents say it took a couple of months after the raid for things to settle down in their normally quiet town. But people from all over now knew about Eldorado.
Seclusion is not hard to find in West Texas. The region covers 39, square miles of diverse topography including dense scrublands and agricultural fields. The YFZ Ranch is a 1,acre tract with space enough for a self-sustaining community and an orchard filled with trees of apples, peaches and pears. Now all that remains is a towering white stone temple and numerous buildings, a majority that were used for housing.
Jeffs, who was known to visit the YFZ Ranch, is serving life plus 20 years in prison for raping two girls — one age 12, the other 15 — he had taken as polygamous brides. Jeffs must serve at least 45 years in prison before being eligible for release, at which time he will be years old. Because the state is exempt from paying taxes on the property, Schleicher County has not collected tax money on the YFZ Ranch since its seizure.
The compound was raided by law-enforcement officials in April , when more than children were taken from the ranch, resulting in the largest child custody case in U. According to a Standard-Times report from April of , Willie Jessop, former bodyguard and one-time staunch supporter of Jeffs, is in a dispute with the state of Texas.
He claims he has a legal interest in the YFZ Ranch and should receive money from a sale. ELDORADO — Polygamists, with their blonde child brides and 19th-century doctrine of plural marriage being the pathway to heaven, were forced out their compound here in , and scattered to the west. And for most residents of this one-stoplight farming town three hours west of San Antonio, the whole traumatic story that began 15 years ago is fading into history.
But just a few miles north of town, the abandoned Yearning for Zion Ranch looks much like it did when hundreds of followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints called it home. The broad streets, orchards, water treatment plant and more than 40 large buildings, including a massive white temple, remain intact and functional. The Dallas-area company intends to use it as a military and law enforcement training base.
On a recent flyover, James Doyle, 82, a pilot and former Schleicher County justice of the peace, noted important landmarks. He also pointed out a huge concrete amphitheater from which Jeffs reportedly planned to address the leaders of the free world after his prison walls crumbled.
And if the fear and anxiety triggered by the arrival of polygamists from Arizona and Utah has ebbed, the unnerving presence of the prophet lingers. He caused a lot of heartache for a lot of kids and other people. The ranch and all of its improvements were forfeited to the state in after Jeffs and nine other men were convicted or pleaded guilty to bigamy and sex crimes committed on the property. Already, Border Patrol and Defense Department personnel have come for training, and neighbors are getting used to the sounds of helicopters and other aircraft moving after dark.
Repeated attempts to reach the principals of ETG Properties and related companies were unsuccessful. After the group left in , Doran and his wife, Lenette, moved into a two-bedroom apartment on the ranch as caretakers.
At first, it was creepy because of everything that happened there. During his watch there, the ranch has experienced flooding, a wildfire and scattered attempts to break into the property. Along the way, he said, he had to learn how everything worked, including the municipal water system. Before the YFC Ranch turned this town upside down, people here talked more about cotton, cattle and high school sports.
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