Our Soil Makes Our Oil
For owner and producer Kerry Thornhill, the dream of building an olive orchard began in 2012 with a desire to pay homage to her maternal grandparents, LR (Polo) and Consuelo Vasquez, and their decades of support to Asherton and its community. The orchard’s first commercial production of extra virgin olive oil was harvested in Fall 2016 and bottled as 1836: A TEXAS OLIVE COMPANY. In March of 2017, 1836 made its debut on the shelves of Bering’s in Houston, and since then has grown to include a retail presence at gourmet shops throughout the Houston, Austin, and Central Texas areas.
In September of 2018, 1836 signed a contract with Williams Sonoma to be the official Texas olive oil vendor to their Texas stores. This partnership marks one of our greatest achievements as a Texas producer. 1836 was also featured as the exclusive extra virgin olive oil at the 2018 Truffle Masters culinary event in Houston.
1836 believes in the Texas olive industry, and in supporting local agriculture and women farmers everywhere.
A Family Legacy In Asherton, Texas.
1836 began in 2012 with the purchase of 100 acres in Dimmit County, Texas. After advice from other olive growers, our orchard was installed that September on 40 acres using a medium density planting. The olive varietals, Arbequina, Mission, Picual and Tosca, were chosen for the climate and for the flavor profile they create.
The ranch hosts amazing wildlife living and traveling throughout the property. We have 3 wonderful dogs – Olivia, Bella and GG – as well as free-ranging chickens and one happy rooster! The ranch is also home to deer, hogs, quail, dove, turkey, snakes (beneficial and not), rabbits, even bobcats.
Every stage of orchard development, from land clearing to planting, can be seen in this video “A Texas Girl’s Olive Orchard”, which was posted to YouTube in February 2013.
Kerry Thornhill Houston
Kerry began farming olives in 2012 in Dimmit County, Texas where her family enjoys an almost 100 year presence. She works for Texas olive growers and organizations to support and educate growers in Texas.
Kerry has served as Director and Secretary for the Texas Olive Growers Association and Council (TOGAC) from 2013-2017 and Director/Secretary for the Texas Association of Olive Oil (TXAOO) from 2017-2020, and Director for Subdivision 1 of the Soil and Water Conservation District (Dimmit County, TX) since 2019.
Kerry holds a BA in Communications from The University of Texas at Austin. Her corporate career includes investment banking and corporate communications for NYSE and NASDAQ-listed companies.