Remember the Alamo ... on Reimers' Ranch
In the Texas Hill Country, past the livestock and beautiful home, stands the largest free-standing movie set in North America

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

A cannon on the wall of 'the Alamo' faces San Antonio de Bexar on the ranch movie set. -- Staff photo by Carolyn Rost

June 24, 2004 -- Standing in the middle of the movie set built for the recently-released "The Alamo," you can almost imagine the action and feel the passion of less than 200 men who stood up to General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, dictator of Mexico, that fateful day, March 6, 1836.

After 13 days of fighting, defenders of the "real" Alamo, including Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, James Bowie and William Travis, fought to the death, except for Houston who lived to lead a final battle for Texas' freedom from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto in April of 1836.

At first glance, entering the nice, big ranch in the Hill Country ... complete with livestock, a beautiful home and grounds, one would never guess what was hidden in between the hills. But, looking past the manicured lawn and beautiful pool, down in the distance, stands the set of the recent movie.

Jean, Eugene, and Tara Reimers allowed us to come and see their ranch just outside of Austin ... and the Alamo set they are eager to preserve for Texans to visit, just in case they haven't had a chance to see the "real" Alamo in San Antonio.

As a fourth-generation rancher, Eugene grew up on the ranch, and he and Jean, who grew up in Dripping Springs, have lived on the ranch for the last 42 years. Daughter Tara lives in Austin, but worked with the filming of the movie as an assistant to one of the actors. Because Tara has worked with the Texas Film Commission in Austin, the "powers that be" were aware of the Reimers' ranch. The scenic ranch was selected over 80 other locations in 13 western states and Calgary, Canada, according to Touchstone Pictures.

According to information released by Touchstone Pictures, the set stands on 51 acres and is said to be "the largest free-standing set ever built in North America." The filming took just over 100 days, during which time the Texas weather ranged from below freezing temperatures to over 100 degrees. The thousands of people involved in the movie's production also downed a lot of water: 275,842 bottles.

While Eugene had to move his herds of Black Brangus, Boer goats, black antelope, and horses during the filming, the family decided it was worth it because of the experience and the "Alamo" which now stands on their property.

The producers, Mark Johnson and Ron Howard, and director John Lee Hancock, took 101 days to film the movie. The 300-member design crew, led by Michael Corenblith, took almost eight months building the set which contains over 70 buildings, and, according to Tara, was built to scale of the original Alamo fortress and the 1836 San Antonio de Bexar and San Felipe.

The view from the Reimers' backyard changed dramatically when the movie set, encompassing 51 acres, was built. -- Staff photo by Carolyn Rost

Even knowing the outcome of the battle, it's hard to imagine the strength and fighting spirit of the men inside of the Alamo, knowing full well that they were grossly outnumbered by the Mexican troops.

In information released by Touchstone Pictures, the costumer, Daniel Orlandi, was responsible for dressing over 2,000 extras and 82 principal actors. Fifty-four of these actors were Texas natives, and the crew supervised over 4,000 costumes and 1,000 Shako helmets, not to mention the 700 flint-locked musket rifles. Although the actors fired 90,000 rounds of "black powder," no one was injured.

Asked what it was like having all the actors and support teams there on the ranch for such a long time, Jean replied, "It was a very positive experience ... they were very nice." While there were some worries about the lights and noise of the set, Jean said there were no complaints in the area, and the livestock still have lots of land to run on.

Although the Reimers thought they knew all about the battle of the Alamo, they were surprised at the additional facts they learned while the filming was under way. Although they were not allowed on the set, it was easy to see from their backyard, and the night battles were remarkable, according to the Jean.

Since the end of the filming and the movie premier in San Antonio, earlier this year, the set has remained like a ghost town. The Reimers have invited several to host benefits on the set, including the recent "Legends of Texas Swing," as well as school field trips.

The final plan is to preserve the set to continue the field trips, and opening the set to visitors who are interested in Texas history.

On the Reimers' ranch, visitors will be able to visit how San Antonio "really" was in 1836. In the twilight of a summer night ... you might just think you can see and hear the action that occurred back over 160 years ago!

(For information about visiting the Alamo set, call 512-264-2317.)