Places to go and things to see by Gypsy Bev

Posts tagged ‘Barnesville Ohio’

Texas Longhorns Give Taste of Old West

This billboard along I-70 reminds travelers of the Longhorn Cattle Ranch nearby.

Texas Longhorn Cattle can be found at Dickinson Cattle Company just north of Barnesville only a couple of miles off I-70 at one of the largest cattle breeding ranches in the United States. Today consumers desire leaner beef, which makes Texas Longhorns a good choice.

Darol and Linda Dickinson had their first ranch in Colorado over 50 years ago. They have always had a serious dedication to profitability, value breeding, and competing. In 1980, their bull named “Impressive” sold for $60,000, a record at that time. They have shipped cattle via “Air Mail” all over the world in specially made cattle crates.

Cattle rest in the shade along the gravel road leading through the ranch and to the store.

Winters were cold in Colorado and Darol was looking for another place for his ranch. In 1993 while driving on I-70 through the eastern part of Ohio, he saw some reclaimed strip-mine land that would make great pasture. He could picture his colorful Texas Longhorns grazing on these hillsides like a scene from the Old West. He’ll tell you today, “Ohio has the greatest ranch land country in the world.”

The Dickinson family consists of founders Darol, the General Manager, and Linda plus their four children. Joel (president) is herd manager and lives on the ranch. Kirk (treasurer) works there, keeps their website up to date, and lives close by. Chad (vice-president) lives in Texas where he is a contractor so he built the house and store at the ranch and also does marketing. Their only daughter Dela (secretary) lives back in Colorado and handles Longhorn events for them there. Dickinson Cattle Co. is owned and operated by this Christian family.

The cattle are peacefully grazing and resting to welcome you to the Dickinson Cattle Ranch.

Driving into the ranch on a gravel road gives one a feeling of traveling back to the Old West. Humorous signs along the way signify that the owners have a sense of humor. Examples are “Do not brake for coyotes” or “Hopalong Cassidy rode here.” The sign on the door of their store says “Vegan Rehab Center.”

Flair Galore relaxes in front of the Longhorn Head to Tail Store.

That strip-mine land has been developed to now include up to 1600 head of cattle in 43 separate, fenced pastures on 5,000 acres. However, there’s more to Dickinson Cattle Co. than just the cattle. First stop should be their Longhorn Head to Tail store.

Granddaughter Kara tells the story of the beautiful door made in New Mexico years ago.

A door from their Colorado home now serves as the entrance to their store. Darol had gone to a friend’s ranch and saw John Wayne going through a beautiful door into the office. Shortly thereafter, Darol had an identical door built by Taso Wood Works in New Mexico for the door of his home.

Inside their store, you’ll find hides, horns, skulls, and everything Longhorn from jewelry to tee shirts.

Longhorn Head to Tail is not a typical Appalachian shop but a unique Western Horn Emporium. The timber in the store including walls and jewelry case came from lumber on the farm when trees were cut during fence building. Watch a video about the ranch and its herd sires. Then browse the store to see soft-tanned hides, Longhorn skulls and horns from real Texas Longhorn steers grown on the ranch., and many interesting items made from the hides and horns including jewelry, which is hand-made there. It’s like a museum! Perhaps the most important thing there is their frozen beef section.

Longhorn Head to Tail Store is the perfect place to get natural beef products that are frozen.

Their Longhorn grass-fed, lean beef raised right there on the ranch can be purchased in the form of steaks, roasts, ground beef, jerky, and more. This meat is inspected and they try to keep it as natural as possible with no steroids, hormones, or implants added. A sign by the meat freezer says ”Antibiotics – Get them from your Doctor not your beef.” They even have beef pet food for your special pets at home. All natural beef halves are available upon request. The store is open throughout the year from 10-5 except on Sundays.

Bus Tours give a chance for guests to go out in the pasture for a close-up view of the Texas Longhorns.

You might want to take a Longhorn Head to Tail Bus Tour from April through October and see their breeding stock and herd sires. The tour takes about 75 minutes and includes close-up viewing of the cattle. The rugged ranch bus bounces across rough Appalachian pastures so guests can get a close-up view of where the cattle roam. Purchase special cow-candy to feed the animals. These tours are available for groups of 10 or more paying age guests by appointment. If you have a small group give them a call for possible times they might join a booked group.

This Longhorn cow, Jester, enjoys the green pasture with her new calf.

The main business at Dickinson Cattle Co. is breeding and developing a superior quality of registered cattle. When the nearly 400 calves are born in the spring, they only keep ten that may be used in their private herd someday. Dutch BueLingo Cattle and African Watusi Cattle can also be found on their ranch. They have five cowboys to assist with herd management.

Time Line is one of those special Texas Longhorn bulls that has been a herd sire on the ranch.

Choice of a bull is of utmost importance. The ranch usually has ten main herd sires. They try to select bulls that have perfect form and are of varied colors. Solid color bulls and calves are not as popular in the Longhorn community. Dickinson Cattle Co. has had many champion bulls including Texas Champions as well as World Champions. If you don’t want to purchase a bull, perhaps contacting them about semen might be a way to get started.

Joel, Darol, and Linda are pictured with their Queen of Kings Champion.

While many are very cautious around the Longhorn cattle because of their long horns, which can be up to eight feet from tip to tip, they are really very gentle and every bull can be led with a halter. Children often enjoy riding them and they even pull large loads.

Call 740-758-5050 for more information or visit their website at www.longhorntours.com. Take a drive back to the days of the Old West and visit Dickinson Cattle Co. on a bus tour from April to October before stopping for some tasty lean beef at their Longhorn Head to Tail Store, which is open all year except on Sundays. Don’t forget your camera!

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Farming, Ohio, Uncategorized

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Victorian Elegance at Barnesville Mansion Museum

Barnesville Mansion

This eye-catching mansion showcases the luxurious Victorian era.

Feel the spirit of Victorian times in this elegant, historic mansion in Barnesville. The beauty of Barnesville Victorian Mansion Museum lasts year around, but comes alive at Christmas time when it is beautifully decorated in Victorian style.

Barnesville Owner

A portrait of John Bradford, the original owner appears upstairs.

Twenty-six rooms have been restored to the original style of its construction during 1888-1893 for John W. “Dias” Bradford, a well-known merchant and highly respected citizen of Barnesville. It took five years to build this fine Victorian home as a great architect worked with the finest craftsmen to finish everything to perfection. Not only did he build this fine house, but Bradford was also responsible for building the first bank in Barnesville.

Barnesville Griffin

A protective griffin in the fretwork greets visitors upon entering.

Arriving through the carriage entrance, you’re greeted by a carved oak fretwork, a design formed by intricate scrolling. A winged griffin was included in the carving, as it was believed a griffin would prevent misfortune.

Barnesville Door Hinges

Even the door hinges showed intricate designs.

Everything speaks of elegance with eleven fireplaces, which have decorative carved wooden mantles. Woodwork throughout is handcarved so even the spirals on the banister have an individual air. The floors show a beautiful parquet design from room to room. Even the hinges on the doors have an intricate design, which was then matched on the doorknobs and staircase. No cost was spared.

Barnesville Butler's Bell

A butler’s bell system was installed when the home was built with the telephone later added below it.

Even at this early time, the builder had the foresight to wire the house for electricity. Therefore, the lights could use either gas or electric.

Barnesville Child's Dress

This pretty yellow lace dress was found in a trunk in the attic.

Finding drinking water in those early days created a problem. Most places had a cistern, which caught rain water and drainage from other sources. This water made everyone sick so it was only used for cleaning and bathing. Their drinks consisted of beer, cider, whiskey and wine. Life expectancy was forty-six years.

Inglenook, a special courting room, set back into the wall. The man sat on one end and the girl on the other. In this special room, the acoustics were such that they could talk softly to one another, but no one else could hear them.

Barnesville Growlery

The Growlery provided a place for men to relax during the evening.

The Growlery was the place men often met after dinner to discuss business while smoking and playing games. Beautifully carved ivory and clay pipes rested on the game table as well as an ornate spittoon and snuff bottles. A stereoscope had viewing cards handy.

While the house had many fireplaces, the one in the Growlery had a special charm. Made with blue and white tile from Consolidated Pottery of Zanesville, it contained the image of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt.

Barnesville Bed with Doll

A Shannon Doll from a West Virginia collection stands at the foot of an original bed.

Bathrooms presented an interesting story as there were three inside, one downstairs – a powder room, and two upstairs. However, they were suspicious of going to an indoor toilet since they feared sewer gases could be dangerous. The servants’ rooms were located near the bathrooms.

Barnesville Child's Bedroom

This child’s bedroom contained everything a little girl would enjoy.

The powder room and one upstairs bath had 22K gold decorations. Two 540 gallon tanks located on the third floor supplied running water.

In that day, most people took one bath a week. Every month they washed their hair with a special rinse of eggs and vinegar to give it a lasting shine.

Barnesville Clock Room

A picture of Queen Victoria had been placed in their clock room.

Clocks held an importance far above just telling time. You could tell the quality of the home as well as their finances by the kinds of clocks they had on display. Taking care of the clocks was always the man’s duty, or sometimes the oldest son. The museum has a large clock collection on the third floor.

That third floor also held the ballroom, which was typical of Victorian mansions. Twelve couples could easily dance around the floor. An adjoining room held an old Victrola, organ and banjo.

Barnesville Bathrub

Emery Stewart drew flowers on this bathtub in 1966.

Excellent guides created an informative day. They all enjoyed sharing stories of the mansion. One of those guides, Emery Stewart, started working at the museum when he was a student at Barnesville High School in 1966. His first assignment was to paint flowers on the bathtub in the upstairs bathroom. He’s been a volunteer ever since and loves his hometown of Barnesville.

One amazing picture, a “hair” picture, had been made from pieces of family hair. This unusual picture formed a family tree with pieces of each person’s hair on their branch of the tree. Lovingly made step by step by an aunt or grandmother, the whole family story could be told from the “hair family tree”.

Barnesville Doll Collection

A large collection of Pete Ballard dolls can be found upstairs.

Barnesville sat along the railroad line and was a wealthy city in its heyday, having eleven hotels, seventeen saloons, and several mansions. The Board members were very pleased to receive a grant from the Ohio Arts Council to be used for television broadcasting so they could share the history of their mansion and hometown.

The Barnesville Victorian Mansion Museum at 532 N. Chestnut Street is open for tours May 1 through October 1, Wednesday through Sunday from 1:00-4:00 pm. Groups and buses can be scheduled at any time by contacting the museum.

Barnesville Volunteers on Porch

Volunteers Sherry McClellan, Emery Stewart, and Judy Jenewein help keep history alive.

Specials events take place at the mansion throughout the year. They’ve had wine tastings, graveyard tours, and their lovely Christmas tour. Here you can see a Victorian style Christmas from the weekend after Thanksgiving until the weekend before Christmas.

Keeping the spirit of their beginning alive will hopefully carry over from generation to generation.

The Barnesville Victorian Museum is located at 532 N Chestnut Street in Barnesville, Ohio. Take OH-800 S off I-70 into Barnesville. Make a left on Walton Avenue and the museum will be on the left.

 

 

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History, Museums, Ohio, Uncategorized

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