Circa 1930 - Back Forty Farms Historical Journey Part 1

Aerial of the house, barn and main buildings.

When we bought this property in 2018, we did our best to piece together its history, at least based on what we heard from others, thought had happened and looking over the property, the buildings, barn, etc. We faired okay, but how do you get the accurate and true history of from so long ago?

Through fate, we were lucky enough to meet Lee, a man that lived (and grew up) here as a kid. He was gracious enough to give us a full tour and what a tour it was! We discovered a tremendous amount of history, the actual history, from the source who was here and lived it. He walked the entire property, inside the house, and gave us first hand knowledge, stories and facts about our new home.

These type of things you cannot get from public records or any amount of research, so it was a big blessing to meet him. For example, when he saw the century old claw-foot tub, he laughed and shared with us a story of his Grandma using it instead of a shower.

The property used to be a 100-acre dairy farm in the early 1900's. Lee's parents bought the 100 acres in the 1930's for $3,000! Can you imagine? His parents raised quarter horses, and many of those were sold to wealthy, and several famous, rodeo/western type folks.

In fact, Lee relayed that several famous people visited his parents on the property, including Annie Oakley and Clayton Moore. Moore played The Lone Ranger on the television show of the same name in the 1950's.

Some of the buildings in the photos are gone, while some are still standing, unchanged for 107 years. During our tour, Lee explained some of the tools in the barn, and how he and his father built this and built that with them, and he seemed to transport in time as he shared story after story. There were a lot of smiles and laughter, and even some tears, as he recollected wonderful memories from his childhood.

There are quite a few other stories (and photos) that will be shared in upcoming articles, but hope you enjoyed learning a little bit of the history of the place - that we now call home.

Although more photos will be scanned and added soon, there are some really good original photos that you can view by clicking here.