Rawhide Ranch History
Rawhide Ranch History
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History of the Rawhide Ranch
History of the Rawhide Ranch
Owners Dan "Hoss" Cartwright, land developer (yes folks, his real name) and David Stirsman, attorney, have accomplished what they set out to do...the fulfillment of a dream.
Being longtime friends and business partners with common interests, "Hoss" and "Stirs" have traveled throughout the USA, visiting dude ranches, experiencing cross country horseback riding trail rides, and enjoying the the excitement of reliving the life of the Old West .
Wishing to share the "city slicker" experience, they purchased the Rawhide Ranch facility in September of 2001, and followed their dreams to Brown County, Indiana.
At the time of acquisition the previous owner had invested a considerable amount of resources to develop the physical structures known as the Ranch House, Buck Inn and a rental cabin (which is now the office). Shortly after taking over, they installed a state approved waste water treatment system (those fenced in boxes behind the barn). This system was designed for maximum occupancy 7 days a week in the Buck Inn, so there would never be future problems with disposal water. The same year they finished the Buck Inn rooms and started renting rooms.
The following year they built the riding arena which is now visible along the drive as you enter the ranch. This was formally located behind the Buck Inn but was removed when installing the waste water treatment system. The riding arena was used for a couple horse shows and for kids retreats, as well as team building exercises. Since that time the arena has been mostly dedicated as a horse paddock. This is the same year the round pen was built in front of the Buck Inn.
In 2003 they were in desperate need to increase the office space and make the office more visible to the visitors of the ranch. The office was located behind the Ranch House in the structure we now call the bunk house. The old cabin was converted into the office and that is where it is today. The focus was then turned to the land and trails. Several new trails were built (one of them being the hayride trail) and the old ones were extended.
They saw the ranch business really starting to boom in 2004 and 2005. This required several major capital improvement projects due to the everyday use of the rooms, common areas, the drives and parking lots. This included a new asphalt road, new stoned parking areas and installing a new roof on the Ranch House. 2005 was the year they removed the first of the two hot tubs due to its old age. It was located on the small deck by the Buck Inn firepit.
The large increase in overnight stays required the ranch to an employee on the property permanently. To facilitate this, they added the caretakers quarters to the cabin. This is now Derek and Sara’s house.
By the year 2006, the exterior of the barn was showing it’s age. They had the exterior of the barn partially resided, a fresh coat of paint and the decks restained.
The interior of the Buck Inn was beginning to show some wear and tear due to the large volume of people visiting. Major repair and remodeling was done in 2007 to the interior of the Buck Inn and the Ranch House. This included purchasing all new leather furniture for the common areas of the Buck Inn and new color scheme.
2008 the need to replace the air conditioner and furnace in the Ranch House presented it’s self. These items were brought from the crawlspace and into the laundry room. The boiler unit in the Buck Inn finally died and we installed a new energy star hot water system in the Buck Inn.
The increase in weddings and large events on the ranch showed us that we needed to improve the interior of the barn. Major renovations in the barn began in the winter of 2009. These renovations included a Fire Alarm system in the entire building.
The early part of 2010 brought a couple more improvements. Since they had made some improvements to the barn, they decided to freshen the entire Buck Inn by putting a fresh coat of paint in every room along with a new color. The hot water heater in the Ranch House was replaced with a new energy efficient system and relocated to the laundry room next to the new furnace.
Enjoy our web site and reserve your Indiana guest ranch and Indiana horseback riding vacation today!