After he finished what would be his last, and one of his best films, Tumbleweeds, in 1925, William S. Hart bought the land where the picture was shot, the Horseshoe Ranch, in Newhall, California.

When he died in 1946, Hart donated the 250-acre spread to the public, and today it’s the site of the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum. It offers a park, exhibits, hiking trails and a passel of living bison (thanks to Walt Disney).

After months of renovations, the museum’s remarkable Spanish Colonial mansion, La Loma de los Vientos, reopened in late December. Driving to see Hart’s mansion is well worth it, especially since it sits in the Santa Clarita Valley, where Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch and so many other Western-themed attractions are located.

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