What were authentic ranch houses like?

What were authentic ranch houses like?

Steve Estey
LaFayette, New York

Ranch houses on the American frontier were primitive and small, oftentimes just a room or two. Most were more like shacks or cabins, just a place with a roof overhead to protect an occupant from the elements. Since many were bachelor’s quarters, they lacked a woman’s touch. Today’s bathrooms can be larger than entire bedrooms of that period (the ranch bathroom, of course, was generally a privy out back).

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Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian. His latest book is Wyatt Earp: Showdown at Tombstone.  If you have a question, write:  Ask the Marshall, P.O. Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327 or e-mail him at  marshall.trimble@scottsdalecc.edu