While the typical hotel in north Georgia may provide comfortable shelter and convenient logistics for travelers, Seventy-four Ranch in Pickens County, Georgia is a unique bed and breakfast and working ranch that offers Western culture; horseback riding and lessons; hiking and fishing; cattle-roping lessons, plus comfortable rooms and bunkhouse cabins if you have little buckaroos. The Seventy-four Ranch is a step back in time but with every modern convenience including free WiFi for the more corporate-centered or internet-addicted guests. You say that you can’t bear to leave the pooch behind… that’s okay, pets are welcome guests here, they can sleep in the your cabin and the huge yard surrounding the ranch is secured by a mesh fence extending two-feet underground. Have your own horse? No problem; bring it, or ride one of the handsome steeds at the ranch. With over fifty acres of Seventy-four property and over a hundred acres to ride, there is room for the WHOLE family.
If the authentic western-style ranch with its splendid cowboy motif; hundreds of interesting antiques; many dozens of horses, cows and bulls; four comfortable cabins and main-house guest rooms aren’t enough to sway one from spending a few boring nights at a generic hotel, the location is close to Carters Lake, Amicalola Falls and many other not-so-western local Appalachian wonders.
When I arrived at the Butler-Cape House, not Larry Butler but a large tail-wagging golden retriever met me at an arched wooden fence-gate. After I let myself in, I felt a slight tug at my coat sleeve; the animal had gently clamped his teeth on my leather sleeve and was leading me to the front porch. My friendly escort did not release the sleeve until we were 30-yards across the front yard standing on the steps of a quaint spindled veranda that spans approximately three-quarters of the rustic 19th-century ranch house. Giant hanging ferns swaying in a cool breeze, comfy rocking chairs and a couple more “porch hounds” lent a laid-back flavor to my first impressions of Larry Butler and Pam Martin-Butler’s slice of western paradise located right here in Pickens County at 9205 Highway 53 West.
Standing like eternal sentinels at either end of the large bed-and-breakfast ranch house are the chimneys of two original fireplaces. The tall mortar and stone appendixes are now internally reinforced with metal flues because Butler is sensitive to safety issues, but otherwise appear as they did when the house was built.
A few days before our interview, I learned that Pam Martin, the enduring, ever-popular news anchor for WSBTV Channel 2 in Atlanta, was scheduled to have minor out-patient surgery on this day. Naturally, I was somewhat surprised when she answered the door and led me into the dining room where Larry, she and a business associate had been chatting. Larry Butler - attorney, rancher and cowboy - was on the phone, so Pam and I talked about the house. The dining room was left out of the restoration process and still bears the green pastel paint that is the hundred-year-old work of one of the Cape daughters. The downstairs wood wall and ceiling planks are of the original construction, as are the wood floors and fireplaces. The somewhat large country kitchen is also original except for appliances and is used to prepare meals for guests.
“The entire first floor is constructed of original building materials, original to this house,” said Pam. Larry Butler puts it another way: “We did not renovate, we restored the place, which is kind of the same thing except it costs ten times more.”
The ancient wood floor flexes slightly beneath one’s feet. Not to worry though, since the house has a history spanning 150 years, it isn’t likely to collapse. A warm fire in the old fireplace and the unique western motif of the living room add to the unique charm of the old house. The ranch branding iron and a “running iron”, the latter used to change brands on cattle one-and-a-half centuries ago, hang from the mantle. Simply posessing a running iron was punishable by hanging in the Old West, according to Butler. Above the mantel is an 1876 authentic buffalo skull. Pam and Larry blended their huge and roughly equal collections of various Western décor when they bought the Butler-Cape House.
Equally charming are the four rustic guest cabins. I found the Porch Cabin, with its open beam construction and Western art simply fascinating. Butler said a typical organic breakfast at the ranch includes Peaches-n’-Pecan Waffles with Natural Bacon and plenty of strong coffee. Next to the barn where guest’s horses are stalled is the 1832 Cabin, an authentically rustic treat for adventurous cowboys and cowgirls. A simple bunkhouse, it offers a realistic glimpse into the rugged life of the typical 1800s cowboy or ranch-hand, but with WiFi connection to the Internet blogosphere and a nurturing ranch staff to serve you - a far cry from breaking horses and mending fences twelve hours a day like the hired hands.
Upstairs in the main house are two conventional and very comfortable rooms with tongue-and-groove walls and ceilings reserved for less adventurous guests. However the Blue Room and Hobart’s Room, while convenient to the cozy living room and country kitchen downstairs, are rumored to be haunted. According to Butler, there were three murders committed at the Butler-Cape House. In 1924, Levi, a mean, drunken Cape brother stoned on moonshine, killed his tea-totaler brother Hobart for pouring out some of his caustic brew. Lee Cape, the father, went out to his Model -T pick-up to get his gun but was also shot by Levi. Hobart died in his mother’s arms as she held him where he collapsed on the back steps.
It is reported that doors open for a few seconds and close by themselves upstairs, and cameras don’t always work properly inside the brother’s rooms. Though the cameras later work normally, odd images and reflections can be seen in photos attempted upstairs. Ghostly phenomenon? You decide....
The father, Lee Cape, who was a federal prohibition law enforcement officer and survived the shooting by his son Levi was murdered by local moonshiners in 1927. They dismembered the body to derange the evidence and scattered its parts along winding Appalachian roads. The law followed the blood trail which would pool up whenever the killers stopped to hide a body part and eventually arrested the murderous ‘shiners. After the body parts were collected, Lee Cape’s wake was held at the Cape House.
Levi was released from prison for the funeral, however he came disquised as a "tall homely woman with a bonnet" because of the illegality of his attendance. Larry Butler, who has conducted extensive research on the Cape family, shows curious guests the patched hole in a wall from an errant shotgun blast issued during the killing of Hobart.
The third murder was that of Waldo Cape, the third brother. Some claim that Waldo drank more shine after his brother and father were murdered and Levi incarsonated. Anyway, Butler says that Waldo got into an argument with “old man Barnes,” a Hinton neighbor, and was murdered on his way home. Ed Barnes, the elder Barnes' son, was tried and acquitted of that murder, the third of a Cape family member.
I recommend signing on at the Seventy-four Ranch bed-and-breakfast when you are traveling through north Georgia. It is a place where your entire outfit is welcome.
Remember, if your mustang has eight cylinders but no shoes, you can ride the range atop one of the many healthy, well-trained ponies at the ranch. For those interested in learning more about experiencing Old West culture right here in the Appalachian Mountains, click on the video or link to the ranch from my site, or call 706 692-0123 and schedule a round up.
.jpg)
Comment
RSS
Email
Print
