Hall Ranch: Installment II

When homesteaders abandoned their claims and moved on, it was common for them to turn loose their horses, and, at the time Charlie Hall came to North Gage Road, 50-60 wild horses roamed his property. At first, he worked to run them away but finally turned his rodeo talents to advantage. He rounded up a number of the animals, trained them, and kept one for himself. He also sold horse hair for stuffing furniture, and given his frugal, enterprising nature, who knows but that some local sausage was made from Charlie Hall horsemeat?

The Wild Horse Pen

The tall pole in the foreground is where wild horses were roped while learning better horse manners.

In the background of this painting are many of the ranch's sheep sheds. In one Spring storm he lost 300-400 sheep, so Rancher Hall built these to protect his stock. Pregnant ewes were caged and transported from the open range into the shacks until the lambs were safely born and old enough to fend for themselves.

Sheep Shearing Pen

For shearing, Hall's 2000 sheep were run through an alley way, while the shearer waited inside with his generator-powered shears. That man was paid by the pound of wool cut, so time was of the essence. Ranch hands tromped the wool into sacks to compress the contents. When fully loaded these weighed 600-700 pounds, were stitched shut, and then rolled to the truck. Inside the Sweat Shed, 800 sheared sheep could be kept warm.

Charlie Hall's Garage – or Shop

Some sources held that Mr. Hall kept Lincoln's, others were certain he preferred Buick's. There was also debate over whether this building functioned as his shop or garage, but what signifies is the story of his love for his vehicles. His pride and joy were his automobile, and although he lived on a gumbo mess of a road – which, decades later is still a gumbo mess - and rarely could drive it anywhere important, he replaced it every couple of years. At those times there was a ranch hand that always bought the used version. When Charlie Hall was laid to rest, both his usual salesman and his usual buyer numbered among the pallbearers.