Our style of preparing food is essentially the same as that in your home. It is cooking with simple ingredients, always the best available. There is a certain satisfaction felt when picking fresh herbs grown in our herb garden and minutes later finishing a dish with those same herbs. Our meat is carefully selected and individually cut on the premises. The seafood you enjoy this evening will be the very freshest available. It would be our pleasure to meet your dietary needs as all of our food is prepared personally, with pride.
Glenn & Katie Victor, Proprietors
State Liquor Licensee
Wine Cellar
Gourmet Appetizers, Entrees & Desserts
Reservations recommended~ 102 Years of History ~
The historic Grand Old Ranch House has been a Moab landmark almost since the community was settled. It was completed in 1896 -- the year Utah gained statehood. It has been recognized by being placed on the National Register of Historic Places -- one of only a few such sites in Grand County.
The Story:Constructed of the lofty two-story home was completed after two years of painstaking construction by its owners, Arthur and Sena Taylor, who brought their family and large numbers of sheep and cattle into Southeastern Utah in the late 1800s.
The bricks used in the Taylor Homestead were made in Moab of native clay. Painting was done by the Carter Brothers of Provo, Utah, who mixed the paint from pigments obtained locally.
Arthur Taylor and his family saw a lot of early history pass their front door, since the home was located on the wagon road leading from Moab to the Colorado River ferryboat crossing. The home became a popular stopping place for all types of travelers, from well-known lawmen and politicians to noted outlaws.
Members of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch reportedly visited the ranch on occasion, and once even traded tired horses for fresh mounts.
Lydia Taylor Skewes, who died in 1985, one month before her 100th birthday, moved into the house as a young girl and told many interesting tales about the house and her happy years here. A poplar tree, planted by Lydia and her two sisters, still survives in the front yard of the homestead.
Following the sale of the Taylor Ranch, the home was occupied by the family of John E. Brown. Brown had a son-in-law with whom he was on the worst possible terms. One night the two confronted each other at a local dance. An argument ensued and the son-in-law left the dance, pulled a picket out of a nearby fence and came back into the dance hall to challenge his father-in-law. Brown left the hall, went home and got a gun and stopped his daughter and son in-law in their buggy on their way home from the dance. As Brown fired the weapon at his son-in-law, his daughter stepped in front of her husband, and the bullet killed them both.
To escape the law, Brown fled to his house and holed up on the second floor where he had a clear view of anyone approaching by road. Keeping the law at bay, he refused to be taken in for several days. Finally, he was talked into surrendering by pioneer newspaper editor, L.L. "Bish" Taylor, a son of the builder of the home and who, incidentally, was born at the Homestead. Lawyer's fees, appeals, etc., finally brought financial ruin to Brown and he was forced to sell the Homestead in 1922.
A succession of owners occupied the Homestead following that date, including the Dale Parriott family, Robert Bradford family and others until it was purchased in the 1940s by the Great Lakes Carbon Corp., headed by millionaire George Skakel. George's brother, Jim, and his family then moved to Moab to
occupy the house and farm the thousand acres of land across the highway. Some mineral exploration work was done on the acreage at that time. Jim Skakel was an uncle of Ethel Kennedy, widow of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Robert and Ethel visited the Homestead while on their honeymoon.
There are a number of outbuildings on the property, most of which are part of the original Homestead. The oldest of these are made of blocks of native stone which were quarried in the hillside behind the ranch. A smokehouse, icehouse, cellar and other buildings remain and current owners of the Homestead plan to eventually restore them to their original condition.
At the rear of the property lies the floor of the old creamery. This creamery at one time supplied much of the town of Moab with dairy products. Near the home, and now attached to it, is a structure built before the two-story structure, where the family lived during the construction of the larger home. It is now attached to the house by a long kitchen that was built for the Grand Old Ranch House Restaurant.
The restaurant has been open for business since July 23, 1979 and restoration is still far from complete. Ultimately, not only the house will be restored, but also the grounds will be replanted and maintained, outbuildings incorporated into the life of the place and the old Taylor Homestead will resume its integrity in the life of Moab as a welcoming site to the visitors in this scenic and historic corner of Utah.
Thank you for your visit this evening. May you think of your evening as a pleasant one, rewarding us with your return. As you leave, please sign our guest book and pick up a free copy of the Grand Old Ranch House story. We also have available for purchase, mugs, tee shirts and wine glasses to help you remember your visit with us.
The Grand Old Ranch House Restaurant
1266 N. Hwy.191
Moab Utah 84532
(435) 259-5753Email us at oldhouse@lasal.net
Mention this web page when you call!
All contents of this page - Copyright 1997, 1998 Moab Internet.