1733 Ranch House - Kearney, NE - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

At 4.8 m. US 30 passes the former 1733 RANCH HOUSE, now a roadhouse with an electric sign, “1733.” At one time there was a marker on the section line at this point reading, “1733 miles to San Francisco, 1733 miles to Boston”; hence the name of the farm. The original 1733 Ranch, which contained eight thousand acres, has been broken up into many smaller farms since the death of its owner, H. D. Watson, who was the first promoter of alfalfa as a Nebraska crop.

The Oregon Trail: The Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean (1939) – Page 71

---

Despite the historical significance of successfully introducing alfalfa to this part of Nebraska, the Watson Ranch gained considerable popularity due to its location. In 1917, the Watson Ranch was renamed to the 1733 Ranch due to its unique location of being 1,733 miles west of Boston and 1,733 miles east of San Francisco. Although now gone, a Nebraska Historical Marker has been erected to this highlight this unique and historical site.

The historical marker reads as follows:

THE WATSON RANCH

In 1888, H. D. Watson established the historic Watson Ranch, at one time containing 8,000 acres, reaching from the fertile Platte Valley on the south to the rolling hills on the north and from downtown Kearney to a point five miles west.

During its existence, the ranching operations were devoted to grains, poultry, vegetables, and a 250-acre fruit orchard primarily of cherry, plum, and apple trees. Watson planted thousands of other trees of numerous varieties.

Resembling a huge experiment station, the ranch included such crops as wheat, rye, barley, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, squash, and asparagus. In the 1890's, Watson introduced alfalfa into the Platte Valley. In part to demonstrate the value of alfalfa as a feed, Watson constructed a dairy barn in 1900. Standing 650 feet northwest of this sign, it measured 500 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 56 feet high. Attached to an immense silo, it contained stanchions for 400 cows, huge hay lofts, and wagon and machinery storage.

Because it was located 1,733 miles from both Boston and San Francisco, it later became known as the "1733 Ranch," and the huge barn remained a landmark until it was torn down in 1935.

Book: Oregon Trail Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 71 Year Originally Published: 1939

Visit Instructions:
To log a Visit, please supply an original image of the Waymark.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   05/02/2014 merlot visited it 07/28/2013 kb0rpw visited it

View all visits/logs