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Longhorn Ranch

South Frontage Rd., I-40 Exit 203, Moriarty, NM
Phone:

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There's not much left to see of the old Longhorn Ranch and Museum of the Old West on old Route 66 south of I-40 at exit 203 except a very weathered sign and ruins of buildings. Captain W. A. "Bill" Ehret left the New Mexico State Police in the late November 1939 and by mid-December 1940 he had built and opened the original Longhorn Ranch here.

By the late-40s he had expanded the business to include a log building housing an 1860s style Saloon and his Museum of the Old West. For 25 cents tourist could get a short ride on the 1800s Concord stagecoach hitched to a team of four horses. He also kept a Longhorn Steer with horns that spanned 7 feet stabled behind the museum.

The Back Bar in the Old West Saloon was 37 feet long and 13 feet tall and came from the 1860s White Elephant Saloon and Gambling Hall in Albuquerque. Ehret bought the Back Bar in 1948 and had installed by 1949.

He sold the business and property in 1955 for something like $500,000.00, including 10,000 acres and the Longhorn Motel and a service station his son owned across the road.

Across the road, on the north side of old 66, the 15 unit Longhorn Ranch Motel was probably built in the early 50s. This is a 2013 photo, sometime between an and 2021 the center section of the motel burned down.

A large neon motel sign for the motel stands at the edge of the parking lot.

This was Merv Gemmer's El Vaquero Restaurant in the 1980s. He bought the property in 1981 and ran the restaurant and motel as well as a CB sales and repair shop here at least into the early 2000s. According to newspaper articles it was a pretty popular spot with both locals and truckers. A restaurant occupied the building when we snapped this photo in 2013. A tattered and torn hand lettered signs listed the mileage to other places along Route 66, like other such signs frequently seen along the Mother Road.

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Vintage Advertising Highlights

(Front)
Longhorn Ranch, 48 Miles East of Albuquerque, N.M., on Highway 66

(Back)
The Longhorn Ranch is a meeting place and has every accommodation for the tourist and traveling public. Cafe, Curios, Liquor, Gas and Oil. Complete service in one stop.

THE LONGHORN RANCH
48 Miles East of Albuquerque
on Highway 66
PO Moriarty, N. M.
Cafe - Curios - Gasoline and Oil
CAPT. and MRS. W. A. (BILL) EHRET

NEW MEXICO MUSEUM AND GHOST TOWN OF THE OLD WEST
A revival of the Old West amid a setting of modern conveniences
The Longhorn Ranch
On Highway 66
Restaurants - Garage _ Gasoline and Oil
Curios - Indian Trading Post
45 Miles East of Albuquerque
70 Miles West of Santa Rosa
Post Office - Moriarty, New Mexico
Capt. and Mrs. W. A. (Bill) Ehret

LONGHORN RANCH
COCKTAIL LOUNGE
45 Miles East of Albuquerque
on U.S. Highway 66 ... East
Enjoy Your Favorite Drink in our Air-conditioned Bar ... The Finest Western Bar on U.S. Highway 66 ... The Walls are a regular Art Gallery of the West's Most Famous Gun Lingers ... Don't Miss Seeing This at the
(logo) Longhorn Ranch (logo)

Longhorn Ranch Motel
45 Miles East of Albuquerque
On Highway 66
or 70 Miles West of Santa Rosa, New Mexico
15 Units - Air Cooled by Nature - Sleep under cover every night - Carpet & Tile Floors - Tub & Shower Baths - Steam Heat - Rubber Foam Mattresses. Cafe across Highway with one of the finest Dining Rooms and Cocktail Lounges on Highway 66.
(Post Office - Moriarty, New Mexico)

1860 SALOON
At Longhorn Ranch
40 Miles East of Albuquerque
on Route 66

NOTE: These postcards show the dramatic changes at the Longhorn Ranch over the years. The cars in the first two postcards appear to be from the 1940s. Plenty of signs painted on the buildings to let the passing traveler know what to expect here.
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Photo(s): 2013