Nearly 100 years ago on the outskirts of Apple Valley, Murray’s Dude Ranch was at the peak of its popularity as the first Black-owned dude ranch, hosting A-List celebrities while also serving as one of the only integrated vacation destinations in the nation.
Victor Valley Museum is celebrating inclusivity, diversity and culture for Black History Month through their Murray’s Dude Ranch exhibit.
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The history of Murray’s Dude Ranch dates back to when Nolie Murray, a Black businessman from Los Angeles, and his wife, Lela, decided to buy the property for $100 in 1926. The property was a former working cattle ranch near Apple Valley at the intersection of Waalew and Bell Mountain Roads.
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Dude ranches, also known as guest ranches, were popular in the early 20th Century for people looking to get away from city life and enjoy a stay in rural parts of the United States.
Nowadays, use of the word “dude” is common, but nearly 100 years ago it was used as a slang term by people living in rural areas to describe people living in urban areas.
In the early 20th Century a lot of property owners, mainly former cattle farmers, would open up their properties for urbanites to go and spend a few days away from the city.
After the Murrays bought the property, they tried to farm chickens and used the space to house underprivileged children.
“They decided to make it a chicken ranch for themselves, but they always had aspirations to have an African American boys town for Black, underprivileged children,” said Tiffany Talavera, Victor Valley Museum's associate curator.
It wasn’t until the 1930s, in an attempt to pick up business on the ranch that the Murrays decided to open the nation’s first Black-owned dude ranch to the public, with integrated staff and visitors.
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“This was the only place in the county, as well as the country, where people could go and vacation together. It was a safe haven,” Talavera said.
For nearly 20 years, Murray’s Dude Ranch operated with a baseball diamond, tennis courts, horse riding stables, a pool and cottage houses for all guests to use.
The Murrays' ranch soon became a favorite vacation spot for many African Americans at the height of widespread segregation practices across the nation that limited access to recreational facilities for people of color for much of the early 20th Century.
“It was nice for people of color to go and have a vacation spot and enjoy nature while not having to worry about being turned away or violating the law, “ Talavera said.
While the ranch was originally known for hosting guests, it garnered more attention through hosting and sponsoring rodeos on the property.
“They were sponsoring rodeos and asking famous people to go up and join in,” Talavera said.
The rodeos helped garner the attention of some of Hollywood’s stars of yesteryear to the ranch.
The ranch’s popularity drastically increased in 1937 after Life Magazine featured former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis staying at the ranch during one of the famous rodeos. Louis would become a regular visitor of the ranch, even training at the ranch for two weeks before defending his title against Jack Roper in 1939.
Louis went on to win against Roper via knockout, securing his sixth title defense.
Murray’s Dude Ranch also served as the filming location of several Black Westerns starring actor and songwriter Herbert Jefferies, including “The Bronze Buckaroo” and “Harlem Rides The Range” which were both released in 1939.
The ranch would remain popular through the '40s, but at the end of the decade the course of the Murrays involvement with the ranch would change the direction of the business.
“Lela died in 1949 and Nolie still ran the ranch,” Talavera said. “By 1955, he ended up selling the ranch to Pearl Bailey, who was a famous Black singer.”
Bailey and her husband, Louie Bellson tried to modernize the ranch and operate it more like a hotel rather than a dude ranch. Nolie would remain on the ranch until his death in 1958 and soon after the property was sold again in the mid-'60s.
The property sat vacantly and eventually would become infested with brown recluse spiders, leading to the Apple Valley Fire Department burning the original buildings down as part of a training exercise in 1988.
Victor Valley Museum is located at 11873 Apple Valley Road in Apple Valley.
The history of Murray's Dude Ranch dates to when Nolie Murray, a Black businessman from Los Angeles, and his wife, Lela, decided to convert the former working cattle ranch, at the intersection of Waalew and Bell Mountain Roads, into the nation's first Black-owned dude ranch.
The oldest dude ranch in America began way back in 1879 when three brothers, Howard, Willis, and Alden Eaton established their horse and cattle ranch near Medora, North Dakota.
Back then, a “dude” was an urbanite.It's what western cattle ranchers, a.k.a. cowboys, called big-shot city slickers. When city dwellers from the East Coast discovered that ranch visits in the wide open West made for great vacations, ranches started hosting them – and eventually charging them for their stays.
While horseback riding is their main activity, you can also enjoy fishing in one of two fully stocked trout ponds, swimming in the heated pool, dancing, karaoke, horse-drawn wagon rides, rodeo games, archery, skeet shooting, cookouts on the trail, golf at premier local golf courses, and access to some of the most ...
Murray's Ranch, sometimes called the Overall Wearing Dude Ranch, was a guest ranch in Bell Mountain, California from the 1920s until the 1960s. The ranch was located at the northwest corner of Waalew Road and Dale Evans Parkway in Apple Valley, just outside the city limits of Victorville.
King Ranch, largest ranch in the United States, composed of a group of four tracts of land in southeastern Texas, totaling approximately 825,000 acres (333,800 hectares).
Your payment for a dude ranch vacation is typically inclusive of lodging, meals, and all ranching activities. On a guest ranch, you usually need to pay extra for activities like riding, hunting, and fishing.
Some ranches also offer “Kids Stay Free” and even “Grandparents Stay Free” weeks; so if you plan your trip right, you can save even more. Dude ranches offer stays from a long weekend to as many days as you want, although most families opt for a 7-day dude ranch vacation.
As you pull out your suitcase, don't be afraid to pack classic western attire, as it will be normal for the ranch. You'll fit right in with Kimes Ranch Denim Jeans, cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, and pearl snapped button-up shirts.
The meals & included activities are a primary reason for escalated rates (but note, dude ranch rates are often lower than other traditional vacation industries (cruise lines, beach trips) when accounting for secondary activity fees paid out-of-pocket. Children typically receive discounted rates at dude ranches.
Dude ranches know how to cater to big appetites and many grow their own organic produce. Dude ranch dining may include mouthwatering BBQs and campfire s'mores are often menu mainstays that add to the fun and allure of the Great Wild West.
The average tip is between 15% and 20% of the package price before taxes and fees. Some guests prefer to hand out tips to staff and others ask us to distribute their tip either specifying how much they would like each staff member to receive or asking us to split it among all staff.
The history of Murray's Dude Ranch dates back to when Nolie Murray, a Black businessman from Los Angeles, and his wife, Lela, decided to buy the property for $100 in 1926. The property was a former working cattle ranch near Apple Valley at the intersection of Waalew and Bell Mountain Roads.
Wayne owned the property again in the 1970s, Realtor.com reported. The Riverside County ranch sits on a whopping 2,000 acres in the small community of Sage, about a 20-minute drive from Temecula wine country and two hours from downtown Los Angeles.
The oldest dude ranch in America began way back in 1879 when three brothers, Howard, Willis, and Alden Eaton established their horse and cattle ranch near Medora, North Dakota.
This oldest ranch in the U.S. is also known as the birthplace of the American Cowboy. With a history that dates all the way back to 1658, Deep Hollow Ranch is considered to be not only New York's oldest, but also America's oldest working ranch.
Hey Dude was videotaped on location at the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. The show was produced by Cinetel Productions. Casting began in 1988 with local auditions held in Tucson.
Cherokee Park Ranch - Livermore, Colorado. One of Colorado's first guest ranches, Cherokee Park Ranch was once a stagecoach stop between Fort Collins, Colorado, and Laramie, Wyoming. Today, guests enjoy a range of all-inclusive activities, from horseback riding and fishing to art classes and square dancing.
"Dude Ranch" was filmed between August 17 and August 19, 2011, on location in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Other cities that were under consideration were Tucson, Arizona and Bozeman, Montana.
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