Friday, July 29, 2016

Hobart Then and Now: Bracken Riding Stable

Circa 1940, and 2016.

2016-7-29. st099
2016-7-29. sort of approximately in the vicinity of the Bracken stable
(Click on images to enlarge)
Top image courtesy of Eldon Harms.


The 2016 photo is vaguely approximate. Don't start telling people that the Barrington Ridge Baptist church is on the site of the old Bracken riding stable. Of course I asked Eldon Harms when we were looking at this photo, but he could not remember the exact location of the stable — only that it was along S.R. 51, north of where the CVS store is now.

And my guess at circa 1940 is very approximate, too. The car in the photo, Eldon told me, is a 1935 Ford, so the date must be 1935 or later; something about the (unidentified) woman's hair says "World War II" to me, but that's just a vague impression.

The sign above the stable door reads:

BRACKEN
INDIAN RIDGE STABLES
SADDLE HORSES FOR HIRE
BY THE HOUR
INSTRUCTION IF DESIRED


Eldon remembered the Bracken riding trail as going along 14th Street … or maybe going before 14th Street.

6 comments:

Jennifer said...

This was my grandparents riding stables and farm, our house sat
where the CVS is now located. The barn that remains and is owned by the church
held the majority of our horses when I was a kid.

Ainsworthiana said...

I remember the house. It was still standing when I first moved out here.

William Bristol said...

My Grandmother, Dorothy E. Bracken and Emily Bracken lived in the house where the CVS is now. The small block building in the background was the refreshment stand around 1965 when it was B & R Riding Stables, which was my cousin John Bracken and Dick Raisa. Dick was on the Hobart Police Dept and lived south of the farm at the old city limits (think powerlines). The existing barn today was the riding stables and I cleaned out many a horse stall in my younger days. The old barn was gone by the time I was born and a new barn was built in its place. The new barn door was even with the end of Bracken Road/61st and we had a few drunks run into the front barn door even though it was 600' off of Rt. 51.

Ainsworthiana said...

Thank you for the information. I didn't realize how old that barn on the church property is!

Anonymous said...

The couple are my parents, Rheinhart Harms and Margaret Fowler Harms. It was taken in about 1940 or 1941. Later my dad took me to Bracken's to go riding when I was in about 3rd grade. I had never been riding and was very excited. When we got way out in the pasture, my horse turned and ran like heck for the barn. I ducked trees and held on - stopped as soon as we got there. Quite a ride for the first time! I became a good rider when I got older. Harriet

Ainsworthiana said...

Thank you for the ID!