Feature Story

Gretchen Sammis, left, and ranch foreman Ruby Gobble exchange greetings with their canine friends on the porch of the Chase Ranch outside Cimarron, N.M.

Frontier Classic

After enduring nearly 130 years of rough-and-tumble western history, the Chase Ranch house wears its age with spellbinding beauty

STORY Sharon Niederman
PHOTOGRAPHY Jack Kotz

Continued from the Su Casa's home page...

Kit Carson once had a cabin down the way from the house and while Lew Wallace was governor of New Mexico, he wrote the last four chapters of his classic, “Ben Hur,” under an apple tree on the croquet lawn. Still in the family and still a working operation, the Chase Ranch is now owned and operated by Gretchen Sammis, great-granddaughter of Theresa and Manley. Sammis has lovingly preserved the house as authentically as possible, from its stamped tin ceilings to its pine plank floors. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, dozens of friends gather to share holiday dinner in the dining room around the long, golden-bronze cherrywood table that belonged to Maxwell. The crystal chandelier above the table was originally a gas fixture, and the silver pieces, fine china, cut glass, and brass candlesticks have been in the family for generations.
Antique furniture maintains the historical atmosphere at the ranch.

The Home Comfort woodstove still heats the kitchen and occasionally boils the kettle, too. living room

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