Rancho del Cielo
Ronald Reagan's Ranch in Santa Barbara, California
Rancho del Cielo is to Ronald Reagan what Monticello is to Thomas Jefferson, and Mount Vernon is to George Washington. Reagan was a Westerner at heart, and the ranch is where he felt most at home. Straddling a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Valley in California, Rancho del Cielo served as the Western White House from 1981 to 1989. The 688-acre ranch was the 40th president's escape from public life -- but like Monticello and Mount Vernon, it was also a getaway where much business was conducted by the president, especially when such distinguished guests as Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Brian Mulroney were visiting.
Photos and text © Gleaves Whitney 2004
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Historian Lee Edwards, who has written a biography of Ronald Reagan, takes in the view of the Pacific from the ridgetop of Rancho del Cielo.
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Lake Lucky is a few paces from the ranch house.
The Reagans had a canoe called Tru Luv that they enjoyed taking out on the lake. -
The other great view from Lookout Mountain is toward the Pacific Ocean to the south.
Reagan loved the view from Lookout Mountain and would often ride his horse there to take in the scenery. He said, "You can watch boats cruising across the Santa Barbara Channel, then turn your head and see the Santa Ynez Valley unfold like a huge wilderness amphitheater before your eyes." [Hannaford, Reagan and His Ranch, p. 72.] -
Left, a University of Michigan student takes in the view at the entrance of Rancho del Cielo.
The gate to the ranch is at an elevation of 2240 feet above sea level. The land, in the Santa Ynez Mountains, was once part of a Spanish land concession given to a soldier named Jose Francisco de Ortega, who settled here in 1794.
For Ronald and Nancy Reagan, it was love at first sight -- for the ranch, that is. The president said, "From the first day we saw it, Rancho del Cielo cast a spell over us. No place before or since has given Nancy and me the joy and serenity it does."
On November 13, 1974, Ronald and Nancy Reagan bought the 688-acre Tip Top Ranch and renamed it Rancho del Cielo, which in Spanish means "Sky Ranch." Reagan was serving out his last weeks as governor of California, a position he had held for eight years. It was his refuge as he prepared to run for president in 1976 and 1980. -
Gleaves Whitney at the famous Tax Cut Table at Rancho del Cielo, in March 2004. The pigskin-covered table and chairs are designed in the Mexican equipal style (bark tethered to bark). The table became famous on a foggy August morning in 1981, when a photographer captured Reagan signing his famous tax cut legislation. The president also delivered a number of Saturday radio addresses at the table.
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President Reagan rang this old railroad bell outside the tack barn at about 9 every morning. It signaled to Nancy that he had finished his "Washington homework," so they could take their daily horseback ride together.
After the ride, Nancy would prepare lunch. Then she would ring the bell, summoning Ronnie to take a break from his ranch chores. (Chores is perhaps not the best word -- Reagan cleared brush and built fences for relaxation.) -
This sign, so typical of Ronald Reagan's arch wit, is at the entrance of the ranch house.
The coat of arms reflects the pride Reagan took in his Irish heritage. -
Steve Malone next to the Tax Cut Table taking a photograph.