Grant's Farm

Today's tourist adventure is to one of my favorite places to go as a kid, Grant's Farm, the 281-acre ancestral home of the Busch family. Almost a century ago, August A. Busch Jr.'s father purchased a piece of Missouri farmland once plowed and planted by our 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant, in the 1850s. Mr. Busch's love of animals and the desire to share that love with people of all ages inspired him to open his home, Grant's Farm, to the public in 1954. Today the Farm is home to more than 1,000 animals representing more than 100 different species from six continents. Admission to the Farm is free though there is a small charge for parking.

Upon arrival, our first stop was at the Clydesdale Stables, where we're told up to 15 foals are born each year. Grant's Farm is one of the breeding operations for the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, and we were privileged to see a 6 week old foal up close on our visit. I guess even baby horses get tired cause after a bit, he laid down on the cool grass. To give you an idea of just how big the fully grown Clydesdales are, this plaque on the wall kind of puts it into perspective, doesn't it? And Russ enjoyed petting one of the other Clydesdales in spite of the warning sign that they may bite!

After visiting the Clydesdales, we boarded a tram which took us through Deer Park, home to a variety of exotic and some not so exotic animal species from around the world, including bison, Black Buck Antelope, Red Deer, zebra, and much more. The wildlife are free to roam throughout this natural setting.

On the tour we also passed the four-room, two-story cabin built by Ulysses S. Grant in 1855, which was completed in 3 days with the help of friends. The cabin remains today as the only structure hand built by an American president. Also, the fence across from the cabin was constructed from 2,563 rifle barrels as a Civil War memorial. I took several pictures of the house and fence while on the tram, but this one I took after we left the Farm from the other side of the fence gives you a better look at both.

After the tram ride, we were let off near the baby goats which you can hand feed for a small fee. As a kid, I remember doing this and even remember one of them gently headbutting my mom in the backside once! Guess he felt he wasn't getting enough food! We walked around for awhile and saw kangaroos, tortoises, camels, eagles, parrots, llamas, and many other animals close up....some a little too close!! We even caught one little kangaroo napping and catching some rays.

Having seen nearly all the animals, it was time to head to the Bauernhof for some lunch. Built in 1913, the Bauernhof was the first building constructed on the Busch family estate. Bauernhof is German for "farmstead." The Bauernhof surrounds a beautiful courtyard and is typical of a 19th century Bavarian farm complete with stables, a carriage house, and offices and quarters for those who lived and worked there. Today, the Busch family's carriage collection and stables are housed here. We stopped at the Braut Haus for a couple bratwursts with sauerkraut and German potato salad and ate out in the courtyard enjoying the old world surroundings. After eating, we meandered through the little shops and lo and behold guess what we found?! An Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Room!! We had no idea this was here! Just like at the brewery, guests over 21 are welcome to sample Anheuser-Busch products! Russ actually tried a wheat beer and said it a little too thick for his tastes, but the beer I had from the Netherlands wasn't too bad.

As we were leaving the Farm, we drove over to the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site across the street. We have a National Park Passport booklet and wanted to get it "stamped" with this location. While there we watched a brief documentary on this site known as White Haven. It was originally the summer home of President Grant's inlaws but eventually became their permanent residence, and is one of the oldest homes in the St. Louis area. For a period of time after his marriage to Julia Dent, Ulysses Grant farmed the land at White Haven and worked side-by-side with the slaves in the fields. However in 1859, he was forced to abandon farming due to the Civil War. After the war, his responsibilities as general and then president kept him in Washington, D.C., but he still managed to oversee the care of White Haven. Grant retained ownership of the property until a few months before his death in 1885, but was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.