KLINEBURGER BROTHERS

By the time the Sweens closed their farm, the High Lonesome Ranch was in full swing several miles away. Chris Klineburger bought 50 acres along and just east of 244th Avenue NE, by Allen Lake, in 1960. He also built a "frontier town" to provide people with a taste of the West. Frontier Town and the ranch consisted of the Lavender Horse Saloon, a bunkhouse, a working blacksmith shop, a smokehouse, a meat processing area and lots of horses.

Klineburger established the High Lonesome Riders club at his ranch in 1965. The club offered all kinds of trail rides that were tailored to a range of skill levels, including long and challenging pack trips. The club had 99 members and 120 horses just a year after its inception, reflecting the popularity of this type of recreation.

Klineburger and his brothers, Gene and Bert, also operated a well-known taxidermy studio in Seattle, and booked hunting trips worldwide. Their clients included singer/cowboy Roy Rogers, astronaut Wally Schirra, and Texas politician John Connally. The ranch thrived into the 1970s, but by the 1980s its heyday had passed.

More information on the Klinberger Brothers can be downloaded here. (PDF)