DVD capture

Contributed photo

Travel Directions:
Follow Hwy 9 (also known as Township Road 282) 6.5 km east of Beiseker to Range Road 252 (watch for the brown “Grande Ole West Villa Ranch” sign). Turn right (south) onto Range Road 252, go 1.6 km. The ranch is behind the overgrown thicket on the east (left) side of the road.

Remarks:
The Twist Ranch house was probably constructed in the 1930s or ’40s. It was occupied by the Elmer C. Esslinger family until it was sold in the late 1960s to a nearby farming family.

The house was furnished in fine oak pieces and had the feel of a “prairie mansion.” In addition to the first floor dining room and kitchen featured in the film, there is a large front parlor, a study, and a sewing room. There are four bedrooms upstairs, all similar in size. The house has an unfinished basement, as well.

A neighbor recalls a grandmother Esslinger and two “bachelor” sons, Bill and John. Mrs. Esslinger went to church with neighbors every Sunday. The sons rolled their own cigarettes. There was also a niece, who had a small child.

After the Esslingers sold the house it had a succession of tenants, mostly farm workers. The house fell into ruin during the 1970s.

Important:
Always obtain appropriate permission before entering private property. Those planning to enter should bring flashlights and be cautious of loose or missing floorboards and railings. The building has been the subject of pilferage and vandalism. Please leave all that you find intact out of respect for the history, both real and fictional, of this powerful place.

Quotation:
“A rather thin woman—probably sixty to sixty-five—comes out the door and on to the front porch that stretches across the front of a tiny windbeaten house ...” [1]

[1] Brokeback Mountain - Story to Screenplay by Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana (Scribner) ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-9416-4, page 89.