A Random Roadside Attraction

We spent the weekend in West Virginia and I've got many images to share once I edit them down to a manageable number. For this post I'm showing a number of pictures from one single and unexpected stop along the road.

We were heading north from Marlinton on WV 39. Another car was behind us and we wanted to travel at a leisurely pace so I suggested to Frank that he pull off at a church so the other driver could pass us. It turned out that the church I spotted was abandoned with no apparent parking space so he drove a little ways down a side road until we found a small parking lot where we could turn around.

But what was this? We were seeing a facsimile of a western town, with miniature buildings and cut-out silhouettes of horses and cows and cowboys! A sign invited us to browse and another one said "Mustard Seed Ranch." So we got out and looked around! No one was there except the wooden cut-outs people.

Who built this place and why? I did not find out. There's a mention of it on an old news page as the location for some festival event but that's all I found.

I'm sharing this with Good, Random and Fun because it was all that. Also I'm linking to The Backroads Traveler and showing a better view of the (real) barn behind the "ranch" for his Barn Collective.

Here's the front door of the Huntersville Presbyterian Church, established in 1854 but now in disrepair. And below is a photo I took of the dashboard display showing the location of the little ranch so that if you find yourself the area you can stop and see it for yourself. Even though Huntersville is a small town, it's not far from Watoga State Park, Droop Mountain Battlefield, and the Greenbrier River.