The old Mule Barn
Little remains of the old Mule Barn (14160 Valles Mines School Road) but its
stone foundation. This picture was taken in 1978 in the heart of Winter. The
nearby Tractor Shed (not shown) is all that remains of how things got hauled
around in the days of yore. The Missouri Mule, once legendary, has fallen from
favor along with the Cavalry and the horse-drawn cannon. However, for the
better, in 1995 the Missouri mule was designated as the official state animal.
The last mule to work on the property belonged to the late Tom Jarvis, our logger in 1986, who used a pink-nosed mule
to skid logs out of tight places in the forest and to help position the sawlogs for
easy loading onto the log trucks on the landings.
Fortunately, just as we were
getting lonely for more mules, we were visited not too long ago by
Mr. Larry French who was kind enough to bring his mule wagon and mules to visit. If you have a mule or pictures you want to share,
please let us know.