The Longhorn Ranch Motel sign that once stood on Route 66 near Moriarty, New Mexico, recently resurfaced 150 miles to the east in Tucumcari.
William Cooke posted on Facebook a few days ago:
The Longhorn Ranch Motel sign is at its new home at 1010 East Route 66, Tucumcari New Mexico. . Originally built as “Circle S Ranch Court (Motel)” later becoming The “Relax Inn”. Since the original Circle S sign is gone, AND the neon amazing sign is gone and we have acquired the Longhorn Ranch Motel sign it seems only fair when the Motel is ready to open that we open as The “Longhorn Ranch Motel”.
Cooke and Robert Moore Jr. posted in May 2024 that they had acquired and taken down the sign, which stood for decades at the now-demolished Longhorn Ranch Hotel.
Its site is now the location of the Longhorn Ranch RV Park and Horse Hotel.
According to Route 66 Times, W.A. “Bill” Ehret opened the original Longhorn Ranch in 1940. By the late 1940s, he expanded the business to include a log building housing an 1860s-style saloon and his Museum of the Old West.
The complex closed about 10 years ago after going through several owners and iterations.
The Circle S Ranch Court opened along Route 66 in Tucumcari in the late 1940s, according to Route 66 Times. It later became the Relax Inn, and it closed circa 2012.
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