The Cowboys Bunkhouse Past and Present

The bunkhouse was the barracks-like building that housed cowboys on the ranches of the old west. Original houses consisted of a large open room with small beds or cots for each cowboy. There was little privacy. Typically, a bunk house was usually heated by using a wood stove. As was the case for all but the extremely wealthy, indoor plumbing was not a luxury enjoyed by cowboys at this point in time. They had to use outhouses. During this time period, the bunk house was also referred to by a number of colorful names, including the dive, the doghouse, the shack, the ram pasture, or the dice house.

Modern cowboys still stay in a bunkhouse when they do not live close enough to the ranch for a feasible commute. A bunk house like this is mostly still only found on the larger ranches. Fortunately for the cowboys of today, these houses are now equipped with such comforts as central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity. Just like in the old West days, they also have a table where the cowboys can eat their meals and enjoy a game of cards. The buildings are designed for rest and relaxation between demanding ranch chores.

The traditional bunkhouse has now become a tourist attraction. Guests can visit an old bunk house from the late nineteenth century that has been preserved as a historical landmark. Travelers can even live the cowboy experience by spending their vacation on a guest ranch. Some of these ranches still have the original house that was built at the time the ranch was established. Visitors are allowed to stay in these bunkhouses, allowing them to have as authentic a frontier experience as possible in these modern times. This would make for a special vacation for history buffs that want to learn about the exhilaration of ranch life.

However, just because a bunk house is an original from the old west, that does not mean that it has not been updated. Some of the ranches that let their guests use the old bunk house have modernized them for the visitors’ comfort. With indoor plumbing being much more common and affordable than it was in the nineteenth century, private bathrooms are now a luxury that was not afforded to original cowboys. Private bedrooms are even now present in bunkhouses. The new houses also have central heating. These amenities make vacations in bunkhouses more enjoyable for present day visitors, and it is certain that cowboys of the old west would have appreciated them as well.