The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time ... Part VI: The Barn

"Along Came Jones" (1945): First glimpse of the Western street

This almost unnoticed peek at the Iverson Western street's Barn near the start of "Along Came Jones" marks the first appearance by any of the town's buildings in any production.

The shot is taken with the camera looking north, and along with two of the movie's stars we see Smooth Hill at top left and the Oat Mountain area along much of the top of the frame.

"Check Your Guns" (PRC, 1948): The Barn

Located out in back of the General Store, the Barn wasn't really much of a barn. It was smaller than a typical barn, just a single-story building, with a generic wooden cabin design. It wouldn't have been a great place to keep horses, although it was adjacent to a decent-sized corral — part of which is visible in the background, at right.

"Ghost Town Renegades" (1947) — the Barn (left), Cooper Rock (center) and the Sheriff's Office (right)

The Barn was set back from the street, and along with the General Store and the Sheriff's Office formed the three sides of a small dirt "plaza," seen in the foreground in the above shot. The corral is again visible out back, along with Cooper Rock and part of the Eucalyptus Grove.

"El Paso" (Paramount, 1949)

Surrounded by barrels, a lawman takes a defensive stance on the front deck of the Barn in "El Paso."

"The Hills of Utah" (1951)

Gene Autry chats up a wagon driver in the B-Western "The Hills of Utah." In the background is the Barn, at right, with a section of the General Store on the left.

"Check Your Guns"

Perennial B-Western henchman Lane Bradford, left, is just one of the bad guys working for I. Stanford Jolley, second from left, and hanging out in front of the Barn in PRC's "Check Your Guns."

"The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" (1955)

We don't often see the Barn from this angle. This shot of the building's southern face — probably its most "barn-like" profile — comes from the "Rin Tin Tin" episode "Ghost Town," which premiered April 22, 1955.

The roof of the General Store, to the north of the Barn, is seen in the background. An interesting feature of this shot is the large rock immediately south of the Barn, which was usually hidden from view.

"Along Came Jones" (1945)

Taking another look at that first appearance in "Along Came Jones," we find proof that the rock next to the Barn was in fact there all along.

"The Virginian" TV series (1963): Iverson Pond with Pond Rock and the "hidden rock"

The "hidden rock" that previously sat next to the Barn turns up again later — after the town set was torn down and the area was converted into a water feature known as Iverson Pond. This shot, taken with the camera looking north, comes from an episode of the Western series "The Virginian" called "Strangers at Sundown."

Both Pond Rock and the hidden rock are noted here. Pond Rock was just north of the General Store and the hidden rock was just south of the Barn, so these rocks are a big help in visualizing where the Western town was previously located. The street would have stretched from just to the left of Pond Rock, angling toward the camera and toward the bottom left corner of the shot.

"The Virginian": Another view of the "hidden rock"

Iverson Pond could be quite picturesque, depending on how it was filmed. Another shot from "Strangers at Sundown" looks more toward the east, with the hidden rock again a part of the idyllic setting, just below the stagecoach team. The "Virginian" episode premiered April 3, 1963 — the same year this section of the location ranch was sold off to be developed into a mobile home park.

"The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time" is a series of posts on the movie and TV history of each of the major structures making up Iverson's town set, which stood from 1944 to 1957 and appeared in hundreds of productions.



To see all of the posts in the series on the Iverson Western street, please click on the following links:

Part I: Casa Grande
Part II: The Livery Stable
Part III: The Saloon
Part IV: The Hotel
Part V: The General Store 
Part VI: The Barn
Part VII: The Sheriff's Office
Part VIII: The North and South Adobes
Part IX: The Lost Dutchman
Part X: The original north end of town
Part XI: The North and South Towers
Part XII: The Harness Maker
Part XIII: Rainbow Mine Co. 
Part XIV: The Church/Schoolhouse  
Part XV: The Corral Rocks Shack
Part XVI: The decline and fall of the Western street