Prairie Chapel Ranch
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searchPresident Bush at his ranch; daughter Jenna's Wedding May 10, 2008
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted May 12, 2008 @ 08:26 AM
President calls Jenna’s wedding ‘spectacular’
Next ClosePresident Bush and his daughter, Jenna Bush, 26, pose for photos Saturday, May 10, 2008, before J...
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Jenna Bush, daughter of President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, exchanges wedding vows with Hen...
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Jenna Bush, daughter of President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, exchanges wedding vows with Hen...
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President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, pose with their daughters Jenna Bush, 26, (right), and ...
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Jenna Bush, 26, daughter of President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, poses for photos Saturday, ...
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President Bush and first lady Laura Bush (left) pose for a family photo after the wedding of thei...
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The daughter of President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, Jenna, celebrates with her new husband,...
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The daughter of President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, Jenna, celebrates Saturday, May 10, 200...
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The daughter of President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, Jenna, celebrates with her new husband,...
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In this photograph released by the White House, the daughter of President Bush and first lady Lau...
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The table setting for Henry and Jenna (Bush) Hager is shown before their wedding reception Saturd...
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Bush and his daughter, Jenna Bush, 26, pose for photos Saturday, May 10, 2008, before Jenna's wedding to Henry Hager at the Bush family's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Angela Merkel and Bush outside the main house in November 2007
Prairie Chapel Ranch is a 1583
acre (6.4 km²)
estate located seven miles (10 km) northwest of
Crawford, Texas, considered the
Western White House of President
George W. Bush.
Bush spends vacation time at the house as well as entertains dignitaries from around the world.
It derives its name from the
Prairie Chapel School which was built nearby on land donated by mid-19th century
German immigrant Heinrich Englebrecht who also owned the land that now comprises the Bush compound. Englebrecht also donated land for the nearby Canaan Baptist Church (the "Prairie Chapel").
Contents[
hide]
1 History2 House and Grounds2.1 House2.2 Other structures2.3 Grounds3 Activities3.1 Visits from foreign dignitaries4 Security considerations5 Protests6 Future of the ranch7 Gallery8 References9 External links//
[
edit] History
USGS satellite photo of the ranch before Bush built his house. The elongated objects at the top are hog barns (on Mill Road). They were demolished and the drive extended to build Bush's house. He enlarged the lake on the upper right. In the lower right are more hog barns and the original Englebrecht house which is now called the "Governor's House." All of the lower barns except one were demolished. At the top is the Middle Bosque River. Prairie Chapel Road ends at the intersection in the lower left corner and becomes Rainey Road.
Englebrecht and his heirs raised turkeys and hogs. The original Englebrecht ranch house is about 4,400 feet (1,300 m) from the main house on Rainey Road and is now called the "Governor's House" and is used to house second-tier guests. The Bushes stayed in the house during construction of the new house.
In 1999 shortly after earning a $14.3 million profit from the sale of the
Texas Rangers,
Texas Governor Bush bought the land for an estimated $1.3 million from the Englebrecht family.
Bush was to remove five large hog barns on Mill Road leading into the compound during the construction of a new house, guest house and garage.
[1][
edit] House and Grounds
[
edit] House
David Heymann, then an associate professor of architecture at the
University of Texas at Austin, designed the four-bedroom
[2] (although some reports indicate it is eight-bedrooms)
[3], 4,000 ft² (372 m²) honey-colored native
limestone single-level home with painted white galvanized
tin roof on the site. Heymann said the house was built from the less sought after portion of the local "Leuders limestone." The middle portions of the blocks of stone is a cream colored while the edges are multicolored. "We bought all this throwaway stone. It's fabulous. It's got great color and it is relatively inexpensive," Heymann said.
[4]In addition there is an open 10 foot (3 m) wide limestone porch that encircles the house. The house was built by members of a religious community from nearby
Elm Mott, Texas, and wasn't finally completed until after his inauguration because of needed accommodations for security, meeting space, etc.
[5]Laura Bush said they decided to keep a single level ranch design because "We wanted our older parents to feel comfortable here... We also want to grow old here ourselves."
[6]The passive-solar house is positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the residence.
Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet (100 m) deep in the ground. A 25,000 US gallon (151 m³) underground
cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the home.
[
edit] Other structures
In addition to the house there is a guest house and a garage in separate buildings to the southwest of the main house.
The facility includes a helicopter hangar which is used as an auditorium on the rare occasions the president himself holds a press conference at the ranch.
In 2002, the ranch was wired for what Bush described in a 2003 tour of the ranch as "real time, secure videoconferencing" to be used for his briefings from the
CIA and
Dick Cheney.
Overnight visitors stay in the main house, or its associated guest house, or the original Englebrecht farmhouse, or in a double-wide five-bedroom three-bath
mobile home, decorated in an early
Pottery Barn motif according to a staffer.
[7]News reporters, including the
White House Press Secretary, stay in hotels in Waco. Press conferences that don't involve the president are conducted in the gymnasium of Crawford Middle School, ten miles (16 km) away from the ranch. The ramshackle barn often seen behind TV correspondents during their live reports is actually a shed used by the school's groundskeepers.
[
edit] Grounds
President Bush and
Lance Armstrong on grounds in 2005
The land includes seven canyons and three miles (5 km) of frontage along
Rainey Creek and the Middle
Bosque River. In August 2001 while touring the canyons with reporters Bush noted that the
cedars in the canyons would be a good nesting ground for the endangered
golden-cheeked warbler although the warblers have not actually been seen on the compound.
[8]Bush added an 11 acre (45,000 m²) man-made pond that he stocked with 600
largemouth bass and 30,000 bait fish. There are also
bluegill and red ear sunfish. The pond has a maximum depth of 17 feet (5.2 m). In May 2006 in a question to what the best moment in his administration, Bush was quoted: "I would say the best moment was when I caught a 7 ½-pound largemouth bass on my lake."
[9]At the urging of his daughters, the President has also built a large swimming pool
[10] over the objections of Heymann who thought it would interrupt the stark views. President Bush calls it "the whining pool" — whine long enough and you get it.
[11][
edit] Activities
One of the most highly prized souvenirs from the compound is a gray Under Armour athletic shirt (retail $19.99) emblazoned with a Texas star encircled by the words The President's 100-Degree Club. In order to qualify a visitor must run 3 miles (4.8 km), or bike for 10, when the thermometer hits triple digits.
[12]President Bush uses the compound for vacations, occasional meetings, and entertaining foreign dignitaries. In the less formal setting, dress code for meetings calls for an open collar and no tie. Guests are typically treated to meals of
Southern cuisine. When not holding meetings or briefings, Bush spends his time mountain biking, jogging, fishing, bird hunting, and clearing brush.
President Bush has made clear his preference for spending time away from his official residence at the
White House in
Washington, DC. In 2001, he said, "I think it is so important for a president to spend some time away from Washington, in the heartland of America."
[13][
edit] Visits from foreign dignitaries
Putin and Bush in 2001
Visitors to the ranch have included:
Russian President
Vladimir Putin, November 2001
British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, April 2002
Saudi King
Abdullah, April 2002, April 2005
Saudi Prince
Bandar bin Sultan, August 2002
Chinese President
Jiāng Zémín, October 2002
Spanish Prime Minister
José María Aznar, February 2003
Australian Prime Minister
John Howard, May 2003
Japanese Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi, May 2003
Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi, July 2003
Mexican President
Vicente Fox, March 2004, March 2005
Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak, April 2004
Spanish King
Juan Carlos and
Queen Sofía, November 2004
Canadian Prime Minister
Paul Martin, March 2005
Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, April 2005
Colombian President
Álvaro Uribe, August 2005
German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, November 2007
[14]Danish Prime Minister
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, February 2008
[15][
edit] Security considerations
The
Federal Aviation Administration has three
nautical miles (six km)
no fly zone around the ranch full time (designated Prohibited Area 49). When President Bush is there, a Temporary Flight Restriction is issued, expanding the radius to 10 nautical miles (19 km), with lesser restrictions extending to 30 nautical miles (56 km), containing some exceptions for
Waco Regional Airport nearby.
President Bush normally flies in and out of
TSTC Waco Airport (the former Connally Air Force Base that is now owned by state technical college) on
Air Force One and is shuttled on
Marine One to the ranch.
[
edit] Protests
Protests are frequent outside the compound with one of the most prominent being
Cindy Sheehan who spent several months there protesting the
Iraq War.
[16][17] She created a
peace camp called
Camp Casey by pitching a tent by the side of Prairie Chapel Road leading to the compound in 2005 and was joined at one point by filmaker
Michael Moore. She announced her intention to stay for the full five weeks or until such a meeting was granted. She also promised that, were she not granted a second meeting, she would return to Crawford each time President Bush visited there in the future.
[18] Several cabinet members went out to talk to Sheehan, but she refused stating that she would only talk to the President himself. Toward the end of her
vigil, she said she was "very, very, very grateful" Bush did not grant her that meeting because it would have ended the momentum the
peace movement gained from the popularity of her demonstrations.
[19] Pro-Bush supporters set up an alternative Camp Reality across Prairie Chapel Road.
[20][
edit] Future of the ranch
Alberto Gonzalez and his wife with the Bushes at the ranch the day before Gonzalez resigned as
United States Attorney GeneralSpeculation about the future of the ranch has been stirred up in the location of the
George W. Bush Presidential Library with reports that the Bushes may be considering a residence in the
Dallas, Texas, area after the Presidency.
Baylor University in Waco made a bid for the library. However, on February 22, 2008 it was announced that
Southern Methodist University in the Dallas enclave of
University Park, Texas, would house the
George W. Bush Presidential Library.
Laura is said to have told reporters they are considering buying a home in Dallas, and rumors have circulated that it would be the enclave of
Highland Park, Texas.
[21]The Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed White House official: "They'll have their place in Crawford. He just loves it."
[22] The Journal noted that in 2007 Bush had not visited the ranch as much as in prior years noting that in 2004 he visited 17 times compared with four times prior to August 2007.
[23][
edit] Gallery
George W. Bush with
Colin Powell and
Richard ArmitageHosni Mubarak and President Bush and
Marine One at the ranch in 2004
The President with
Dick Cheney,
Robert Gates,
Condoleezza Rice and
Peter Pace in 2006 at the ranch
[
edit] References
^ CINDY SHEEHAN Guide to Bush Ranch - ntimc.org - Posted August 7, 2006.
^ Reporter's Notebook; Creatures and Creature Comforts at the President's Ranch - New York Times - August 10, 2006
^ 'Texas White House' a refuge from stress - USA Today - April 13, 2001^ 'Texas White House' a refuge from stress - USA Today - April 13, 2001^ Cowboys & Indians: The Bush Ranch^ 'Texas White House' a refuge from stress - USA Today - April 13, 2001^ Reporter's Notebook; Creatures and Creature Comforts at the President's Ranch - New York Times - August 10, 2006
^ Exchange With Reporters During a Tour of the Bush Ranch in Crawford, Texas - George W. Bush - Transcript - August 25, 2001^ Best moment as president was catching a largemouth bass, Bush says - Seattle Times - May 8, 2006^ No grocery, $5 haircuts - and the Bush ranch csmonitor.com^ 'Texas White House' a refuge from stress - USA Today - April 13, 2001^ Reporter's Notebook; Creatures and Creature Comforts at the President's Ranch - New York Times - August 10, 2006
^ Videotaped Remarks by the President for Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree - Whitehouse.gov - July 31, 2001^ Merkel auf Bushs Ranch: Partner: Ja. Kumpel: Nein! - Politik - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten^ The Associated Press: Bush: Listen to Generals on Troop Levels^ this link is not working. Washington Post. Retrieved on
2007-
04-08.
^ this link is not working. Retrieved on
2007-
04-08.
^ [
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/16/politics/main780687_page2.shtml Sheehan Edges Closer To Bush Ranch: Anti-War Protesters Move To Site Provided By Texas Sympathizer]. CBS News/AP (
2005-
08-17). Retrieved on
2007-
04-08.
^ Sheehan Leaves Central Texas Wednesday. KWTX.com. Retrieved on
2007-
04-08.
^ Crawford Protest Photos: Camp Reality & Sheehan's Camp Casey^ Rumors, but no sale yet for potential Bush digs – Dallas News – July 25, 2007^ Another Downturn: Bush Souvenirs In Crawford, Texas – Wall Street Journal – August 20, 2007^ Another Downturn: Bush Souvenirs In Crawford, Texas – Wall Street Journal – August 20, 2007[
edit] External links
July 1999:
Locals Hope Bush will create a White House in Texas, from the
Abilene Reporter-NewsDecember 2000:
Home on the Range, from
TIME magazine's
Person of the Year story on Bush
March 2001:
Prohibited Area P-49 established by the
FAA over the ranch and enlarged during presidential visits
August 2001:
No grocery, $5 haircuts - and the Bush ranch, from the
Christian Science MonitorAugust 25, 2001:
President Gives Tour of Crawford Ranch, a White House press release
December 2002:
The Bush Ranch, from
Cowboys & Indians magazine
January 2, 2003:
President's Remarks on Walking Tour of the Ranch, a White House press release
July 29, 2005:
Bush plans 50th ranch trip in five years, an
Associated Press report published in
USA Today.
August 18, 2005:
Can this bike ride be Bush's tour de force?, A report in
The Times concerning the visit of
Lance Armstrong to the ranch.
Prairie Chapel Ranch is at coordinates
31°34′57″N 97°32′38″W / 31.582447, -97.543831 (Prairie Chapel Ranch)Coordinates:
31°34′57″N 97°32′38″W / 31.582447, -97.543831 (Prairie Chapel Ranch)Retrieved from "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Chapel_Ranch"
Categories:
George W. Bush McLennan County, Texas Houses in Texas Ranches Presidential homes in the United StatesViews
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