49586 Jacobsburg Key Rd, Jacobsburg, OH 43933
Bonus! Steak Sandwiches and Pasta at 5 pm!!
It was called the “Old Bob Dunfee Farm” for years. Before that, it was the Phillips Farm. Now it is home to RJ Ranch & Riding Center.
Built in the early 1800’s, the house sits on 88 acres of pasture, hay fields and woods. There are at least 7 springs and a stream that pass through it. In the early years, the farm was used as a livestock holding site for animals to be loaded onto the 0, R & W Railroad cars. Just down the street, the old depot for passengers is still erect. The train would stop at the depot, pick up the passengers and then stop at the livestock yard to load goats, cattle, pigs, ducks and much more.
In the mid to late 1900’s the farm was bought by Robert “Bob” and Nancy Dunfee. Mr. Dunfee was a chemist and teacher for both Bellaire High School and Belmont Technical College. His specialty was fertilizers. Bob and Nancy kept the grounds immaculate and Bob painted the house and buildings on a yearly basis. After Bob passed away, the land was purchased by Dustin and Diane Tomich, and then contracted out to Julie Larish.
Julie and her family use the land for a therapeutic riding center. Julie is originally from Glencoe but moved away for approximately 20 years. During this time she opened RJ Ranch & Riding Center, a 501(c)3 organization. RJ stands for Julie’s two children, Ronald and Julianna. The center originally opened in 2009 in Grangeville Idaho. Julie then returned home to the Ohio Valley and brought 5 of her herd with her. She then opened the center in 2014 and currently has 20 horses in her herd. In addition to her horses, the farm now has cattle, chickens, ducks, sheep, goats, dogs, cats and a donkey named Jack.