Most of us have fond memories of our childhood home. Whether it’s thoughts of sharing dinner with family, playing with friends or siblings in the backyard, or even just the couch you used to watch Saturday morning cartoons from, these memories keep the home or homes of our youth fresh in our minds, even decades later.
Some of us can still return to our childhood homes and relive those memories, but others aren’t so lucky. Cardiovascular surgeon Stuart Jamieson falls into the latter camp. He could no longer visit the ranch he grew up on in Africa — so he recreated it in the beautiful Santa Ysabel valley in California.
The Double S Ranch
Jamieson grew up on a cattle ranch in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, with his family. Unfortunately, his family lost the ranch when it was seized by Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe. Most people would have to give up on their family home after such an event, but Jamieson’s successful career performing heart and lung transplants gave him another option: He designed his own ranch in California to look like the one he grew up in.
The 4,000 square foot main house is modeled after the one Jamieson grew up in, and rests on a 560-acre property surrounded by the Cleveland National Forest. The main house is decorated with taxidermied African animals as an homage to the African ranch it was designed to mimic. Besides the main house, the property also includes a chapel, a rustic three-bedroom log cabin for guests, and a four-bedroom caretaker’s cottage. The stables can house up to eight horses, and there are pens and aviaries for goats, chickens, llamas, and turkeys — as well as the cattle ranch, of course.
There are seven lakes on the idyllic property, and its 4,000 foot elevation enables breathtaking views. Generators, solar and wind power, water storage, and a satellite system make the ranch almost entirely self-sufficient, which is important, since it’s about a 70-mile drive to San Diego. Two helipads make that trip significantly easier — San Diego is only 20 minutes away by helicopter, and the weather is safe for flying year round.
But everyone outgrows their childhood home eventually, and Jamieson and his wife are outgrowing theirs after fourteen years. The Double S Ranch is currently for sale for $16 million while the family looks for a larger ranch for cattle breeding.
Create Your Own Dream Home
Most people aren’t cardiovascular surgeons capable of building massive, custom ranches to call home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t own your dream log cabin home. TruLog steel siding is an affordable, maintenance-free alternative to log siding that can give your home a cozy, log cabin feel that isn’t just nostalgia. Call 970-646-4490 today to get your custom quote!
