Former President Ronald Reagan's posh movie star ranch, which once served as the 'Western White House,' opened its doors to select guests for one day only on October 3.
The guests got to see the premises of the 688-acre ranch with a tiny house circa 1872, where the former president would go to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of Washington D.C.
The ranch sits above the Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County, and includes a lake, a garage for his trucks and a stable for his horses.
A visitor center is located nearby, but Sunday's event gave a select few the chance to get a far closer look at he and wife Nancy's former living quarters.
Reagan was seen in photos during his time as president and governor of California riding his horses on the land, meeting with members of the press and foreign dignitaries and spending time with his family.
Former president Ronald Reagan's 688-acre ranch includes a lake, a garage for his trucks and a stable for his horses.
It sits atop sits the Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County, California
The property features a small house circa 1872, where Reagan would retreat to to get away from the hustle and bustle of DC
The property also included a garage for Reagan to store his trucks and cars
A select group of people got to tour the premises on Sunday. Normally, visitors are only allowed to attend an adjoining visitor center, complete with Reagan-themed exhibitions
The former president bought the ranch in 1974, and christened it Rancho del Cielo.
'From the first day we saw it, Rancho del Cielo cast a spell over it,' Reagan once said, according to the Young America's Foundation. 'No place before or since has ever given Nancy and me the joy and serenity it does.'
'There’s something about the wild scenery and serenity of the ranch and the easy gait of the horse beneath me that I find particularly relaxing,' he said. 'And while I loved living in the White House, I must confess that nothing in this great wide world of ours quite compares to having a home on the ranch.'
The former president would use the Santa Barbara ranch as a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of Washington D.C. - spending his time cutting wood, clearing brushes, chopping up used telephone poles or riding his horses.
'There are things that give you a sense of accomplishment,' Reagan told Barbara Walters in 1981. 'Things like clearing a trail, pruning a section of woods that has to be done, clearing brush—and then you go at it.'
But Reagan also conducted some official business in the ranch, which soon became known as the Western White House. There, he met with his White House staff, his vice president, George H.W. Bush, and heads of state, including Queen Elizabeth II.
He died in 2004 aged 93, with second wife Nancy dying in 2016 aged 94.
And from the comfort and serenity of the Western White House, Reagan signed important legislation - like the Economic Recovery Tax Act in August 1981, and his decision to fire more than 11,000 striking air-traffic controllers that same month.
The Reagans purchased the ranch in 1974 and christened it Rancho del Cielo
Reagan and his wife Nancy posed with their dog on the ranch for a picture while he was president
A portrait of Ronald Reagan with Nancy and his son Ronnie on the ranch when he was running for governor of California
In an interview, Reagan once said he and Nancy fell in love with the property the first time they saw it
Reagan is pictured enjoying his ranch during the 1980s, having branded it his favorite place to be
Reporters asked Reagan and Nancy questions at the ranch in 1980
