When the average person thinks about St. Louis they do not usually think about the civil war, mostly because there was not a single major battle that took place in, or near, the city. St. Louis does have the distinction of being one of the only cities in the United States which actually served as the hometown of one of the great generals that were involved in the war. There was a period of time when Ulysses Grant lived in St. Louis. The farm had originally been given to his family as a gift.
Grant’s descendants no longer own the Grant Farm and they have not for a very long time. The current owner of the farm is the Anheuser Busch Brewery who originally purchased the farm in 1907. Since purchasing the 281 acres, the farm has had more than 24 million people visit it. Not only does the company welcome the visitors, but they also do not even charge admission.
When you visit the Grant Farm, you will quickly discover this is not like a typical agricultural farm. The Grant Farm is more like a haven for animals. There are currently more than 1,000 animals who call the farm home, and the 1,000 animals represent 100 different species. Many of these animals can be seen when you visit the farm’s deer park where there are zebras, red deer, bison, and blackbuck antelope roaming free. You will be able to see these animals from the safety of an open-air trams and listen while an experienced guide shares tidbits about each animal.
In addition to the Deer Park, guests at the Grant Farm are strongly urged to spend some time at the Tier Garden where they will come face to face with some other species of animals, including kangaroos. The gardens and the ponds, which are filled with fish, are so lovely that it would be very easy to spend an entire day there.
As wonderful as the Deer Park and Tier Garden are, the main attraction at the Grant Farm is the stables. There is a public section that you can stroll through. These stables are the home of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales, the same ones that are used for the Super Bowl commercials. Depending on the time year that you visit the farm you might even be able to see the foals as they graze and play in the immaculate paddocks.