About JSA Ranch
Established 2012
Fun Today and Growth for the Future
JSA Ranch is a local family-run Horse Farm that opened in 2012. We strive to make the most of everything the great outdoors has to offer. Offering training, guided trail rides, lessons, camps, and even vacation rentals.
We host a bunch of fun activities that take place throughout the year. Check out our Facebook Page to see the list of coming events. Plan a trip with your family for a day of fun at JSA Ranch.
History of JSA Ranch
Our Roots Grow Deep
Long before the inception of JSA Ranch, the property was originally one of the first settled farms in Tennessee. The property has an old wagon road (perfect for a guided trail ride), a creek that runs along the border of the property, and a swan pond that was the namesake of the original property known as Swan Pond Plantation owned by Francis Ramsey.
Swan Pond - Located on what was once Cherokee hunting grounds, Colonel Ramsey acquired the site for Ramsey House, a game-rich, beaver-dammed wetland, in 1786. Called Swan Pond, over 100 acres of original farmland is preserved
today.
Colonel Francis Alexander Ramsey - A surveyor and one of the first settlers of Knox County, Ramsey held many important positions, including serving as court clerk and as a founding trustee of what was to become the University of Tennessee.
After the passing of Colonel Francis Ramsey, the property was inherited by his son William B.A. Ramsey.
Mayor William B.A. Ramsey - The first popularly elected mayor of Knoxville, publisher of the Knoxville Register, served as
Tennessee's secretary of state, and was also a known abolitionist.
Mayor William Ramsey used the property where JSA Ranch is located today to breed horses.
The property is believed to have an even deeper history that is a bit harder to track, but the story passed down states that before Swan Pond Plantation and Mr. Francis Ramsey, that the land was inhabited by the Cherokee Indians - and was a hunting ground. It was believed that the Cherokee held a sacred ceremony near what became Swan Pond in which they wore swan wings.
Other interesting finds on the property include The Tennessee Relic Society's findings of Civil War bullets and tent stakes near where the wagon road is today. It was believed that the property was a place where troops camped out during this war.
