BIG VALLEY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What is the name of the ranch? A: Throughout the series the ranch is only referred to as The Barkley Ranch. This was keeping with       the times, as most farms and ranches in the 1800s were typically only called by the owner's sur-       name. Q: What are the names of their horses? A: Jarrod's horse - Jingo, Nick's horse - Coco and Heath's horse - Charger. I am not aware of Victoria       or Audra's horses being given specific names. Q: What are their middle names? A: The only two revealed in the show were Jarrod Thomas and Nicholas Johnathan. Q: What was the name of the Barkley's prize bull from The Way to Kill a Killer? A: Prince Oxford. Q: What were their ranks in the Civil War? A:  Jarrod was , I believe, a Captain and Nick was a Lieutenant. Heath's was never mentioned but most        likely he was a private. Q: What breed of cattle did the Barkleys raise? A: Prince Oxford was a hereford but the cattle seen in roundups and cattle drives were mixed and       definitely showed some Longhorn breeding. This also would have been accurate for the period since       few ranches during those days specialized in only one specific breed. Q: What year was it supposed to be when the show first started? A: Tom Barkley's headstone showed 1870 to be the year he died in the series opener, Palms of Glory.       In Odyssey of Jubal Tanner, Audra states that her father died six years prior. Since both episodes       aired during the show's first season I assume that the year was 1876.

I have had quite a few people email me with questions about the show. Enough have done so that I decided to add this page to the site. The questions below are the ones most frequently asked. If there are others you would like answers to send me an email. If I don't know myself, there are several people (I like to think of them as the Big Valley sages) who will. Once I have an answer for them I will add them to this page, as well.