The Hillbilly Ranch was a Country and Western club in New England that was open between 1939 and 1980. Located between Park_Square_(Boston) and the Combat Zone, Boston, it featured house bands that included Tex Logan, The Lilly Brothers, and Don Stover. [1]
The Hillbilly Ranch was founded in 1939 as a restaurant by Italian immigrant Frank Segalini. The restaurant struggled in the 1940's and Segalini converted the space to a Country and Western club. [1] George W. Bush was a regular visitor to the Hillbilly Ranch while attending Harvard Business School. [2] [3]
The club caught fire in 1980 and was re-opened a month later. The incident was memorialized in the song "They Tore Down the Hillbilly Ranch" by John Lincoln Wright. [1] The Hillbilly Ranch finally closed in 1980 after the city took the land through eminent domain and Segalini was unable to secure a liquor license at another location. [4]