historic ranches

In 1878, the enterprising Otto Franc described Wyoming as “the finest & wildest country . . .  abounding with fish & game.” From conflicts with rustlers through the beginnings of irrigation and the end of the open range, his huge Pitchfork Ranch came to dominate Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin.

The T Cross Ranch north of Dubois, Wyo., on Horse Creek in the Absaroka Mountains was first homesteaded around 1900 by Ernest O. Hadden. In 1919, Henry Seipt acquired the property, named it “The Hermitage” and operated a dude ranch here. Robert Cox became the owner in 1929 and changed the name to “T Cross Ranch,” but continued the dude ranch. The ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is still operated as a dude ranch.

In 1929, Lloyd Huxtable, together with his wife’s brother, Charlie Olin, purchased the property south of Glenrock, Wyo. known as the Huxtable Ranch as well as the original 1887 water rights. Huxtable had worked for the second owner, Willard Heber White, who bought the ranch from its original owner, Charles Smith, in 1896. The ranch, was expanded to 1,500 acres under Huxtable’s ownership. Huxtable did not believe in acquiring unnecessary debt, and this thriftiness enabled him to own the ranch free and clear by the 1950s. He died in 1976. The Huxtable family sold the ranch in 1992, and it continues to be privately owned. The ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Crow Creek or Cole Ranch northwest of Cheyenne, Wyo. was founded in 1879 and operated until 1972, when the land was subdivided. The ranch headquarters is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On the ranch, cattle grazed native grasses during the warmer months and alfalfa hay in the winter; later, the Coles added dairy cattle. Historic structures include the ranch house, barn, bunkhouse and corrals.