Judith Sandoval brings an eye for striking detail and a feeling for the effects of time and habitation to her photographic tour of 450 ranches in sixteen counties in Wyoming. She discovered a dazzling variety of architectural styles in old ranchhouses, bunkhouses, barns, and even chicken coops. Taking in the whole ranching scene, she photographed corrals, machinery, irrigation works, and structures of stone built by German and Scottish immigrants and of logs by Scandinavians. She interviewed hundreds of people who have made their mark on the land, including many descendants of the builders. Some families have operated the same spread for five generations. Historic Ranches of Wyoming takes in such famous working ranches as the Wyoming Hereford Ranch, Careyhurst, the Palette Ranch, the Pitchfork Ranch, and John Kendrick's LX Bar. Among the dude ranches featured are the Seven-D, Eaton's in the Bar BC, and Valley Dude Ranch. In 1986 the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming, is mounting a major touring exhibit of Sandoval's photographs. Historic Ranches of Wyoming contains most of the photographs in the exhibition. The book includes an essay by T. A. Larson on the history of ranching in Wyoming and one by Robert Roripaugh about growing up on a ranch near Lander, Wyoming.
Wyoming is so closely identified with ranching that it is often known as the Cowboy State. The prosperity associated with the cattle industry drew wealthy investors to Wyoming Territory in the 1870s and early 1880s. They stocked the range with thousands of cows and made considerable fortunes until the harsh winter of 18861887, when the cattle market collapsed. Many of those early ranchers left Wyoming, which opened the door for the establishment of what would become a huge sheep business. During the 1890s and the early decades of the 20th century, the various Homestead Acts drew others to Wyoming in search of a brighter future. As most of Wyomings land was suited for grazing, not farming, smaller ranches began to play a more important role in the states growth. Wyomings Historic Ranches provides a rare glimpse of the cattle baron ranches as well as the more modest operations that are tucked away along remote valleys and streams, not visible to the average visitor or resident of the state.
Wyoming is so closely identified with ranching that it is often known as "the Cowboy State." The prosperity associated with the cattle industry drew wealthy investors to Wyoming Territory in the 1870s and early 1880s. They stocked the range with thousands of cows and made considerable fortunes until the harsh winter of 1886-1887, when the cattle market collapsed. Many of those early ranchers left Wyoming, which opened the door for the establishment of what would become a huge sheep business. During the 1890s and the early decades of the 20th century, the various Homestead Acts drew others to Wyoming in search of a brighter future. As most of Wyoming's land was suited for grazing, not farming, smaller ranches began to play a more important role in the state's growth. Wyoming's Historic Ranches provides a rare glimpse of the cattle baron ranches as well as the more modest operations that are tucked away along remote valleys and streams, not visible to the average visitor or resident of the state.
A collage of characters shaped the west of the nineteenth century. Large and powerful cattlemen, backed by eastern and European investors, flooded the prairie with herds often numbering 50-80 thousand head. They had visions of doubling or tripling their money quickly while their cattle grazed on the free grass of the open range. Others, like Martin Gothberg wisely invested in the future of the young frontier. Starting with a humble 160-acre homestead in 1885, he continued to expand and develop a modest ranch that eventually included tens of thousands of acres of deeded land. Gothberg’s story parallels the history of open range cattle ranches, cowboys, roundups, homesteaders, rustlers, sheep men and range wars. It does not end there. As the Second Industrial Revolution escalated in the late 1800s, so did the demand for petroleum products. What began with a demand for beef to feed the hungry cities of the eastern United States fostered the demand for wool to clothe them and graduated into a demand for oil to warm them in winter and fuel the mechanized age of the twentieth century. All were a critical part of shaping American history. Through the lens of this family saga—a part of the history of the West comes to life in the hands of this storyteller and historian.
For many outsiders, the word “ranching” conjures romantic images of riding on horseback through rolling grasslands while living and working against a backdrop of breathtaking mountain vistas. In this absorbing memoir of life in the Wyoming high country, Mary Budd Flitner offers a more authentic glimpse into the daily realities of ranch life—and what it takes to survive in the ranching world. Some of Flitner’s recollections are humorous and lighthearted. Others take a darker turn. A modern-day rancher with decades of experience, Mary has dealt with the hardships and challenges that come with this way of life. She’s survived harsh conditions like the “winter of 50 below” and economic downturns that threatened her family’s livelihood. She’s also wrestled with her role as a woman in a profession that doesn’t always treat her as equal. But for all its challenges, Flitner has also savored ranching’s joys, including the ties that bind multiple generations of families to the land. My Ranch, Too begins with the story of her great-grandfather, Daniel Budd, who in 1878 drove a herd of cattle into Wyoming Territory and settled his family in an area where conditions seemed favorable. Four generations later, Mary grew up on this same portion of land, learning how to ride horseback and take care of livestock. When she married Stan, she simply moved from one ranch to another, joining the Flitner family’s Diamond Tail Ranch in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin. The Diamond Tail is not Mary’s alone to run, as she is quick to acknowledge. Everybody pitches in, even the smallest of children. But when Mary takes the responsibility of gathering a herd of cattle or makes solo rounds at the crack of dawn to check on the livestock, we have no doubt that this is indeed her ranch, too.
Larry Brown has Gathered the stories of Wyoming's hog ranches, from Mother Featherlegs' place to the Nine Mile Ranch to the Hog Ranch at Fetterman. These colorful sties were brimming with sin, gunplay, gambling, murder, outlaws, and romance. There, a customer might while away his free time with a shot of rye, a game of faro, and a roll in the crib with a "soiled angel" made passably attractive by loneliness and miles of sage.
I was born ranch, raised ranch, and feel ranch. My closest friends are ranch, and my pride comes from that base. Something about ranching captivates me, and for nearly all of my eighty years, I've been involved with the land that enchants me. My stories in Part One of this book are all about ranching in the Big Horn Valley, Wyoming, where I was born. I take a few detours here and there, but everything you read here is, in one way or another, related to ranching. I hope I have done justice to the Native Americans who were here first. They are a vital part of the history of this beautiful country in northeastern Wyoming, and their influence is still highly significant today. Besides covering some history of the Big Horn region, my honest-to-goodness real "tales" will probably give you some good laughs along with some serious thinking in my more philosophical musings about the extraordinary landscapes I've had the privilege of being a part of. And even if my old elementary teacher would insist on my correcting that "dangling participle" in the last sentence, well, that's just how I talk. From my grandfather's time through my own years, the Fordyce family has been a constant presence in the Big Horn ranching scene. Out of the several enterprises I was involved with, Tepee Lodge was one of my high points. Tepee was a family-oriented dude ranch where people could watch the world roll by, go horseback riding, dance, visit other ranches, eat, or simply enjoy being alone in a purely wonderful place. My stories of Tepee are not to be forgotten! Later in life, after my ranching career came to an end, I found my place in the world of the camera. I learned the art of darkroom and black-and-white photography from David Scheinbaum and Janet Russek in Santa Fe. Through them, I met Eliot Porter. I worked with him for a spell printing his early eight-by-ten negatives for a book he would publish. My ranch-trained eye helped me to understand the relationship between the natural elements involved, and I got to see Eliot do his magic with the dye-transfer process. He had no equal and was to color what Ansel Adams was to black-and-white. These people greatly improved my life in many ways beyond photography. Through them I met people like Paul Caponigro, Bill Wright, Willard Van Dyke, and others. A marvelous group they were! I served on the board of a New Mexico group from which evolved the Santa Fe Workshops, and though I never reached the preeminence of these people, they all added greatly to my time in photography. I also met David Lubbers, a man I much admired while in New Mexico, and, along with him, I saw most of what we call our Southwest. Later, my present wife, Jane, and I angled toward the Southeast and lived for a spell in Aiken, South Carolina. She is not only my partner but my best friend, and she carried me through a crippling surgery that left me unable to stand in a darkroom or continue with black-and-white photography. We met a man, Forrest E. Roberts, who introduced me to digital photography and insisted I work at it. This began a trip with color with Jane, a portrait painter of note, and together we moved to Georgetown, Texas, followed by another move to Round Rock, Texas. My ventures in photography gave me great fulfillment. It is therefore my pleasure to share some of my favorite black-and-white photos with you in Part Two of this volume. Throughout my life, I followed my father's advice, "Let the good luck happen." He told me I needed to remember this saying in order to be successful. I also believe that hard, honest work goes well with luck. I hope you, too, will let the good luck happen, and that you'll enjoy these remembrances of days gone by in a part of the world never to be forgotten.
The Hole in the Wall country of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains is well known to history buffs steeped in Butch Cassidy lore, but for millennia it's been a crossroads for all kinds of people. The name refers to a break or "hole" in a wall of red sandstone, 40 miles long. Where the Middle Fork of Powder River breaches the Red Wall lies the Hole in the Wall Ranch. This is the story of the land, the people, and the ranch itself-a history of Wyoming and the West, centered around one dramatic place.
Judith Sandoval brings an eye for striking detail and a feeling for the effects of time and habitation to her photographic tour of 450 ranches in sixteen counties in Wyoming. She discovered a dazzling variety of architectural styles in old ranchhouses, bunkhouses, barns, and even chicken coops. Taking in the whole ranching scene, she photographed corrals, machinery, irrigation works, and structures of stone built by German and Scottish immigrants and of logs by Scandinavians. She interviewed hundreds of people who have made their mark on the land, including many descendants of the builders. Some families have operated the same spread for five generations. Historic Ranches of Wyoming takes in such famous working ranches as the Wyoming Hereford Ranch, Careyhurst, the Palette Ranch, the Pitchfork Ranch, and John Kendrick's LX Bar. Among the dude ranches featured are the Seven-D, Eaton's in the Bar BC, and Valley Dude Ranch. In 1986 the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming, is mounting a major touring exhibit of Sandoval's photographs. Historic Ranches of Wyoming contains most of the photographs in the exhibition. The book includes an essay by T. A. Larson on the history of ranching in Wyoming and one by Robert Roripaugh about growing up on a ranch near Lander, Wyoming.
