Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
The Grant - Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site is a memorial of the type of a National Historic Site in the State of Montana. It is reminiscent of the climax of the large cattle ranches in the Wild West, when the open range cattle ranching on public lands and the great cattle drives allowed. The ranch dates back to the Canadian fur trader Johnny Grant, it was bought in 1865 by Conrad Kohrs and subsequently expanded in many ways. Kohrs became known as " cattle baron " and took the position of its operation as a basis for a career in politics.
The ranch is managed as a memorial since 1972 by the National Park Service, the operation as a cattle ranch will be continued and can be visited. In the summer season daily guided tours and living history demonstrations will be held.
History
Kohrs, Carsten Conrad Kohrs full name, was born on August 5, 1835 in the Duchy of Holstein, first went to sea and lived in Brazil, West Africa and Cuba. It was sold at age 22 in 1857 citizens of the United States after he acted in Iowa and New York about relatives with cattle, sausage in New Orleans, had wood shipped on the Mississippi and worked in a distillery. Now he was looking for gold in California, moved to Canada to the Fraser River, and finally, still in search of gold, he came to Montana in 1862, where he worked as a butcher and meat sold to the prospectors. In 1864 he took out his half-brother John Bielenberg to Montana, and later still his brother Karl ( Charles).
In 1865, he bought Johnny Grant's small ranch and expanded operations. His herd grew rapidly and reached up to 50,000 animals. He let his cattle graze on 40,000 km ² of public land, where previously bison and Plains Indians had lived. The bison had been nearly eradicated from the 1840s and forced the Indians to reservations. In 1868, he married Augusta Kruse, for which he had built the spacious ranch house. The resulting arrangement of the house of a family of high society was compiled by her.
End of the 1870s the breed of cattle Texan Longhorn came to the north. The meat breed was originally bred for southern desert regions, but was also excellent for the poor soils of the northern prairies suitable. Around 1885, the cattle was the most profitable industry by far in the prairies. Kohrs Ranch sent per year, more than 10,000 animals in the Union Stockyards, slaughterhouses of Chicago. Conrad Kohrs was as Montana 's Cattle King ( King of Montana cattle ) are known. In addition, he searched for new land in the north. West of Great Falls, he made his animals in the valleys of Dearborn and Sun River graze.
But even the additional resources of the region could no longer withstand the grazing after a few years. During the harsh winter in 1886 to 1887 one-third to one-half of the animals died of starvation. In addition, the settlers, the Homestead Act established under the farms for agriculture, against the freely grazing cattle and a fortiori against the cattle drives over the land belonging to them. Defended The invention of barbed wire in 1873 and the increasing fencing homesteads in the 1880s and 1890s ended the phase of free grazing ( open range ). Kohrs and Bielenberg changed the breeding methods and built primarily to feed themselves and pitched it as a stock, as are the days of free grazing came to an end, as the best willow awarded and many areas were overgrazed. In rural areas it operated also smaller mines. Bielenberg also bred horses were perfectly suited for the work of the Cowboys.
Kohrs left the business with the cattle increasingly his half-brother John and went into politics as a senator in Montana Territory, and after the state was founded in 1889 in the U.S. state of Montana. He was co-founder of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, the professional association of cattle breeders.
Even in 1909 sold the cattle ranch for $ 500,000. 1918 sold Kohrs but its herds of up to a few hundred animals and only kept some Shorthorn and Hereford copies. He died in 1920, John Bielenberg 1922. The ranch was run by managers until the operation was in 1932 during the Great Depression by Conrad Kohrs Warren, Kohrs grandson, accepted. He built the cattle herd on the ranch again and also specialized in the breeding of first-class cold- blood horses. After the Second World War, he sold part of the reason and horse breeding. In the 1950s he turned around on calf rearing and sold the ranch in 1972 to the federal government as a memorial to the history of the great herds of cattle in the Wild West.
The Memorial
The ranch was registered in 1960 as a National Historic Landmark and transferred on 9 August 1972 for the federal government and designated as a National Historic Site. The complex includes 90 buildings from all periods of operation. The National Park Service, the company operates as a so -called working ranch, the cattle operation is continued. The site belongs to area and number of visitors to the small bodies of the National Park Service.
Visitors can explore the area on your own or take a guided tour. The main house is largely decorated in the style of the late 19th century and can be visited. In times of the year visitors can also experience the branding of some young animals the processes on a cattle ranch from the calving of about lactating dams and once a year. In the summer half-year history programs are offered living, where wagons, mowing the lawns and drying of hay with historical tools or the forging of the ranch are presented. As cowboys dressed employees tell from the late Wild West and show visitors how the shepherds then for weeks and months on the road were to then drive the herds of the large open pastures together and to the railroad, where the herds in the big cities, especially Chicago, were transported.