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Grant-Kohrs Ranch➤

The Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site preserves an important piece of American Western history. The Open Range Cattle Era, from 1860-1890, gave rise to cowboy culture and helped to feed a growing nation.

Johnny Grant, a Canadian, first settled the land on which the ranch was built. His marriage to a Shoshone woman insured his peaceful coexistence with the Native Americans in the valley. He made a living driving cattle to market in Sacramento. He built the original ranch house in Deer Lodge, Montana in 1862.

Conrad Kohrs moved to the territory in the 1850s without much besides knowledge of the butchering trade. He established himself and opened up several butcher shops where he bought cattle from Johnny Grant. In 1866, Grant sold his ranch and home to Kohrs and moved back to Canada.

Kohrs, along with his half-brother, built up a cattle ranching empire. By the 1890s, he was grazing cattle over 10 million acres and shipping 10,000 cattle a year to Chicago by rail. He became influential in Montana politics and played a part in the territory being granted statehood.

Day Trip to the Ranch➤

We’d driven a long way from Glacier National Park to visit the ranch. When we pulled up in front of a tiny visitors center, I worried we travelled hours for a 15-minute stop. Fortunately for the sake of marital harmony, there is much more to this park unit than meets the eye.

We signed up for a tour of the ranch house. While we waited for our tour time, we explored the grounds. In addition to the ranch house, there are several outbuildings to explore. Livestock graze the pastures and rangers provide living history demonstrations.

We practiced our non-existent lassoing skills and sampled some ‘Cowboy Coffee’ made by the chuck wagon cook. Then we watched the blacksmith make a gate latch out of a nail. My daughter got to make her own cattle brand out of foam.

Ranch House Tour➤

The ranch house looks like an large, but unassuming country home on the outside. But once we stepped inside for the tour, we were blown away by the opulence. Kohrs rewarded his wife with extravagant shopping trips in Chicago after enduring the annual cattle drive to the stockyards.

One huge marble statue in the living room was from the Egyptian exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair. Everywhere we looked, there were ornate knick-knacks. The dining room table displays settings for 22. Some hapless ranger polishes all that silver on a regular basis.

Kohrs’ large desk had a unique hinged design that allowed it to be closed up and locked when he was away. There was a sort of press in his office that acted as a copy machine. I bet it was more reliable than the one in my office. The park did not allow us to take any photos inside the house.

Kohrs expanded the house with a 5000 square foot addition. The addition includes a tub with running water and a flush toilet. Pretty unheard of in the wild west. Cattle ranching was lucrative for the Kohrs family.

I asked the docent how all of the belongings and furnishings seemed so well-preserved. Most historical homes I’ve visited are partially restored with period-appropriate items that didn’t necessarily belong to the original occupants.  After Kohrs’ death in 1920, the home and ranch passed to a trust company. Conrad Kohr’s grandson served as the head of that trust.

Conrad Kohrs Warren and his wife eventually bought the ranch out from the trust. They moved into a more modern house on the premises. In 1972, they donated the original ranch house and property to the National Park Service. The bequest came with all of the elder Kohr’s belongings intact.

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Location: 266 Warren Ln, Deer Lodge, Montana
Designation: National Historic Site
Date designated/established: August 9, 1972
Date of my visit: June 26, 2018