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The Grant Kohrs National Historic Site
Established by Canadian fur trader Johnny Francis Grant, and expanded by cattle baron Conrad Kohrs, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site commemorates the Western cattle industry from its 1850s inception through recent times. The park was created in 1972, and embraces 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) and 90 structures. The site is maintained today as a working ranch by the National Park Service. The ranch was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960.[2]
Johnny Francis Grant was born at Fort Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His mother died when Johnny was only three years old, so he was sent to Three Rivers, Quebec to be raised by his grandmother. His father was a Hudson Bay Company employee, so in his mid-teens he left for Fort Hall, Idaho to meet up with his father. There he learned the trading business. Unfortunately, in the 1840’s the fur trade was “dying out” From then on Johnny turned to trading with the emigrants. He made profit by trading one strong cow or horse for 2 weak ones. He could make the weak ones strong and trade them again. This is how he got into the cattle business. (John Francis Grant)
Johnny started using the area that is now Deer Lodge, Montana in 1857 to graze his cattle during the winter. In 1859, he decided that the area was a great place to permanently have his business. The house at the center of the ranch was built by Johnny in 1862 to be his stable home. He convinced traders to settle around him, forming the town of Deer Lodge. Johnny was very successful in Deer Lodge for a short amount of time. Johnny tried to accommodate the people who came with the gold rush, but found that he was at a disadvantage, because he spoke French and the newcomers spoke English. He was being taken advantage of in contracts and felt that he could no longer be successful in the area. In 1866, he sold his ranch to cattle baron, Conrad Kohrs, and returned to Canada. (John Francis Grant)
Conrad Kohrs was born on August 5, 1835, in Wewelsfleth, in the Holstein province, which is now a part of the German Confederation. At the age of 22, he became a citizen of the United States. He ventured to California during the gold rush days. He then moved on to Canada and finally to the gold camps of Montana in 1862. He never struck gold, but he became a wealthy man by selling beef to the miners. Kohrs built his cattle operation up until at one time he owned 50,000 head of cattle and had grazing pasture of 10 million acres (40,000 km2). The devastating winter of 1886-1887 left over half the cattle population in the northwest dead. Most cattlemen were left bankrupt, but Kohrs managed to receive a 100,000 dollar loan from his banker, A.J. Davis. This marked the end of the free-range cattle industry. However, Kohrs became so successful afterwards, that he was able to pay off the loan in only 4 years. After the harsh winter of 1886-1887, Kohrs and his half-brother, John Bielenberg turned to more modern methods of ranching. These methods included buying purebred breeding stock, fencing the ranges and raising and storing feed. His nickname became "Montana's Cattle King." (Conrad Kohrs)
Conrad Kohrs ventured into the Sun River Valley west of Great Falls looking for more grazing land. He was impressed by what he saw in this lovely valley. It looked like a cattleman's paradise. The waters of the Dearborn and Sun Rivers were sweet, sparkling, and clear. The river bottoms had lush grassy meadows and the benchlands rolled on both sides of the rivers. Kohrs brought in several thousand steers from his Deer Lodge ranches to fatten on the rich grasses of the Sun River Valley. The days of "free grass" soon ran out and Conrad Kohrs left the Sun River Valley. (Conrad Kohrs)
John Bielenberg, Conrad Kohrs’ younger half-brother, helped Conrad to run the Grant-Kohrs ranch. He originally came to Montana in 1864 to help Conrad with the butcher shop in the mining camps, at the age of 18. Bielenberg had a lot to do with the horse side of the Grant-Kohrs ranch. He bred what are called the “Big Circle” horses, which could cover twenty miles of country in a half a day. This helped immensely when gathering all the cattle that were spread over a very large area. Together, Bielenberg and Kohrs made a most successful team for over half a century. (John Bielenberg)
The Grant-Kohrs National Historic Site today is ran by the National Park Service. It is one of the biggest attractions to Deer Lodge, Montana, next to the Old Montana State Prison Museum. Every summer the site becomes very busy with tourists passing through. It is a worthwhile stop because the tour is free. To tour the house it only takes about a half hour. Tourists are interested in seeing the how the ranch ran in the late 1800s, so that is the way the National Park Service runs it. Everything is kept simple. They use draft horse teams to hay the land. Blacksmiths make the shoes for the horses. They keep all operations as close to how they would be in the 19th century as possible. (Kurt Repanshek)
References: Http://www.nps.gov/grko/historyculture/index.htm. Rep. National Park Service, 13 July 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.
"John Francis Grant." National Parks Service. National Parks Service, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nps.gov/grko/historyculture/johnnygrant.htm>.
"Conrad Kohrs." National Parks Service. National Parks Service, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nps.gov/grko/historyculture/conradkohrs.htm>.
Repanshek, Kurt. "Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site Offers Window Into the 19th Century." Commentary, News, and Life in America's Parks. National Parks Traveler, 4 Aug. 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2010/08/grant-kohrs-ranch-national-historic-site-offers-window-19th-century6349>.
"Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site." Montana's Gold West Country. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://goldwest.visitmt.com/listings/223.htm>.
"Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site." Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site. National Park Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/grant-kohrs-ranch-national-historic-site>.
"John Bielenberg." National Parks Service. National Parks Service, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nps.gov/grko/historyculture/johnbielenberg.htm>.
