The Big Red Ranch Complex is an historic ranch located off U.S. Routes
14 and
16 in
Ucross, Wyoming
Ucross is an unincorporated community along the Piney Creek on the southern edge of Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. Ucross is located at the junction of U.S. Route 14 and U.S. Route 16, west-southwest of Clearmont.
Ucross has a pop ...
. The ranch was built circa 1882 by the Pratt & Ferris Cattle Company and was one of three large ranches operated by the company in the region. The ranch acquired its name because all of its main buildings were painted red; at the time, most ranches lacked permanent buildings entirely, much less painted ones. Pratt & Ferris became one of the most successful cattle ranching companies in the area by the end of the decade, as they bought out most other local ranches and even established a post office at the Big Red Ranch. In the 1890s, the ranch largely converted to raising sheep. In 1906, company owner Joseph Leiter turned the ranch into an irrigated farm; in the following years, the ranch briefly reverted to cattle ranching before Leiter leased it to
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...
farmers. Leiter ultimately sold the ranch in 1949.
The ranch was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on October 11, 1984.
It is now used by the
Ucross Foundation
The Ucross Foundation, located in Ucross, Wyoming, is a nonprofit organization that operates a retreat for visual artists, writers, composers, and choreographers working in all creative disciplines.
History
Founded in 1981 by Raymond Plank, U ...
.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Sheridan County, Wyoming
References
External links
*
Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming
Victorian architecture in Wyoming
Buildings and structures completed in 1882
Buildings and structures in Sheridan County, Wyoming
National Register of Historic Places in Sheridan County, Wyoming
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