The Caroline Lockhart Ranch was established in 1926 by
Caroline Lockhart
Caroline Cameron Lockhart (1871–1962) was an American journalist and writer.
Biography
Caroline Lockhart was born in Eagle Point, Illinois on February 24, 1871./ref> She grew up on a ranch in Kansas. She attended Bethany College in Topeka, K ...
, who purchased a homestead near Davis Creek at the foot of the
Pryor Mountains
The Pryor Mountains are a mountain range in Carbon and Big Horn counties of Montana, and Big Horn County, Wyoming. They are located on the Crow Indian Reservation and the Custer National Forest, and portions of them are on private land. Th ...
in
Carbon County, Montana
Carbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,473. Its county seat is Red Lodge.
Carbon County is part of the Billings, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Carbon County ...
, while in her fifties. Lockhart expanded the ranch, adding buildings, land and grazing rights until the ranch comprised about . The region, known as
Dryhead Country Dryhead Country is a region in Carbon County and Big Horn County in southern Montana between Bighorn Canyon and the Pryor Mountains. The locale was named after the piles of dry bison skulls that accumulated at the base of a local buffalo jump. The ...
, is one of the most isolated places in
Montana
Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...
.
Caroline Cameron Lockhart was a writer in Philadelphia, who worked as a reporter in Philadelphia and Boston, specializing in investigative reporting. Born in Illinois in 1871, she had grown up on a ranch in Kansas. Lockhart moved to
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Northwest Wyoming and the seat of government of Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after Colonel William Frederick " Buffalo Bill" Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896.
The population was 10,066 at ...
in 1904, writing novels, screenplays and working for the ''Denver Post''. She bought the Cody newspaper, the ''Park County Enterprise'', renaming it the ''
Cody Enterprise
The ''Cody Enterprise'' is a newspaper in Cody, Wyoming.
History
It was established by Buffalo Bill and John Peake in 1899.Brian Hurlbut, ''Insiders' Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton'', Globe Pequot, 2011, p. 327; online atGoogle Books/ref>Ri ...
'' in 1921, and selling it in 1925. In 1926 she bought the ranch, living at the L/♥ in the summers and in Cody in the winter. She moved back to Cody in 1950 as her health declined, selling the ranch.
The Tippetts family bought the ranch from Lockhart in 1955, primarily for the land rights. The structures were left to deteriorate. In 1980 the property was acquired by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...
and incorporated into
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is a national recreation area established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, following the construction of the Yellowtail Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation. It straddles the border between Wyomin ...
. The structures have been restored by the Park Service as nearly unique examples of local ranching culture and vernacular construction.
[
]
Description
The main ranch house was built by Lockhart using hired labor, adding to a cabin built by the previous owners. The rambling log and stone house with a sod roof was completed around 1938, eventually comprising twelve rooms. Other structures include a guest cabin, a bunkhouse -storehouse, a spring house, and stables and barns.National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
on November 3, 1989.[
]
References
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External links
Caroline Lockhart Ranch
at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Caroline Lockhart Ranch
1981 profile of Caroline Lockhart by Mary Shivers Culpin for the National Park Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockhart, Caroline, Ranch
National Register of Historic Places in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana
1926 establishments in Montana
National Register of Historic Places in Carbon County, Montana