Early Ranch Life
1930’s
Other portions of the existing ranch were acquired by the Garst Family over the years. Various homesteaders worked the surrounding land in smaller sections. This photo is from the 1930’s and is from the “May’s” place. They lived about 2 miles north and east of our existing headquarters about a mile from the county road. The father of these children died of an appendicitis attack because of a snow storm preventing his exit to medical help. A neighbor eventually came with a sled and team over the drifts but it was too late. One of the children in this photo recently came back to the old homesite (which is strewn with little pieces of their existence there) to recall and pass along the memories. There are several other homesteads that we are looking for original photo’s of. The Grant place and the Morrow place are also incorporated into the current ranch. It would be nice to have those historic photo’s.
There was no electricity or running water. All water was carried by bucket from a well down in a gully past the hanging laundry in this photo. There was an outhouse, a root cellar, a garage for the Ford Truck and as much goat milk as you could collect in the metal bucket. All the boards for the cabin were cut locally by a sawmill up on the hill about a mile away. This photo is a treasure from the depression era.
This photo is from the 1930’s and is from the “Mace” place. They lived about 2 miles north and east of our existing headquarters about a mile from the county road. The father of these children died of an appendicitis attack because of a snow storm preventing his exit to medical help. A neighbor eventually came with a sled and team over the drifts but it was too late. One of the children in this photo recently came back to the old homesite (which is strewn with little pieces of their existence there) to recall and pass along the memories.
1940’s
This old black and white photo of the ranch from the 1940’s shows the old homestead that Bliss family currently lives on. The only building in the photo that is currently standing is the house that is behind the two small trees on the right. Those trees are now old and dying and will be cut down next year. The land contour has changed completely in the 1960’s when the indoor arena was built and the large hill behind the house was partially removed for the construction. The fill was used to flatten out the homesite. It must have been a gargantuan effort for a ranch in this area. The arena was the largest building in Campbell County Wyoming when it was built in the mid 1960’s. The old building above were built using locally cut boards and using only local labor. The construction that occurred in the 1960’s was a result of the influx of money to the ranch caused by the development and production of several oil wells on the property. These oil wells are part of the Belle Creek Oil Field just north of the Ranch. That period of oil production stopped in the early 1970’s. There is more oil to be recovered under the ranch when it is economical to do so.
1950’s
Here is an image of the original ranch homestead from back in the 1950’s. None of the big trees that are currently around it are visible in this image. This was before telephone and electricity had only been here less than a decade. We suspect that we will tear this old structure down by winter of 2005.
Other portions of the existing ranch were acquired by the Garst Family over the years. Various homesteaders worked the surrounding land in smaller sections. There are several other homesteads that we are looking for original photo’s of. The Grant place and the Morrow place are also incorporated into the current ranch. It would be nice to have those historic photo’s.
2002
From the same angle as the photo at the top of the page you can see that very little is left from the 1940’s. Only the old original homestead which I am told was built in the 1910’s. While the old house is watertight, it is not currently being inhabited and is only used as a game room with ping pong, foos ball, air hockey and darts for activities. The huge indoor arena dominates the homestead area Behind the houses (not visible in these photos) is a 1000 square foot renovated dance hall from nearby Rocky Point Wyoming that was built in the 1920’s. It was moved here in the 60’s and stood unfinished until this year when we modernized it. Even though our main house is small, we have so much additional storage room, that our home is very comfortable. Some time in the 1950’s the belt of shelter trees were added to the right (north) of the houses. They make a really good wind break.
2008