Grant-Kohrs Ranch Kohrs and Bielenberg Home Ranch Historic Resource Study/Historic Structure Report/Historical Data

I. Primary Sources

1. Manuscript Materials

The bulk of the manuscript materials concerning Grant-Kohrs Ranch are in two locations: Deer Lodge, Montana and Helena, Montana. The materials in Deer Lodge have been collected into seven rolls of microfilm and about 385 photographs. These materials are on file at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site offices in Deer Lodge. The contents and organization of the microfilmed papers are shown in Appendix 13. The materials in Helena are those of the Montana Historical Society. That collection includes an extensive vertical file as well as a daybook and ledger. The daybook and ledger are also included in the microfilms at Deer Lodge. A more detailed description follows.

Deer Lodge

Manuscript materials at the offices of the park include some recent deeds, land descriptions, the Conrad Kohrs autobiography, and various historical materials such as the letter to Mons. Tiegen from Conrad K. Warren (8 February 1973). This is in addition to the microfilm reels and photographs there. Some of the materials at the park are open to the public, but the papers on microfilm are predominantly those still owned by Mr. Conrad K. Warren of Deer Lodge. Mr. Warren made the materials available for microfilming and has allowed researchers from the National Park Service to use them. However, they remain his possession and have not been opened to public use. Researchers wishing to utilize these materials should contact the Superintendent, Grant-Kohrs National Historic Site, Deer Lodge, Montana, for information concerning their use.

Helena

The materials in Helena are those of the Montana Historical Society. The collections there are well indexed, and the Kohrs and Bielenberg Papers comprise a separate entry. The holdings of Kohrs and Bielenberg material are varied. The vertical file contains clippings, letters, notes, land ownership documents, and a handwritten 1885 vintage autobiography of Conrad Kohrs. A daybook and a ledger book are also in the collection. (These two books were added to the Conrad K. Warren papers when the total was microfilmed and thus appear there as well. Ancillary papers containing Kohrs and Bielenberg materials include the Samuel T. Hauser Papers, Collection 37. See Box 62, Folders 24 to 30. Other excellent materials can be found in publications of the society noted later in this bibliography.) Individual items worthy of consideration include the J. H. Gehrmann Papers, AC 74-41; the "Extract from Memoirs of Johnnie Grant"; Montana Stock Farm Catalog, "Catalogue of Thoroughbreds Property of Mr. Conrad Kohrs and Mr. John Bielenberg" (636.0822/M76; Mrs. Granville Stuart, "Story of the D H S Ranche ," (978.665/St9; and Letter, Patricia W. Tarnawsky to Mrs. Paul Brazier. Helena, Montana, 25 March 1969.

Denver, Colorado

There is an indexed collection of Conrad Kohrs data at the Western History Department of the Denver Public Library. The materials there also appear in either Deer Lodge or Helena, and thus are not cited in this study. The materials in the Western History Department, however, are significant and merit examination early in any research undertaking.

2. Books

These works are annotated as necessary and represent accounts by participants or miscellaneous books that were used during the Kohrs and Bielenberg era.

Brand Book of the Montana Stock Growers' Association for 1903. Helena, Mont.: Independent Publishing Co. 1903.

See Appendix 14.

Clay, John. My Life on the Range. New York: Antiquarian Press, Ltd., 1961.

Clay's work is one of the classics of the range cattle industry. It is the report of a participant turned chronicler, and provides a sympathetic yet complete view of the romance as well as of the economic aspects of the range cattle industry. Clay and Kohrs were friends; thus this book helps provide an insight into the thinking of Kohrs's contemporaries. It is an invaluable work in connection with any research on Grant-Kohrs Ranch.

Leeson, M. A. A History of Montana. 1885.

Leeson's book was of the genre called "County Histories." The research and publication was paid for out of locally garnered funds. and those willing to pay extra received comparable extra attention. The illustration of the Kohrs ranch alone makes this a valuable work, and the general history brings an understanding of contemporary attitudes as well.

Smith, Helena Huntington, and Abbot, E. C. ("Teddy Blue"). We Pointed Them North: Recollections of a Cowpuncher. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1939.

Blue's recollections present a delightful view of cowboy life, drama, and humor. Blue's close association with the Granville Stuart family and with the DHS Ranch brings this narrative into the immediate area of interest for those studying the Kohrs and Bielenberg range cattle operation.

Stuart, Granville. Forty Years on the Frontier As Seen in the Journals and Reminiscences of Granville Stuart: Gold-Miner, Trader, Merchant, Rancher, and Politician. Edited by Paul C. Phillips, Two Volumes in One. Glendale, Calif.: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1967.

Stuart was both a friend and partner of Kohrs and Bielenberg and his reminiscences are of unique value in studying the Kohrs and Bielenberg story.

______. Montana As It Is. New York: C. S. Westscott and Co., 1865. (Reproduced by the Arno Press, 1973.)

Cookbooks

These works were included in the collections of the home ranch, and are presented as the cookbooks used at the ranch.

Fellows, Charles. A Selection of Dishes and the Chef's Reminder: A High Class Culinary Text Book. 10th ed. (rev. ed. 1909;. Chicago: The Hotel Monthly, 1904.

Harland, Marion. The Cottage Kitchen: A Collection of Practical and Inexpensive Recipes. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1883.

Rorer, Mrs. St. New Salads for Dinners, Luncheons, Suppers, and Receptions: With a Group of Odd Salads and Some Ceylon Salads. Philadelphia: Arnold and Company, 1897.

3. Articles

Clay, John. "The Passing of Conrad Kohrs. Breeder's Gazette (Dec. 2, 1920).

This reminiscence/obituary is a lengthy consideration of Con Kohrs by a colleague of long standing.

Harkness, James. "Diary of James Harkness, of the Firm of LaBarge, Harkness, and Company: St. Louis to Fort Benton by the Missouri River and to the Deer Lodge Valley and Return in 1862." Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana, 2:343-61. (10 vols. Reprinted. Boston, Mass., J.S. Canner & Co. Inc., 1966.)

Kohrs, Conrad. "A Veteran's Experience in the Western Cattle Trade." Breeder's Gazette (December 18, 1912).

This is an excellent survey of the Kohrs years as Kohrs recalled them.

Stuart, Granville. "Historical Sketch of Deer Lodge, County, Valley, and City: July 4, 1976." Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana, 28 (1896):119-25.

II. Secondary Sources

1. Books

Adams, Ramon F. Western Words: A Dictionary of the American West. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968.

Atherton, Lewis. The Cattle Kings. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1962.

Atherton's study of the cattle kings includes Kohrs. This is a well prepared book covering the field announced in the title as well as many other aspects of the range cattle industry.

Barrows, John R. Ubet. Caldwell, Idaho, 1936.

This study covers life on the DHS ranch in some detail, including the establishment of the ranch.

Billington, Ray Allen. Westward Expansion. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1949.

While Billington's massive work is cited in virtually every western oriented study, its inclusion here is not mere formality. The chapter entitled "Cattleman's Frontier, 1865-1887" is a valuable and accurate overview of the cattle empire and the forces that both developed and changed it. Other chapters on the mining frontier, on farming, and on opening the Great Plains bear on the Grant-Kohrs Ranch story as well. Perusal of the bibliography should be an early step during any cattle industry research.

Brown, Mark H., and Felton, W. R. Before Barbed Wire: L. A. Huffman, Photographer on Horseback. New York: Bramhall House, 1956.

Brown and Felton's narrative blends with the photographs of eastern Montana roundups taken by L. A. Huffman around the turn of the century. The bibliography provides a good beginning for those studying Montana cattle history, and the maps and the inside cover are the best available on Montana large cattle industry sites. Kohrs and Bielenberg and their cattle operations are prominently mentioned here. This study ranks with Fletcher's Free Grass to Fences in importance to any work on Montana cattle history.

Burlingame, Merril G. The Montana Frontier. Helena, Mont., 1942.

Cheney, Roberta Carheek. Names on the Face of Montana: The Story of Montana's Place Names. Missoula: The University of Montana Publications in History, 1971.

Colonial and Revolutionary Lineages of America: A Collection of Genealogical Studies Completely Documented and Appropriately Illustrated, Bearing Upon Notable Early American Lines and Their Collateral Connections. New York: The American Historical Company, 1957.

Carries data on Kohrs and his descendants.

Downs, Winfield Scott. Encyclopedia of Northwest Biography. New York: The American Historical Research Company, Inc., 1941.

Fletcher, Robert H. Free Grass to Fences: The Montana Range Cattle Story. New York: University Publishers, Inc., for the Historical Society of Montana, 1960.

Fletcher's work is the basic one for the Montana range cattle story. It should be the first consulted, and kept close at hand. Footnotes would have further strengthened this lively narrative, but the delightful prose, the use of the records of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, the use of Charles M. Russell paintings as illustrations, and Fletcher's thorough knowledge of Montana history combine to form a most pleasing package.

Forbis, William H. The Cowboys. New York: Time-Life Books, Inc., 1973.

This is one of the Time-Life series on the American West. The narrative, illustrations, and general tone place it among the very best efforts of a somewhat spotty series. The comprehensiveness of the work is quite good, and the illustrations carefully selected to illustrate the narrative. The unannotated bibliography is comprehensive enough, but not overly rich. In a field of far too many works, it should be considered one of the leaders.

Frantz, Joe B., and Choate, Julian Ernerst, Jr. The American Cowboy: The Myth & the Reality. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955.

In addition to good solid research throughout that cuts through the romance associated with the cowboy, the last two chapters of this work contain excellent essays on the literature in the field. The work also has a well constructed and lengthy bibliography.

Gressley, Gene M. Bankers and Cattlemen. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1971.

This excellent work examines the economic aspects of the cattle business as no other does. It is among the most important works on the range cattle industry.

A History of Montana. Vol. 3. Family and Personal History. New York. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1957.

Howard, Joseph Kinsey. Montana: High, Wide, and Handsome. New Haven. Yale University Press, 1943.

Kraenzel, Carl Frederick. The Great Plains in Transition. Norman. University of Oklahoma Press, 1969.

This is one of the less flashy, yet quite useful, studies involving the cattle kingdom.

McCracken, Harold. The Charles M. Russell Book. Garden City N. Y.: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1957.

In We Pointed Them North, Teddy Blue indicates that Charles M. Russell often used DHS cowboys as his subjects. Assuming that this was so, then any collection of Russell cowboy paintings has particular merit in relation to the Kohrs and Bielenberg story.

Ornduff, Donald R. The Hereford In America: A History of the Breed's Progress. Kansas City, Missouri: Hereford History Press. 1957.

This work contains much useful data on the early development of the Hereford breed of cattle, a story in which Con Kohrs and John Bielenberg figure.

Osgood, Ernest Staples. The Day of the Cattleman. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1929.

This study is one worthy of some consideration as a general history of the cattle industry. Although somewhat dated by contemporary research, it retains a great deal of useful information.

Rich, E. E. Hudson's Bay Company 1670-1870. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1961.

This encyclopedic three volume set contains much early cattle history as it related to the western trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company.

Rickey, Don. 10 Dollar Horse, 40 Dollar Saddle. Ft. Collins, Colo. : Old Army Press, 1976.

One of the newest books on cowboy equipment and dress, it is also one of the best.

Sanders, Alvin Howard. At The Sign of the Stock Yard Inn. Chicago: The Breeder's Gazette, 1915.

Depending on the researcher's point of view, this can be considered either a primary or a secondary source. The work is something of a review of the cattle industry—names and characters, and events associated with them that had, by 1915, made some impress at the Chicago Stock Yards. The attitudes that the business men associated with the cattle industry held about their position and that of their fellows is contained herein. In relating the anecdotes and triumphs of those id chronicles, this is certainly not unbiased history. As a revelation of the romance and mystique of the cattle business, it is an excellent source for its time—the late 1870s to 1915.

Schlebecker, John T. Cattle Raising on the Plains, 1900-1961. Lincoln. University of Nebraska Press, 1963.

This is an excellent work, which in the introductory chapter covers the origins and later developments of the cattle industry. Carefully documented and lucidly written, it covers the breeding, marketing, and historical aspects of cattle raising.

Toole, K. Ross. Montana: An Uncommon Land. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1959.

This excellent evaluation of Montana history is so much fun to read that any researcher should find a need to consult it frequently.

Towne, Charles Wayland, and Wentworth, Edward Norris. Tattle and Men. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955.

This fine survey work covers the history of cattle from earliest times to the twentieth century.

Webb, Walter Prescott. The Great Plains. New York: Grosset and Dunlop (by arrangement with Ginn and Company), 1931.

Wentworth, Edward N. A Biographical Catalog of the Portrait Gallery of the Saddle and Sirloin Club. Chicago: Union Stock Yards, 1920.

See the comment for At The Sign of the Stock Yard Inn.

2. Articles

Brogue, Allan. "The Progress of the Cattle Industry in Ontario During the Eighteen Eighties." Agricultural History 21, no. 3 (July 1947): 163-69.

Brogue's article shows the extent of Short Horn and Hereford development in Ontario. This bears a close relationship to the Kohrs and Bielenberg herds, since Kohrs travelled to Ontario from time to time to buy animals.

Edwards, The Reverend George. "Presbyterian Church History in Montana." Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana VI (1907): 290-444.

This article, like the other one on Montana religious history, shows that Kohrs contributed to many churches, and consistently helped them function as active participants in the community.

Fletcher, Robert S. "That Hard Winter in Montana, 1886-1887." Agricultural History 4 (1930):123-30.

Fletcher's work is an excellent reference.

Gill, Larry. "From Butcher Boy to Beef King: The Gold Camp Days of Conrad Kohrs." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 8, no. 2 (April 1958): 40-55.

Marred by an obvious overuse of speculation and purpose prose, Gill's work retains some marginal utility to those engaged in studying the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site.

Gordon, Paul R. "Grant-Kohrs Ranch: A Look Into The Past At One of Montana's Great Old Ranches." Montana Cattleman (May-June 1976), pp. 6-9.

Gordon's article is a general overview of the history of the site, including initial National Park Service efforts there.

Jilson, Herb. "My Ranch Situated on Cottonwood Creek." Western Livestock Reporter, Ranch Feature Issue(6 Oct. 1948), pp. 2-8, 52-53.

This account, along with Wilson's "6000 Acres and a Microscope," provides the reader with a look at Con Warren's ranch operation. This article emphasizes Con's improvements at the ranch, while Wilson emphasizes breeding of the registered herds and comparisons with the old days of ranching.

Kingston, C. S. "Introduction of Cattle Into the Pacific Northwest." Washington Historical Quarterly 14 (1932): 163-85.

Lemmer, George F. "The Spread of Improved Cattle Through the Eastern United States to 1850." Agricultural History 21, no. 2 (April 1947): 179-92.

Malone, Michael P., and Roeder, Richard B. "The Centennial Year in Montana: In the Gulches--Mining in Field and Pasture--Agriculture." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 35, no. 2 (Spring 1975): 20-36.

This is one of a series of four articles Malone and Roeder wrote for Montana magazine. They are excellent surveys of life and culture in Montana in the Centennial Year 1876.

McDonald, J. J. "Conrad Kohrs, Montana Pioneer." Americana Illustrated 34, no. 3 (July 1940): 482-93.

Oliphant, J. Orin. "The Cattle Herds and Ranches of the Oregon Country, 1860-1890." Agricultural History 21, no. 4 (October 1947):217-38.

Tuttle, Daniel S. "The Early History of the Episcopal Church in Montana." Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana 5 (1904): 289-324.

White, H. P. "The Building of a Cattle Empire." Western Livestock and the Westerner (August 1949), pp. 20, 54-55.

Wilson, Charles Morrow. "6000 Acres and a Microscope." Scribner's Magazine (September 1937), pp. 42-48, 69.

This delightful article is the best published work on the Warren Ranch. The photographs show the ranch just after many of the modern buildings had been erected and as Con Warren was sprucing the place up.

3. Other Materials

This portion of the bibliography concerns all the materials used that did not fall into one of the earlier categories.

Bearss, Edwin C. "Resource Description and Evaluation," Grant-Kohrs Ranch, 11 Feb. 1971.

Bearss was the first National Park Service historian to present a narrative history of the ranch, and his brief but inclusive study still merits attention. The organization of the ranch's historical structures still utilized was determined by this study.

_____. Historic Structure Report and Historic Resource Study, Historical Data Section, Ewing (Snell) and ML Ranches, and Hillsboro, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana-Wyoming. Denver: National Park Service, 1974.

This excellent study provides a view of an eastern Montana stock growing operation and permits a comparison to the Kohrs and Bielenberg operation.

Everhart, William C.; Mattison, Ray H.; and Utley, Robert M. The Cattlemen's Empire, The National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings, Theme XV, Westward Expansion and the Extension of the National Boundaries to the Pacific, 1830-1898. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Department of the Interior (NPS), 1959.

This work contains a narrative history of the range cattle story and reports on the various historical sites remaining from that era that were examined. The narrative and bibliography could be of real value to researchers.

Hakola, John W. "Samuel T. Hauser and the Economic Development of Montana: A Case Study in Nineteenth Century Frontier Capitalism." Ph.D. dissertation. Indiana University, February 1961.

Hakola's work on early Montana history is an excellent one. The data he presents in Chapter VII, "The DHS Ranch," is of unique value when studying the Kohrs and Bielenberg range cattle operation.

Helena Gazette

Available on microfilm at the Montana Historical Society.

Interview, Mrs. J. Maurice Dietrich with John Albright and Paul Gordon, 6 May 1975, Deer Lodge, Montana, copy of file at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS, Montana.

None of the interviews conducted in conjunction with this study have been released by the interviewer or interviewee for general use. Researchers wishing to utilize these interviews should contact the Superintendent, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Deer Lodge, Montana.

Interview, J. H. Gehrmann with Peter Snell, 7 July 1975, Davenport, Iowa.

Interview, Howard Mayo with John Albright, 3 Mar. 1975, Deer Lodge, Montana.

Interview, T. G. Mooney with Ralph W. Cumming, WPS Montana Writers Files, Montana State College, 11 June 1940.

This interview is on file at the Montana Historical Society.

Interviews, Conrad K. Warren with John Albright, Peter Snell, and staff of Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS: 2 May 1975, 3 May 1975, 6 May 1975, 14 May 1975, 9 June 1975, 9 Sept. 1975, and 11 Sept. 1975. All are on file at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS, Deer Lodge, Montana.

Long, Luman H. 1968 Centennial Edition: The World Almanac and Book of Facts. New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1968.

The New Northwest

The New Northwest is the major newspaper source for Kohrs and Bielenberg data. Published weekly in Deer Lodge for the entire span of the partners' greatest activity there, hardly an issue does not contain some material on the ranch or the personalities associated with it. The newspaper is complete on microfilm at the Montana Historical Society. A few of the more recent volumes in the William K. Kohrs Memorial Library at Deer Lodge are missing. This paper was succeeded by the Silver State Post, which is still published weekly in Deer Lodge.

Powell County Deed Books, Deer Lodge, Montana.

The deed books used in this study include the Miscellaneous Record books and other record books in the office of the County Clerk and Recorder, Powell County, Deer Lodge, Montana. The deed books at the courthouse in Deer Lodge were all transcribed after the original Deer Lodge County was broken up on 1 Jan. 1901. The original books are in Anaconda, Montana, now the seat of Deer Lodge County.

Register of Actions, District Court of Deer Lodge County, M. T., Case 1840-1841, Utah and Northern Railway v. Conrad Kohrs, Augusta Kohrs, and John N. W. Bielenberg.

These may be found in the Deer Lodge County Courthouse, Anaconda, Montana.

Thane, James L. "Montana Territory: The Formative Years 1862-1870." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Iowa, 1972.