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. They li ...

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 wa ...

, 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, is one of the most isolated places in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. 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 agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

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. The Caroline Lockhart Ranch was placed on the

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 artistic v ...

on November 3, 1989. The present property comprises , the core of the ranch.

References

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