Built 1892 Architectural style Other Opened 1892 Added to NRHP 26 March 1993 | Architect Unknown NRHP Reference # 93000198 Area 16 ha Nearest city Buffalo | |
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Location Johnson County, Wyoming, USA Similar Fort McKinney, Jim Gatchell Memorial, Cantonment Reno, Masonic Temple, North Casper Clubhouse | ||
The TA Ranch was the site of the principal events of the Johnson County Range War in 1892. The TA was established in 1882 as one of the first ranches in Johnson County, Wyoming. The TA is the only intact site associated with the range war, with trenches used by both sides still visible and scars on the nearby buildings. The ranch also documents the expansion and development of cattle ranching in Wyoming.
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Description
The ranch is located near the North Branch of Crazy Woman Creek south of Buffalo, Wyoming, with the Big Horn Mountains to the west. The property is significant for its role as the scene of a three-day siege in the Johnson County Range War, and as an example of an intact ranching operation.
Significant buildings include:
Other contributing structures include a granary, a garage, outhouses and a hen house.
Of particular note are the bunkers or breastworks built during the 1892 siege. The cattlemen's hired guns dug trenches on an elevated location to the west of the barn that commanded a view of the surrounding country. The local ranchers, homesteaders and townspeople who surrounded them built their own breastworks around the ranch. At least ten breastworks were built and three remain.
History
The ranch was established in 1882 by Dr. William Harris of Laramie, who had purchased the brand and herd of Tom Alsop, also of Laramie. Harris moved the herd to Johnson County to set up the TA Ranch, remaining in Laramie to continue his medical practice, with Charles Ford as ranch manager. As such, Harris was an absentee landowner and was politically aligned with the larger cattle barons. In 1892 a party of hired guns paid by the Wyoming Stockmen's Association embarked on a raid to hunt down "rustlers" who were supposedly stealing cattle from the stockmen. However, the mercenary company was resented by the smaller landowners prevalent in northern Wyoming and were confronted by a large group of local settlers and cowboys. The gunmen (frequently referred to as "invaders") retreated to the TA Ranch, which they proceeded to fortify. Soon, about fifty invaders were surrounded by almost four hundred locals. The invaders were rescued by U.S. Cavalry from Fort McKinney on the third day of the siege.
Harris traded the ranch to J.P. Gammon for another property in 1904, and Gammon used the TA to raise Percheron draft horses. In the 1920s Gammon started to raise Hereford cattle and expanded the ranch to raise hogs. The ranch changed hands to the Long Brothers in 1979, followed by several other changes of ownership.
The ranch is now operated as a guest ranch and conference center.