Mouprise.com

A trip back in time: the oldest working cattle ranches in the country

If you are looking to take a trip back in time to the dawn of the cowboy and the rise of cattle ranches, visit one of the oldest cattle ranches in the country.

With 8,000 acres of its own and bordered by 22,000 acres of leased public land, Horse Prairie Ranch is one of the oldest cattle ranches in Montana. The goal of the ranch is to preserve the tradition of working life on the ranch. As a guest, you can choose from a variety of activities including sunset sundowner rides, cattle herding, branding, wagon rides for breakfast, or a history tour, among others.

Similarly, one of the old ranches in Utah, Red Rock Ranch, is a true working cattle ranch complete with cattle herding for guests. Located in the 1850s, the ranch is nestled between the red rock cliffs of the South Fork Canyon. The ranch house is a two-story house built in the 1850s from dovetail logs.

The oldest working cattle ranch in the country, Deep Hollow Ranch, is located in, of all places, Montauk, NY. Montauk, known as an inspiration to Peter Benchley’s Jaws and just over 100 miles from New York City, might not seem like the place for a cattle ranch, but Deep Hollow Ranch has been operating there since the 1800s.

The history of Deep Hollow began in the 17th century, when ranch life was popular in Montauk. Ranchers rented land to Montauk Native Americans to graze their cattle. There was no need for fences as the Atlantic Ocean was a natural barrier on the south side and Block Island Sound a barrier on the north. Around this time, about 6,000 head of cattle were grazing on the land.

In 1885, the Long Island Railroad came to Montauk, and life began to change when tourists came from New York City to the place known for its fishing and beautiful scenery.

In 1898, former President Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders recovered in one of the houses in Montauk, but as the era closed and the 20th century began, ranchers began to give up their livelihood in favor of sport fishing and fishing. farming.

Polo horses came to Montauk in 1926 with a New York City-based real estate developer who dreamed of developing a luxury resort town. He bought most of the area, but then rented part of it to teenage Phineas Dickinson in 1936.

At the start of WWII, when the Dickinson boys went into service, most of the ranching in Deep Hollow came to a halt. Upon his return in 1947, Phineas brought white-faced cattle from Texas and raised them for slaughter in the 1960s.

In the early 1970s, the Leavers when Rusty Leaver, a former Phineas summer ranch laborer, decided to leave New York City for Montauk. When he found out that the ranch was for sale, he bought it. Within a few years, he married Dickinson’s daughter, Diane.

But if you want to visit Deep Hollow Ranch, you better do it soon. The family reluctantly put the ranch on the real estate market in the summer of 2006, as the Hamptons area’s location has made it much more difficult for the family to continue raising cattle and horses. The ranch could soon, like the cowboys of yesteryear, ride into the sunset.