Our Story |
|
|
The gates of Chief Joseph Ranch were again opened to the public in 2004, providing guests the chance to experience one of the Bitterroot Valley's historic landmarks, known in the 1920s as the Ford & Hollister Ranch of Darby, Montana. Purchased in 1914 by the glass tycoon William Ford and Judge Hollister of Ohio, the 2,500 acre ranch was, at that time, a thriving apple orchard. Using both log and stone native to the grounds, William Ford began a three-year endeavor to build one of the great log structures of the American West - the Chief Joseph Lodge. Featured in such publications as Architectural Digest and American Log Homes, the Chief Joseph Lodge occupies a place alongside the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone and the Lodges at Glacier National Park. Along with the Lodge, Ford built three massive barns as the backdrop for his model dairy. He then replaced the apple trees with the largest herd of Holsteins west of the Mississippi. With business to attend to in the east, however, Ford ultimately spent little time at his Montana getaway. As the years passed, the dairy operation would give way to a guest ranch, run by Mrs. Ford and her daughters, along with the help of their ranch manager, Ben Cook. After forty years, the Ford and Hollister Ranch was finally sold and renamed the Chief Joseph Ranch, in honor of the great Nez Perce chief. |
|
|
|
