Buffalo is part of Johnson County, nestled between the rolling plains of the Old West and the towering peaks of the Bighorn Mountains. This majesty has served as the backdrop for bitter strife, including some of the bloodiest wars fought between Native Americans and the encroaching U.S. military.
Fetterman Monument, for example, marks the site of a Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho ambush on Captain W.J. Fetterman and 80 men in 1866. Crazy Horse, early in his career of resisting U.S. takeover of native lands, helped set the successful trap. This was the worst defeat suffered by the U.S. military at the hands of Native Americans until Little Big Horn, 10 years later.
This is also where the bitter, deadly Johnson County Cattle War took place in the late 1880s. Basque sheepherders fought it out with the cattle ranchers, the cattlemen fought it out with each other, and Owen Wister immortalized the combat in his epic novel, The Virginian. As if that wasn't enough bloodshed, Hole in the Wall Country sits in southern Johnson County. This area is closely associated with such outlaws as Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, and includes another gang hideout, Outlaw Cave , in the Middle Fork of the Powder River. Nearby Outlaw Cave is Indian Rock Art Caves , named for their seventeen prehistoric rock drawings. Appropriately enough, a drawing of a large warrior dominates the cave.
TA Ranch
The famous Johnson County War, a three-day gun battle between large ranchers and squatters, was fought on the TA Ranch in April of 1892, and the barn still shows the bullet holes. By the time Earl and Barbara Madsen bought the ranch in 1991, all 16 outbuildings were in serious disrepair. But the Madsens moved in, bringing some hands and more than 200 head of cattle. They then proceeded to restore, building by building.
The new owners started with the Bunk House, removing several layers of shingles and discovering hand-hewn logs beneath. They stripped linoleum from the floors and uncovered beautiful hard wood. Then they refinished and sealed all the woodwork and added modern amenities to the bedrooms. Next up was the Cook House, built in 1893 and still used today as a kitchen and dining room for the ranch. They had to remove stucco that covered the hand-hewn log structure, and used a four-wheel drive truck to pull off the mesh beneath the stucco.
As more buildings were brought back to life, the Madsens decided to make the TA into a working guest ranch. They converted the Granary, originally used to store grain, into a video conference center, complete with modern kitchen, meeting room and bathroom. They did retain the building's rafters and structure, however, including the old roofing timbers. The Madsens are still restoring the TA Ranch, and estimate that it will take several more years to complete.
)
)
)
)
)
)
