In a quiet, solitude area of the eastern Colorado Plains is a working ranch that has a history of Colorado ranching dating to pre-statehood. Today, the Colorado Ranch Company not only carries on that history and tradition, but also serves as a modern-day dude ranch. In the early 1860s, Colorado legendary cattleman, John Iliff, ran cattle all over northeastern Colorado, including the area and land where the Colorado Cattle Company is located.
Cattle King John Wesley Iliff
Iliff began his cattle empire in a most unusual way. Arriving in Denver City along with the thousands of gold seekers, and those who went on to become the ‘59ers, Iliff took a different approach to gain his riches. As travelers came through Denver to stock up on supplies before heading on to the gold fields, Iliff would purchase their injured, sick or weary cattle for a very small price. He moved them to rented pastures and later sold the fattened cattle to the mining camps. In fact, the first contract Iliff fulfilled was heeled foot sore animals. As his business improved, Iliff gained contracts with the area army posts, Indian agencies and the railroad. It was in this manner that by 1863, Iliff had acquired enough cattle to roam the range lands he had quietly bought up stretching from the South Platte Valley east to Kansas and Nebraska, and from the South Platte River north to Wyoming.
Cowboys “Home On the Range”
In 1868 Iliff set up a base camp on his land near the South Platte River on the plains at a place known as Fremont’s Orchard. This was named for explorer John C. Fremont, who camped in the area. It was here that Iliff received his longhorn cattle from Oliver Loving, who drove them north from Texas. When Loving teamed with Charles Goodnight, the famed Goodnight Loving Trail blazed nearly due north from Texas to Iliff’s ranch, and then on to Wyoming. Iliff bought more than 800 head of cattle from Loving, following Loving’s first trail drive from Texas, and with the Goodnight/Loving Trail, Iliff’s partnership brought more cattle to Colorado. This new partnership would continue for many years, with Loving driving an average of 10,000 head of Texas longhorns per year to Iliff’s ranch in northeastern Colorado.
Iliff was a generous man, and his trustworthiness and honesty became well known and respected by the area ranchers and farmers. These great personal traits were also known to the Southern Cheyenne Indians, who during pillages raids up and down the South Platte River Trail, following the Sand Creek Massacre, Iliff’s ranch was never attacked. The railroad town of Iliff was named in his honor, as well as several railroad line camps in the bordering states. By 1877, Iliff had amassed more property than any rancher in the state with more than 40,000 head of cattle roaming his open range. When he died in 1878, Iliff truly was Colorado’s cattle king.
One of the many fine horses on the Colorado Ranch Company’s ranches.
The many cowboys who roamed the ranges of Iliff’s empire, herding and caring for the cattle, found their home on the range, as it were. There were men such as Cathey Propst who worked his way to foreman, and his son, Koger Propst, who at age 17 hired on with Iliff in 1876. The Propst family later started their own cattle ranch just a few miles southeast, near today’s town of Merino.
Another cowhand who stayed closer to home was Leonard Biggs. Following Iliff’s death in 1878, some of the land was sold off, while homesteaders filed on other parcels. Biggs was one who took up a homestead on Iliff’s land, not far from the town of New Raymer in 1880. He built a sod house and barn that are still in use at the Colorado Cattle Company today. The many homesteaders, farmers and ranchers in this area faced unbelievable hardships and many moved on. The mid 1880s saw drought conditions where crops would not grow and grain and hay was scarce for the animals. The winter of 1886-1887 was extremely harsh, and several hundred head of cattle froze or starved to death all over the northeastern plains.
Through it all, Biggs weathered the hard times to see the ranch flourish again. Over the next 10 years, Biggs improved his ranch and slowly bought more and more cattle. After all, this was ranch country and Biggs’ land had plenty of good water. As things began to improve, Biggs bought up the smaller homesteads around his property as other folks moved on. Biggs built a bunkhouse and expanded when the stagecoach from Kimball, Neb., came through in 1897. He accommodated the travelers with overnight stays, provided hot meals, fresh water and made a tidy sum on replacement horses.
This was the ranching heritage that became the Colorado Cattle Company in 1991. The 1880 sod house is still in use as a mechanical room. The stagecoach bunkhouse, while remodeled, serves as housing for the guests at the ranch.
At the ranch, guests enjoy horseback riding and leisure ventures as well as working vacations offered by the ranch. The hosts and their employees take their time teaching guests the ranching art of roping cattle, herding, cutting and sorting. There are also several games and friendly competitions, including team penning, team sorting, reining and cow catching. Many of these games are not only fun for the whole family, but teach great hand and eye coordination and horse skills as well. Many of the instructors are professional cowboys, some are members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and have themselves competed in many rodeos, winning several roping and cutting competitions. Others have years of experience in horse training.
Before and after the ranch work and the horse play and competitions is hearty meals, hot coffee and cowboy dessert. A warm bunkhouse and hot shower end the evening, for the sun will rise early and it’s another day on the ranch.
The Colorado Cattle Company offers a great guest ranch experience, and the folks there are committed to sharing their cowboy ways, the history and legacy of Colorado ranching. After all, they have big boots to fill; the greatest cattle king who started it all, John W. Iliff, right here in northeastern Colorado.
For more information, visit www.Coloradocattlecompany.com or call 970-437-5345.
