Ranchester Railroad Depot, approx. 1910.

Headquarters camp Big Horn Timber Co., undated.

With the need by the railroad for railroad ties, Omaha investment banker John A. McShane (1850-1923) established a mill in Ranchester which became the principal source of railroad ties for the Burlinton System.

Big Horn Timber Company Mill, Ranchester, undated.

Log Flume, Tongue River

McShane in addition to being President of the McShane Lumber Company which had interests ranging from East Texas, Arizona, and Mexico, to Wyoming, was also a shareholder in the Bay State Cattle Co., the Creighton-McShane Oil Co., and served as both a representative and senator in the Nebraska State Legislature. He was elected in 1887 to one term to the United States House of Representatives, but was defeated in a campaign for Nebraska governor in 1888. McShane, Texas, now a ghost town, was named after him.

McShane, as a young lad of 22, came to Wyoming Territory from Omaha in 1872 and was employed by his uncle, John A. Creighton, on the Creighton Ranch on Horse Creek north of Cheyenne. After he had been in Creighton's service for about two years Indians raided the ranch. McShane was there alone with a 15 year old boy who was killed by the raiders. McShane came out with his hands up. The Indians forced McShane to cook food for them and, upon completion of their repast, stripped McShane of his clothes, beat him into a stupor, and stole all the horses. McShane then had to walk naked, eluding the Indians, to the next ranch which was then under seige by the Indians. Shortly thereafter McShane returned to Omaha.

Flume for McShane's Tie Camp, Big Horn Mountains, at Deadman's Point

But we digress. The railroad tie operation was regarded as one of the marvels of the age. Construction of the flume commenced in 1893. The tie camp was in the Big Horn Mountains. The sawmill in the tie camp was powered by a 20,000 pound boiler. As depicted above, an elaborate system of flumes was constructed to carry the ties 26 miles from Woodrock Camp to the Tongue River at Dayton where they were then floated to the mill at Ranchester. Ranchester, itself, was platted in 1895 by the Lincoln Land Company with the first lot sold to J. A. Hartman who constructed a store which was shortly thereafter followed by a saloon. The Lincoln Land Company, a subsidiary of the railroad also platted Parkman to the north of Ranchester, named after the historian Francis Parkman. Parkman never amounted to much more than a railroad switching station where the locomotives would be double-headed having suffered twice from disasterous fires. In 1898, the saloon and two houses burned. Several years later the Cottage Saloon along with the hotel, livery and store burned down. Nevertheless, the town did not die away completely. Shortly after the turn of the century David Alloway Diltz (1836-1928) constructed a lumber yard. Diltz had homesteaded in the area in 1893.

To the west of Parkman was Ohlman which was basically a timber camp named after George Ohlman who homesteaded in the area in 1887.

William J. Barker Ranch, Northeast of Parkman, 1910

Tunnel for log flume

In places the flume might be as much as 70 feet above the ground and went through two tunnels. It was fed by a system of log spash dams and side flumes to replenish the water and had a catwalk permitting workmen to walk along and inspect for damage. The operation brought prosperty to the area with as many as 500 men employed in the logging operation. The logging ended when the plant closed after a fire in 1913.

The area has also been prominent in the raising of horses. As noted on a previous page, Sheridan was the principal location for recruitment of horses for service in the Boer War. Indeed, Dayton claims to have had the first rodeo.

At the south end of the Town of Ranchester is the site of the Connor Battle with the Arapaho who were camped along side the Tongue River. On August 22, 1865, as the Indians were breaking camp, Brigadier Patrick E. Connor (1820-1891) attacked driving the Indians up Wolf Creek. The Indians counterattacked forcing Connor into a retreat. During the battle the Araphaho lost 64 men and several hundred ponies. During the battle, Connor's men made no distinction between braves and women and children. Prior to the battle the Arapaho were regarded as non-hostile. As a result, the Arapaho participated with the Sioux and the Cheyenne at the Fetterman fight. Connor during the Civil War was charged with protection of the overland mail route to California. He had previously served in the Mexican War. He was discharged from service in 1866 with a rank of Brevet Major-General and devoted himself to mining and anti-Mormon causes.

Dayton, 1941, photo by Marion Post Wolcott

Photographs taken by the Farm Security Administration always seemed to make things look slightly more bleak than they were in fact. Dayton did consist of more than a gas station and the Stockmen's Saloon pictured below. Note the fire hydrant indicated the presence of a central water system for the town. Actually, at one time the area was quite prosperous. S. H. Hardin, after whom Hardin, Montana is named, had his home in Ranchester.

Stockman's Saloon, Dayton, August 1941, photo by Marion Post Wolcott

The use of the "bucking horse" logo in Wyoming, as depicted on the saloon, dates back to World War I when used by Wyoming troops. It is supposedly based on a real horse and rider, the horse, "Steamboat," competed in rodeos between 1901 and 1914 when he became infected with blood poisoning as a result of contact with a barbed wire fence during a thunderstorm.

Silver Spur Saloon, Ranchester, June 2005, photo by Geoff Dobson

Next Page: Cattle Trails.