August 10, 2020
Four Wyoming ranch families are recognized as 2020 Centennial Farm & Ranch honorees.
This year’s Centennial Farm & Ranch families are the Cook Ranch, Gilbert Ray Cook, of Rozet in Campbell County; Circle Nine Cattle Company, the Podio and Adkins families, of Newcastle in Weston County; FA Bush Ranch, the family of Fount and Alice Bush, of Hulett in Crook County; and the Klondike Ranch, the Richard Tass family, of Buffalo in Johnson County.
The Cook Ranch was established in 1916 by Floyd Cook.
The Circle Nine Cattle Company was established in 1918 by Claude and Marie Adkins. Claude and Marie purchased the land from the original homesteader when the family left the Cambria Coal Mine.
The FA Bush Ranch was established in 1906 by Fount and Alice Bush. In May of 1899 Bush settled in Wyoming and filed for a homestead about 18 miles northwest of Hulett on the Little Missouri River, with his certificate #968, issued October 31, 1906 under the authority of President Theodore Roosevelt.
The Klondike Ranch was established in 1920 by Joseph Hakert. The Klondike Ranch does have a unique name which has its origin from the Klondike Gold Rush. Stella Cook was the original homesteader on the land and she married Frank Jones who hit a rich strike in the Klondike. Hakert purchased the ranch in 1920 and retained the original name.
The Centennial Farm & Ranch program annually honors families who have owned and operated the same farm or ranch for 100 years or longer. It takes hard work and determination to remain in agriculture for 100 years or more. Wyoming’s Centennial families embody those traits and have stated on the same piece of land in spite of economic hard times, drought, development pressure and other man-made and natural threats.
The history of these Centennial families helps tell Wyoming’s story and highlights the importance of agriculture in the State. The acknowledgement of being a Centennial family is honorary and does not place any requirements or expectations on the family.
Centennial Farm & Ranch families are honored each year at a special luncheon ceremony on the last Saturday of the Wyoming State Fair. Given the coronavirus pandemic, the planning committee for the Centennial Farm & Ranch event confirmed with these families that formal honors will be postponed to the 2021 luncheon event.
Wyoming Centennial Farm & Ranch partners include: Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office, Wyoming Stock Growers Association, Wyoming Wool Growers Association, Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Wyoming Rural Electric Association, Wyoming Business Council and the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.
For more information about the Centennial Farm & Ranch program, visit the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office website at: http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us, and click on Programs.