Struggling to pull heavy loads across Campbell County a century ago, horses must have loathed the sight of Smelser Hill. Rising steeply for a full half-mile, the ridge sits defiantly under … more

The rhythmic rattle of rail cars as they pass by the Hines Ranch eight miles west of Gillette has intricately woven the lives of three generations of ranchers. Their place, near the Burlington … more

Elias Whitcomb’s only son, Harold, or “Little Whit,” had been born in 1894 just a year after his niece, Marjorie Badgett. At the time, his father bought the pair Shetland ponies and … more

Brothers Larry and David Shippy of Gillette have spent 35 years picking up the pieces as century-old family ranches splinter and shrink around them. They’ve amassed an old-school cattle ranch … more

Ten years ago, when 72-year-old Vernon Hunter felt pneumonia pulling at the last strings of his life, he told Robert and James Tarver to get their suits ready. Days later, the twenty-something … more

Elias Whitcomb bought three ranches on the Belle Fourche River for his three daughters. One was the OR Ranch, now owned by the Jessens. The Bar FS Ranch is now owned by the Bishops (see story on … more

For 95 years, Bob Dillinger’s family has worked a small ranch southeast of Rozet — not because they could make a living there but because it’s the only way they want to live. Despite the … more

The Sundance Kid encountered Butch Cassidy while working for what’s now Bishop Land and Livestock, but plenty more illustrious characters have inhabited the Campbell County ranch over the past … more

Never has Campbell County changed more — including energy booms — than it did 95 years ago when the Homestead Act of 1916 doubled the size of its wild land up for grabs.People from across … more

The Werner family has Buffalo Bill Cody to thank for enticing a New York teen to come to the West in the early 1900s.It may never be known whether George Werner met the famed actor in his … more