Visitors gathered around the branding grounds Wednesday as a group of cowhands atop their trusty horses herded calves into a corral.
For the Grant-Kohrs Ranch, branding is about more than proof of ownership. It’s about preserving traditions of the American West.
The Grant-Kohrs Ranch was once the headquarters of a 10-million-acre cattle empire. Today, the National Park Service operates the site as a working ranch.
“It's a great opportunity to show heritage skills,” said Julie Croglio, chief of interpretation at the ranch.
Getting the calves in the corral was only the first challenge for the group of cowhands and park rangers. From there, ropers heeled calves from the bunch and dragged them to a nordfork, a device used to immobilize the calves for branding.
A group stood ready to wrestle each calf if anything went amiss.
Once secured, a hot branding iron was brought over and placed on the calf’s upper back.
Livestock brands were first recorded in Montana in 1873. Passed down through generations, ranches have developed unique brands as symbols of pride and heritage.
The Grant-Kohrs Ranch still maintains the registration of the original branding symbol, a CK for the cattleman Conrad Kohrs. Since the park opened to the public in 1977, the ranch has used its own brand, a lazy G and hanging K.
The Grant-Kohrs Ranch herd is comprised of shorthorn, Texas longhorn and Hereford cattle.