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Mason-Lovell Ranch

One of the Largest Cattle Ranches in Wyoming Territory in the 1880s

“ML Ranch”

Ranch in Bighorn Canyon NRA, Rocky Mountains near Kane, WY

Operated by Anthony L. Mason and Henry Clay Lovell, the ML ranch operated from 1883 to 1903 and supported as many as 25,000 cattle at its peak – ranging from Thermopolis to Billings. The ranch shut down in 1909, spurred by an unfavorable 1886–1887 winter, the decline of open-range ranching practices, and the deaths of Mason and Lovell in 1892 and 1903.

Today, the buildings at this ranch’s headquarters are preserved by the National Park Service as part of Bighorn Canyon NRA. The barn and icehouse no longer remain. Keep an eye on the ground various old implements: old glass bottle shards, metal pieces, etc. Please leave the area undisturbed for others, as this is a historic site.

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Buildings

Mason-Lovell Bunkhouse

Cabin Ruin in Bighorn Canyon NRA, Rocky Mountains near Kane, WY

Mason-Lovell Blacksmith Shop

Building Ruin in Bighorn Canyon NRA, Rocky Mountains near Kane, WY

Mason-Lovell North Cabin

Cabin Ruin in Bighorn Canyon NRA, Rocky Mountains near Kane, WY

Mason-Lovell South Cabin

Cabin Ruin in Bighorn Canyon NRA, Rocky Mountains near Kane, WY

Interpretive Signs

The National Park service has erected multiple informative signs at the ranch: at the entrance, each building, and the corral.

On the Web

On Wikipedia

The M L Ranch was established by Henry Clay Lovell and his financial backer Anthony Mason in Wyoming's Big Horn Basin in the late 1870s to the south of the present location. The second and final location was established farther north as a cattle line camp in 1883 to be closer to markets in Billings, Montana. In 1884 it became the headquarters for a ranch that reached 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) in area. The bad winter of 1886–87 killed half the stock on the ranch, more than 10,000 head., but the M L fared better than most. Mason died in 1892. Lovell died in Oregon in 1903. Lovell, Wyoming was named in his memory. The Lovell family ran the ranch until 1909. In the early 1960s the ranch was purchased by the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Bighorn Lake reservoir project. In 1966 the…

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Ranch