This month we are visiting the ranching valleys of Wyoming. Valley Ranch was located 45 miles from Cody, Wyoming, and was opened in 1915 by Irving H. Larry and Winthrop H. Brooks (of Brooks Brothers fame).
“Dudes,” a term for those visiting the West from the Eastern coast, traveled to Valley Ranch for an authentic American Old West experience. Westerners would offer lodging and authentic food along with providing trail rides, rodeo shoes, camping, and other typical Western activities. The recreation cabin offered dancing and a large stone fireplace for reading and writing by. The ranch also advertised new horses broken to ride will “[furnish] opportunity for some good pictures and considerable amusement.” Other activities included animal watching, fishing, gardening, target shooting, and card playing also provided.
If you were more adventurous, the ranch offered summer pack trips off the ranch with guides, extended hunting trips and a front row seat to stampedes.
There was much to do for children as well. The ranch offered horseback trips in the Rockies for boys and girls during the summer. The Winter Preparatory School for Boys offered preparation for college and the benefits for outdoor life such as polo, trapping, and rifle practice.
Sources:
Billingsley, Patricia. “Valley Ranch, Wyoming.” Philip H. Cummings. A Work in Progress, 2019. Website. http://www.philipcummings.net/valleyranch.php
Valley Ranch. (Medical Trade Ephemera Collection) Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.