Last updated: March 25, 2021
Place
Bunkhouse Bedroom
NPS/Grant-Kohrs Ranch
Quick Facts
Location:
Deer Lodge, MT
Significance:
Historical Structure
Designation:
National Historic Site
Amenities
6 listed
Accessible Sites, Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Restroom - Seasonal, Trash/Litter Receptacles
Cowboys working on the ranch spent most of their down time relaxing in the bunkhouse. This small bedroom was set up in the middle of bunkhouse row so those hard-working cowboys could read a book or get a good night's sleep.
The original structure that would eventually become the core of the bunkhouse row was built by Johnny Grant in the 1860’s. He constructed two separate log cabins and connected them both by a structure called a dog trot. The dog trot was covered with a roof, but it was open on both the north and south sides, which created an alley-like space between the two cabins. Conrad Kohrs and John Bielenberg added walls and enclosed the dog trot sometime between 1884 and 1890, which created the space that would become the bunk room.
There would have been enough bunks or cots for about five cowboys in this room. Their bedding varied from warm blankets and soft pillows to the same bedrolls that they used when sleeping outdoors. Electricity was added to the bunkhouse in 1894, the same time as the main ranch house. There was a single light source in each room. Most cowboys didn’t have much space to themselves and typically didn’t own a lot of possessions. They had clothes, tools for work such as lariats, toiletries, books, magazines, and other personal items, such as letters or photographs. They would sometimes use wooden fruit and vegetable crates to store their belongings or serve as a small bedside table.
Historic photographs of the ranch taken between 1902 and 1927, show that a doorway once led into the bunk room from the outside. This door was taken out when Conrad Kohrs Warren started remodeling the bunkhouse floors, roof, and walls sometime after 1927. After this remodel, the only access into the bunk room was through the door in the side door in the main sitting room.
The original structure that would eventually become the core of the bunkhouse row was built by Johnny Grant in the 1860’s. He constructed two separate log cabins and connected them both by a structure called a dog trot. The dog trot was covered with a roof, but it was open on both the north and south sides, which created an alley-like space between the two cabins. Conrad Kohrs and John Bielenberg added walls and enclosed the dog trot sometime between 1884 and 1890, which created the space that would become the bunk room.
There would have been enough bunks or cots for about five cowboys in this room. Their bedding varied from warm blankets and soft pillows to the same bedrolls that they used when sleeping outdoors. Electricity was added to the bunkhouse in 1894, the same time as the main ranch house. There was a single light source in each room. Most cowboys didn’t have much space to themselves and typically didn’t own a lot of possessions. They had clothes, tools for work such as lariats, toiletries, books, magazines, and other personal items, such as letters or photographs. They would sometimes use wooden fruit and vegetable crates to store their belongings or serve as a small bedside table.
Historic photographs of the ranch taken between 1902 and 1927, show that a doorway once led into the bunk room from the outside. This door was taken out when Conrad Kohrs Warren started remodeling the bunkhouse floors, roof, and walls sometime after 1927. After this remodel, the only access into the bunk room was through the door in the side door in the main sitting room.