Last updated: October 10, 2024
Place
Thoroughbred Barn
NPS/Grant-Kohrs Ranch
Quick Facts
Location:
Deer Lodge, MT
Significance:
Historical Building
Designation:
National Historic Site
Amenities
6 listed
Accessible Sites, Benches/Seating, Cellular Signal, Fire Extinguisher, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot
Conrad Kohrs and his half-brother, Johnny Bielenberg, are credited with bringing the first Thoroughbred horses to Montana. These tall, sleek racehorses were cross bred with smaller horses that had been used by indigenous people for centuries. The result produced fast, durable horses that were perfectly suited for covering long distances, whether for personal transport or working on cattle drives. Horses were not always left outside on the range, however and this barn was constructed around 1883 to house many of the ranch’s prized Thoroughbred horses.
One of the stalls in the building was used by foaling mares about to give birth. An adjacent bricked-in sleeping room was constructed at the front of the building with an interior window. This provided a view to the foaling area and allowed ranch hands to keep a watchful eye on the mares. Johnny Bielenberg also utilized this small room as a makeshift veterinary office, and he spent many nights sleeping on the bunk so he could keep a watchful eye over the foaling mares.
For a time, Conrad Warren housed his prized Belgian mares inside the barn. In the 1940’s and early 1950’s, Warren used the building as a show barn for his Hereford cattle. During sales, several tents were set up in the adjacent field and the cattle were brought out one at a time to be purchased.
Today, the Thoroughbred barn is used to display some of the ranch’s historic equipment that employed true horsepower. The sleighs, buggies, and harvesters that visitors can explore inside the building are as diverse as the horses that pulled them.
One of the stalls in the building was used by foaling mares about to give birth. An adjacent bricked-in sleeping room was constructed at the front of the building with an interior window. This provided a view to the foaling area and allowed ranch hands to keep a watchful eye on the mares. Johnny Bielenberg also utilized this small room as a makeshift veterinary office, and he spent many nights sleeping on the bunk so he could keep a watchful eye over the foaling mares.
For a time, Conrad Warren housed his prized Belgian mares inside the barn. In the 1940’s and early 1950’s, Warren used the building as a show barn for his Hereford cattle. During sales, several tents were set up in the adjacent field and the cattle were brought out one at a time to be purchased.
Today, the Thoroughbred barn is used to display some of the ranch’s historic equipment that employed true horsepower. The sleighs, buggies, and harvesters that visitors can explore inside the building are as diverse as the horses that pulled them.