Ranch History
The history of a fly fishing paradise
Back in 1881, Sylvester Hanson ventured out of Civil War-torn North Carolina in search of a better life in the wide open spaces of the Western frontier.
He chose wisely. In Montana, he found a pristine chunk of land criss-crossed by the Smith River for his family's new homestead, thereby establishing a Hanson family legacy that continues today as the Bar Z Ranch.
The main Montana ranch still sits just west of the small town of White Sulphur Springs, about 1.5 hours north of Bozeman, and the Hansons are still running cattle there as they did back in 1881. But since those early days, they've expanded their operation to encompass more than 10,000 of the prettiest acres in the country.
4000 acres on upper Sheep Creek at the old Schmidt place, 2000 acres on the North Fork of the Smith and finally the 4000 acres of the main Montana ranch now round out the total acreage of this truly unique property and Montana fly-fishing ranch.
As it's been for over 100 years, The then Riverside Ranch, now Bar Z, is a full-time cattle operation, running about 400 cows and 200 yearlings. Elmer Hanson, grandson of Sylvester, is the ranch patriarch, and he still pushes cows around for most of the year. The ranch boasts a tremendous variety of wild animals including elk, mule and whitetail deer, moose, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, coyotes, black bears, mountain lions, badgers, porcupines, grouse, sand-hill cranes, ducks, snipe, and gophers.
Spending your days at this Montana fly-fishing ranch is an experience that's as rare as it is relaxing; as special as it is spectacular. There aren't many places like this left. Anywhere.
