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The history of the Old West is filled with battles: Indians vs. soldiers, lawmen vs. outlaws, settlers vs. raw nature. But in the cold spring of 1892, a different kind of battle was about to reach its peak.
A group of cattle barons set out to eliminate any threat to their control of the Powder River country by hunting down smaller independent ranchers. The hunters quickly became the hunted when an angry posse of Johnson County residents got wind of the plan and pinned the "invaders" down at their refuge, the TA Ranch.
So began the climactic battle of the Johnson County War, a conflict that pitched cowboy against cowboy and neighbor against neighbor in an episode that continues to intrigue western historians to this day.
Tha TA Ranch, homesteaded in 1884 and holder of the fourth water right ever in Wyoming, had only four previous owners in its more than 100 years of existance.
The brand "TA" - also among the earliest registered in Wyoming - came from Tom Alsop, who started a herd outside Larime while helping supply Union Pacific rail-building crews in the early 1880s.
For those of you more interested in historic preservation, the TA Ranch Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization dedicated to supporting the historic preservation and education activities at the ranch. The Foundation welcomes your interest and support. You can reach the TA Ranch Foundation by calling (307) 684-5833 or by mail at P.O. Box 313, Buffalo, WY, 82834.
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