Dryhead Country facts for kids
Dryhead Country is a special and very remote area in southern Montana. It's located between the amazing Bighorn Canyon and the tall Pryor Mountains. This unique region stretches from the Wyoming border, through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, and up into the Crow Indian Reservation. A creek called Dryhead Creek flows through part of this land, emptying into Bighorn Canyon. It's a dry, open area with very few people, mostly just a few ranches spread far apart.
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Discovering Dryhead Country in Montana
How Dryhead Country Got Its Name
The name "Dryhead" comes from a surprising sight from long ago. This area was named after the huge piles of dry bison skulls that gathered at the bottom of a local "buffalo jump." A buffalo jump was a cliff where Native American hunters would cleverly guide herds of bison to fall, providing food and resources for their communities. The many skulls left behind gave this unique place its memorable name.
Where is Dryhead Country?
Dryhead Country is found in southern Montana, crossing parts of Carbon County and Big Horn County. It sits right between the impressive Bighorn Canyon and the Pryor Mountains. This area is known for being one of the most remote places in all of Montana. It's a semi-arid basin, which means it's a dry, bowl-shaped landform. Because it's so remote, only a few people live here, mostly on isolated ranches.
Early Life and Ranches in Dryhead
People started to settle in Dryhead Country in the late 1800s. They built small homesteads, which are like early farms, and took advantage of the wide-open spaces to start ranching. These ranches became important parts of the community.
Several of these historic ranches are now protected within the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.
- The Ewing-Snell Ranch was started in 1898. It even had its own post office called Ewing, Montana, until 1906.
- Later, from 1915 to 1945, the Cedarvale Dude Ranch received its mail as "Hillsboro, Montana." A dude ranch is a ranch where visitors can stay and experience ranch life.
- Another post office operated directly on Dryhead Creek from 1919 to 1924. It was also called "Dryhead, Montana." This post office later moved to the Kearns ranch, then to the Smith ranch, before finally closing in 1946.
These ranches show us how people lived and worked in this remote part of Montana many years ago.
