The story of the first homesteaders and the first working ranch in the upper Swan Valley begins in the 1880s with the arrival of Benjamin B. Holland and his son, Charles.
According to family accounts, Ben Holland, his wife, and children crossed the Great Plains in a covered wagon. They lived a nomadic life, moving from one place to another, traveling from Missouri to Iowa to Utah to Idaho before settling in Montana.
Ben Holland, the patriarch of the family, was born in Missouri in 1841. He married 16-year-old Agnes L. Brewster in 1869. They were the parents of five sons: Frank, Charles, William, Benjamin B. Jr. and James Arthur. Both Frank and Charles were born in Missouri, while William was born in Iowa in 1874. The Holland's fourth son, Benjamin B. Jr. (Benny), was born in Utah in 1879. Their youngest son, James Arthur was born in Idaho in 1880.
While making improvements on his newly acquired property in Idaho, Ben took time off to do a little hunting, fishing and prospecting in Montana's South Fork, the present-day Bob Marshall Wilderness. He also explored the Swan Valley and camped at a large meadow the Pend d'Oreille people called "Has Camas." This natural prairie was an ideal location for Ben to graze his horses and pack animals. It wasn't long before the meadow became known locally as Holland Prairie.
An expert guide and hunter, Ben Holland became well-known in the region. As early as 1892, Ben and two others were guiding hunters and prospecting in the South Fork country, according to a Daily Interlake news article of that year. Historian Audra Browman surmised, "The Hollands may have used the Prairie as a camping place for some years before filing the water rights in the creek. The location was ideal for the hunting trips they were guiding by the turn of the century: lower and upper Holland Lakes provided a beautiful and easy way of getting into the South Fork, the 200-acre prairie or meadow furnished easy grazing for the horses between trips."
In 1893, Ben established residence and later staked a 160-acre homestead claim along the creek and meadows west of the lake that now bears his name. According to the homestead records, he built a six-room log home, a warehouse and a meat house. He cleared and fenced more than 20 acres on the ranch.
Several years later in 1895, Ben's son, Charles Holland homesteaded next to his father. He built a cabin, blacksmith shop, two barns, a chicken house, and several sheds. He fenced 120 acres, 80 acres of which he cultivated.
Coincidentally, while Ben and Charles were establishing residence on their homesteads in Swan Valley, Agnes was ranching east of the Divide in Cascade County with her second husband, John W. Rumans. Agnes seemed determined to make a success of ranching, even after her second husband died in 1893. She filed two homestead claims in Cascade County in 1897, and later in 1905. The 1900 census lists Agnes Rumans living in Cascade County, along with her son James Arthur Holland age 19 and daughter Alta M. Rumans age 13.
According to Ben's grandson Walter Holland, all of the Holland brothers participated in rodeo events, from breaking horses to riding bareback to riding broncos. Two of the Holland brothers made a living for a few years traveling across Montana, stopping at local bars and betting the locals they could ride the roughest bronc they had, double. In another family account told by great-grandson R. Pierre Holland, several Holland brothers rounded up a remuda of 100 reportedly stolen horses and delivered the herd to Culbertson, Montana.
In a tragic turn of events, Benny Jr. died in 1903 when he was kicked by a bronc as he got bucked off at a rodeo in Culbertson. Surviving Benny was his wife of two years and his young son, Benjamin B. Holland III.
Undoubtedly, it was a challenge for Ben and Charles to eke out a living on the Holland Ranch. In addition to raising cattle, Ben began guiding hunters during the late 1800s to make an extra dollar. It was through this activity that he met Dr. Robert Gordon.
Evidently, Ben Holland had taken Dr. Gordon, a Scottish physician from Great Falls, on enough hunting trips in the Swan Valley and South Fork that the names Gordon Pass and the Holland ranch were marked on the Forest Reserve map of 1899. Dr. Gordon, his wife Isabelle and other family and friends became frequent guests at the Holland's ranch.
In 1899, Benjamin B. Holland was appointed as the deputy forest ranger in the upper Swan Valley for the newly formed Lewis and Clarke Forest Reserve, headquartered in Ovando. No doubt Ben was well suited for the job. He patrolled the forest, built and cleared trails, constructed cabins and fought wildfires.
The Hollands hold the distinction of being the first upper Swan Valley homesteaders to prove up and earn the patent for their homesteads. In fact, they were the only locals to file under the Homestead Act of 1862. All other homesteads in the upper Swan Valley were filed under the Forest Homestead Act of 1906.
Charles received the patent for his homestead on Dec. 31, 1904, while 56-year-old Ben proved up a few months later. Charles officially deeded his homestead to Dr. Gordon's wife, Isabelle on Oct. 21, 1905. Ben sold his ranch to Isabelle Gordon on Nov. 8 that same year. Consequently, the property has been known as the Gordon Ranch ever since.
Ben Holland continued to work as a forest ranger until 1913. The Gordon family allowed Ben to live in his old home on the ranch for the sum of 50 cents per year.
Nearly 140 years have elapsed since Ben Holland set foot in Swan Valley, yet his name has been forever memorialized on several natural features in the area including Holland Lake, Holland Falls, Holland Creek and Holland Peak.
Reader Comments(0)