McMaster Ranch Historic District
William and Elizabeth (Lizzie) McMaster and their son James arrived in Helena, Montana Territory, in 1886. William built a blacksmith shop close to the train depot. Then, in 1893, they filed for a 160-acre homestead located twelve miles east of town. The high, open hilltop along the Diamond City Stage Road was an excellent location for a blacksmith shop supplying farrier needs and freight wagon repairs. The family picked rocks to construct the foundations and line the 100-foot, hand-dug well. William cut logs to build the house, barn, and blacksmith shop, using his own distinctive square corner post design. They became self-sufficient, raising chickens, milk cows, Hereford cattle, and quarter horses. Lizzie kept a garden and planted apple and cherry trees; the orchard is a registered Montana Heritage Orchard. After William died in 1902, Lizzie and James expanded the homestead to 2,000 acres by the 1920s. Lizzie was a fierce defender of her water rights, and through her determination, frugality, and hard work, the ranch survived the hardest times. Following Lizzie’s death in 1941, James operated the ranch until he died in 1972. Under James Jr. (Bud), the ranch again grew and expanded. Before he died, Bud and his sister Dolly created a conservation easement, preserving generations of the McMaster family’s efforts to steward the land. Its expansive acreage, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, is open to the public and protected in perpetuity following Lizzie’s dictum: “take care of the land, and the land will take care of you.”
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Creator: Paul M. Putz Date: CA.1923
Creator: Paul Putz Date: September 6, 2020
