MTHS Welcomes New Centennial Ranch In Wibaux
The Montana Historical Society recently welcomed Lund’s B Bar Angus Ranch in Wibaux County to the Centennial Farm and Ranch register. Randy Lund and his siblings surprised their mother, Ethel, on her 90th birthday with the Centennial designation honoring her and the Lund family’s remarkable longevity on their land. She received the signature MTHS roadside sign, and a framed certificate signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte.
“By honoring families who have owned their land for 100 years or more, we help preserve Montana’s strong agricultural roots and the stories and traditions that define our rural communities,” said Christine Brown, MTHS outreach and interpretation historian. “These families deserve a hearty pat on the back and recognition for achieving this rare milestone.”
The Lund family’s legacy weaves together the story of generations of Lund family members working together to keep and eventually merge various farm and ranch lands. Brothers Charles and Melvin Lund each claimed 320acre homesteads in Wibaux County in 1914. The brothers farmed wheat and shipped eggs, milk and other items via rail from nearby Carlyle to Beach, N.D. Charles and his wife, Lida, had one son – Calvin – and Melvin and his wife Bertha had three sons – Claude, Vernice, and Floyd. In the mid-1920s, cousins Calvin and Claude married sisters Lydia and Janette Stark, respectively. The cousins continued helping on their parents’ farms, purchased their own land nearby, and raised families of their own. During the droughts of the mid-1930s Charles and Lida retired to Baker and Calvin and Lydia followed suit, opening a Standard Oil dealership while still operating the farm. After Charles and Lida and eventually Calvin passed away, Calvin’s son Harold, who also operated the Baker Dry Cleaners, farmed their land until 1991.
Meanwhile, Melvin, who had sold his original homestead to purchase another property on the Carlyle Road, began farming with his son Claude in 1925. Claude and Janette later purchased their own farm two miles west and after Melvin and Bertha retired in the late 1940s, continued farming Melvin’s land. Claude’s son Robert (Bob) began farming with him after completing his degree in agricultural economics at Montana State College in 1955. Bob married MSC classmate Ethel Swingle in 1956, and in 1957 Claude and Bob started raising registered Angus cattle under the B Bar brand. Their cattle gained widespread recognition and they began acquiring more land and cattle. Claude and Janette semi-retired to Billings in 1973 but stayed active in the operations until they died in 1983 and 1992, respectively.
Bob died in 1989 after a battle with cancer. His wife Ethel, sons Rob and Steve, and his mother Janette assumed the ranch operation. Ethel inherited the original homestead in 1992 along with the first property bought by Claude and Janette, which is where the ranch headquarters are now. In 1994, Ethel also acquired the original Charles Lund homestead after his grandson Harold died.
Today Melvin Lund’s great grandsons Rob and Steve with their respective spouses operate Lund’s B Bar Angus Ranch. In addition, Steve’s two sons Cooper and Angus, with his wife Briley and daughter Emery are also living on and involved in operating the ranch. The original farms established by Charles and Melvin are now part of the approximately 10,000 acres owned by Ethel, Rob and Steve.
To learn more about the Centennial project, visit mhs. mt.gov/education/MTCent-FarmRanchProg.
