A three-year program to revisit and study the development of the cattle industry in the High Plains begins this weekend.
It’s presented by The Friends of the CF Coffee Gallery at the Mari Sandoz Center at Chadron State College
Titled “Trek to the Spade Ranch,” the 3-year program focuses largely on Sioux County and the famed Spade Ranch.
This year’s portion is “Early Ranching in Sioux County,” followed next year by “The Anglo-American Cattle Company” and in two years by “The People of the Spade Ranch.”
This year’s program begins today (Sept 15) at the Coffee Gallery in the lower level of the Sandoz Center Chicoine Atrium, then moves tomorrow morning to Coffee Siding, west of Harrison, at 10:00.
Tomorrow will include tours of some Sioux County ranches that date back to the 1870s when trail herds originating in Texas arrived in eastern Wyoming and northwest Nebraska to begin what remains the region’s primary industry.
This year’s emphasis also includes the hard-grass rangeland ecosystem that has made the High Plains – Sioux County in particular – one of the best places in the world to raise cattle.
The C-F Coffee Gallery is a key part of the Sandoz Center, which opened in September 2002, and is dedicated to the history of cattle ranching on the High Plains with exhibit spaces and archival resources for researchers around the world.
Initial funding came from First National Bank of Chadron – now Homestead Bank and founded more than 125 years ago, and two prominent area ranching families: Bill and Virginia Coffee of Harrison and Charles and Barbara Marcy of Hay Springs.
More information about “Trek to Spade Ranch” is available online at the “Friends of the C.F. Coffee Gallery” tab at www.chadronfoundaton.org.
Memberships in “Friends” and pre-registration for this weekend’s activities are available on the same website and at the front desk of the Sandoz Center.