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Arthur Clarke Huidekoper was born in Meadville Pa. June 1845. He attended Harvard University, and married Frances Louise Reynold, also of Meadville. They had three children together: Albert Reynolds, Earle Colhoon, and Edith Ellicott. A.C. Huidekoper came to the Badlands of North Dakota to hunt buffalo in 1879. His hunting party included Col. S.B. Dick, Mr. George S. Cullum, Mr. George Shryock, and Mr. Orin Hollister.
He founded the HT Ranch near Amidon North Dakota in 1882. Percheron horses were the number one business of the HT Ranch. In 1906 and 1907 the ranch was sold, Huidekoper returned to Pennsylvania. He died in 1928.
Little Missouri Horse Company - HT Ranch – A.C. Huidekoper founded the company in 1884 with partners Harry R. Tarbell, Alfred H. Bond, G. Gorham Bond, Earle C. Huidekoper (had some interest), Albert R. Huidekoper (had some interest), George Woodman (had some interest) was foreman for a while then started the U-Bar Ranch South of Black Butte.
This was Arthur Clark Huidekoper’s primary business entity, transforming his North Dakota operations into the largest horse-raising outfit in the state. The company used the famous HT brand, representing Huidekoper and Tarbell. After the "Great Die-Up" winter of 1886–1887 killed half his cattle but left his horses largely unharmed, Huidekoper shifted focus entirely to horse breeding. At its peak, the company managed between 4,000 and 12,000 horses grazing across roughly 140,000 acres of land. Headquarters: The main operation was the HT Ranch near Amidon, featuring a "sumptuous" residence called Shackford. Huidekoper specialized in Percheron draft horses, crossing imported French stallions with hardy local mares (including some purchased from the Marquis de Mores that once belonged to Sitting Bull's band). The horses were prized for their strength and size (1,500–1,600 lbs.), sold primarily to Eastern cities for use on streetcar lines, breweries, and ice companies.
Early in its history, the company collaborated with the Eaton brothers to operate what is considered the first hunting/dude ranch in the United States, predating the modern guest ranch industry. Following a legal battle with the federal government over his illegal fencing of 21,000 acres of public land, a "disgusted" Huidekoper sold the entire company to the Pabst Brewing Company in 1906 for approximately $300,000.
Custer Trail Cattle Company – Early open range ranchers in the badlands included E. G. Paddock, Howard Eaton, and Frank Moore. Together, these individuals established the Custer Trail Ranch around 1879 or 1880 (Robinson 1966:188; Borne 1983:7). Owned by the Eaton Brothers, Howard and Aldon, financed by A.C. Huidekoper after he arrived. (brand Circle K, horse brand 76). Located where the bible camp is today.
Howard Eaton came west from Pennsylvania in 1879 and engaged in a number of enterprises with E. G. Paddock. A. C. Huidekoper, an acquaintance of the Eaton's, became a partner in the Custer Trail Cattle Company in 1882 (Borne 1983:20). Huidekoper later owned his own ranch, the HT, near Amidon in Slope County. The Custer Trail dude operation began in 1882. Bert Rumsey of Buffalo, New York, is recorded as the ranch's first paying guest (Borne 1983:21). The Custer Trail Ranch was operated by a partnership until the mid-1880s (see above). While it is not clear when the other partnerships were dissolved, A. C. Huidekoper's amicable departure after the winter of 1886 and 1887 left the ranch solely in the ownership of the Eaton brothers (Borne 1983:22). The Eaton brothers sold the Custer Trail Ranch in 1903 and opened their new dude ranch near Sheridan, Wyoming, in 1904 (Borne 1983:30). Many of their guests followed them from North Dakota to Wyoming. The Eaton's' Wyoming ranch is still in operation.
The Logging Camp Ranch – was a vital component of A.C. Huidekoper’s ranching empire, serving as a primary division for his cattle operations before the company transitioned fully to horse breeding. The ranch is situated on the Little Missouri River, approximately 15 miles west of Amidon and south of Bullion Butte. The site earned its name because it was used as a camp for logging parties from Fort Abraham Lincoln who traveled there to cut cedar and pine for military construction. It even served as a campsite for George Custer’s 1874 Black Hills expedition. Huidekoper purchased the land around the camp in 1882. It became the headquarters for his Little Missouri Cattle Company, established in 1883 before he pivoted to the horse business following the disastrous winter of 1886–1887. Within the massive H-T Ranch system, the Logging Camp Ranch was one of several specialized divisions alongside the Spear, Eastern, and Deep Creek ranches. It provided access to unique resources, including natural springs that Huidekoper noted horses favored.
The Hanson Legacy: After Huidekoper sold his interests to the Pabst Brewing Company in 1906, the land eventually passed to the Hanson family in the 1920s. Unlike many other historical ranch sites that have vanished, the Logging Camp Ranch remains a working cattle ranch (2026). It is currently operated by the Hanson family (now into its fourth generation) and offers guest lodging, allowing visitors to experience the same Badlands scenery Huidekoper once managed.
Spear Ranch – owned by A.C. Huidekoper (south of New England ND along Cedar Creek)
Arthur Clark Huidekoper’s Spear Ranch was a strategic outlying division of his vast ranching empire in western North Dakota during the late 19th century. The Spear Ranch was located south of New England, North Dakota, situated along Cedar Creek. It served as an outlying camp for the HT Ranch headquarters. These camps allowed the company to manage horses across hundreds of square miles of open range. The Spear Ranch played a role in Huidekoper's Percheron breeding program. During the spring round-up, stallions were assigned "harems" of roughly 50 mares and herded for a week at these outlying sites until the stallion established dominance and held the herd together. The ranch was part of the Little Missouri Horse Company, which at its peak was the largest horse-raising operation in North Dakota, managing approximately 12,000 head of horses.
Eastern Ranch – owned by A.C. Huidekoper (north of Reeder ND)
Arthur Clark Huidekoper’s Eastern Ranch was one of several livestock operations he established in western North Dakota during the late 19th century. The ranch was situated north of the present-day town of Reeder, North Dakota, in what was then part of the expansive open range.
In 1883, Huidekoper, a wealthy Pennsylvania native and Harvard graduate, purchased approximately 23,000 acres of railroad land in Billings County. He later expanded his holdings to over 60,000 acres, dividing the land into specialized divisions. While Huidekoper’s primary headquarters was the HT Ranch (Little Missouri Horse Company) near Amidon, the Eastern Ranch was part of his massive horse-raising empire. At its peak, his operations managed roughly 12,000 horses, specializing in high-grade Percheron draft horses. Faced with increasing pressure from homesteaders and legal disputes with the federal government over illegal fencing of public lands, Huidekoper sold his entire ranching interest in 1906–1907 to the Pabst Brewing Company
Arthur Clarke Huidekoper
Young A.C. Huidekoper
Frances Louise Reynolds Huidekoper
A.C. Huidekoper and George Woodman looking across the HT Ranch
This was one of the greatest horse outfits of the old west. The scene shows the owner and some of the hands of the Little Missouri Horse Company in Dakota Territory. This classic photograph was taken in 1888 by T.W. Ingersoll of St. Paul Minnesota. Location was the headquarters of the famous H.T. Ranch on Deep Creek in Slope County, some ten miles west of the present town of Amidon.
They branded the famous H.T. shown above and also a monogram Z4.
This outfit ran between four and five thousand horses at one time; some old timers claimed that it was nearer eight thousand. They ranged the Badlands of the Dakotas and into parts of eastern Wyoming and Montana. They specialized in the raising and breaking for teams (horses—1500 to 1600 pounds –from good range mares and imported Percheron studs) for sale to streetcar lines, breweries, ice companies, etc. They were fun-loving and a salty, hard-riding and tough horse outfit.
A large group of cowboys sit and stand for a group portrait outside a log ranch house, possibly near Medora. The back row is identified as, standing was Goose, a Crow Indian, a great tracker, and an always hungry guest; Charley Mason a constant whistler, who was affectionately known by an impious nickname; Charles Van Sickle; Herman Holtz, cook: Jim Harmon, another top hand and prominent citizen of Medora; Dan Fowler, Fred McClain, James Reynolds and young Schuyler N. Lebo, son of Norman and later friend of the editor. left to right. Seated, left to right are: Thomas Franklin "Frank" Roberts, top hand and foreman of the outfit, who of the group was the last to survive (he died a short time ago at 98); Norman "Old Man" Lebo, scout, hunter, teamster, who also cooked and drove for Theodore Roosevelt on the Big Horn hunting trip; A.C. Huidekoper, from Meadville Pa. ,wealthy rancher and owner, Bill Jones, all-around hand and bronc peeler, and a lusty likable character who drove for T.R. and became sheriff of Billings County. George Woodman, later manager and foreman of the ranch and a prominent rancher on his own; and Dave McQuillen, “who could ketch a horse with his own beard.
This picture was taken by T.W. Ingersoll in front of the old ranch house. This building was replaced by the long barn in almost the same spot.
A. C. Huidekoper (in the center to the left of the goat) was a wealthy easterner who came to Dakota Territory to make money in the cattle business. Like Roosevelt, he loved the life he lived in the badlands and enjoyed the company of cowboys. Unlike Roosevelt, he found a way to make his ranch profitable and to integrate it with his eastern business interests. Front row L-R, Herman Holtz, Dan Fowler sitting cross-legged, A.C. Huidekoper, George Goodman, Johnny (Jack) Snyder sitting far right
Back Row, Jack Kelly, Charley Van Sickel, Johnny Reynolds, Fred McLain, Schuyler Lebo
A.C. Huidekoper's Hired Hands
Hired hands - Most outfits employed 35 or so men during the spring and summer, beginning around April 1 - 15th. 8 - 10 hands were kept on over the winter. A.C. Huidekoper hired many cowboys and ranch hands between the1880's and 1906. Here is a list of some of the known men who worked for him.
Pete Pelessier (Pilllissey) – Later became Forman for the HT (brother in-law to Howard Eaton)
T.F. (Frank) Roberts – One time Forman for the HT for about ten years.
James B. Harmon (Jim) – (married Norman Lebo’s daughter)
Old Goose – (Sioux Chief)
Mert Buckley - Came to work as a young kid. Stayed for 10 or 12 years.
Jim Kelly -
Peter Roth -
Schuyler Lebo -
Judd Lebo -
Norman Lebo – Buffalo hunter and guide (guided for T.R.) Later became a judge in Medora
Frank Philbrick – half breed Sioux rough on horses
Charley Van Sickle -
Billy Smith -
Herman Holst – HT cook
John Tyler – (black man) HT cook
Martin – best cook according A.C.
Farrish – near sighted English boy cook located at Belle Fourche.
Ed McEntyre – Forman located at Belle Fourche, where some cattle was purchased.
Alfred Benson – Englishmen, was sent to Europe to bring back horses
Gunny-Sack Bill Stattum – from Missouri
Charley Mason
Dan Fowler
Johnny (Jack) Snyder
James Reynolds
Fred McClain
Foul-Mouthed Bill Jones - Later became Billings Co. Sheriff
Dave McQuillen - said to be able to rope a horse with his beard.
John Clayton
Harve Robinson (became a banker in Dickinson)
Buck Taylor
Dick Blackburn
Jake Tomamichel
Henry Williams- known to have roped a goose on the fly.
Will Clark
Adolph Churchill
Lon Merrideth
Theodore Halverson
Frank Wammegan - "A good worker, but could not stand prosperity. About every 3 months take his money to town and blow it" ACH
Bobbie Lyons
Jimmie Stevenson
Johnny Harold
Chas A. Stevens
Ray Lenneville
Bob Carr
Earl Harkins
Georgie Carr
Nate Halliday
John Clark
William Henry Hanson
Alfred Benson with the hounds
"The winter of 1886-87 was known as the hard winter. The summer of 1886 was so hot that the grass withered. The big herds came in late in the season in poor condition. That winter there was a great loss. The Ox outfit were said to have lost $250,000.
I decided to gather my cattle at the next round-up and see where I stood. I suggested that we small outfits like Lang, Rumsey, Roosevelt, and others, do the same. Some of the outfits refused on account of the extra expense; others because they did not want to know; for if the tally was bad, they were afraid their backers would quit them. I was really the only man on the river who knew where he stood. We had about the same number of cattle as when we had started. We had years of hard work, for no profit. So I decided to go out of the cattle business, but I liked the life, and I found out that while the loss of cattle was large, there had been practically little or no loss in horses; so I decided to start a horse ranch."
A.C. Huidekoper
It is a shame the he is overshadowed in our state's history by more prominent figures like Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores when he clearly deserves equal recognition in his devotion and contributions to the state of North Dakota.(Badlands Horse Rancher. Mark Lorange)
Little Missouri Logging Camp 1892
J.W Foley, George Myers, Mrs. Myers, Lizzie Roberts, Woman?, Henry Williams, Vance, Frank Philbrick, John Tyler, Peter Roth
Group of Cowboys in Medora, center facing camera, Johnny (Jack) Snyder.
"it is glorious, that great, great country, that fresh air, that dashing action across the prairie in the fresh morning, there is nothing like it, died."
A.C. Huidekoper 1922
From Ranching with Roosevelt by Lincoln Lang pages 254-258
By the end of the eighties horse-ranching had developed into an industry in the Bad Lands, a number of ranches becoming established throughout the region. Most notable, among these, was the famous “HT Ranch," in our vicinity, owned and operated by A. C. Huidekoper, the original backer of the Eaton Brothers, and the father of ranching investment in the Bad Lands. A man who perhaps did more for the country in a practical way than anybody else.
As a matter of historical interest, it may be stated that his ancestors were among certain gentlemen from Amsterdam, Holland, who loaned a large sum to our Colonies at the time when they were struggling for their independence. When this was eventually secured, it being difficult for the Colonies to repay the loan, these gentlemen, influenced by Robert Morris, the financier of the period, were induced to take their pay in land. Under the titles of the Holland Land Company and the Pennsylvania Population Company, they accordingly took over large tracts in the States of New York and Pennsylvania. Eventually the grandfather of the present A. C. Huidekoper bought out the unsold lands of the Holland Company in Pennsylvania, settling at Meadville; and so, this very noted pioneer family became established in this country.
If a man is a true horseman; that is, if he loves horses more for themselves than as a source of profit, you may safely conclude he is a real sportsman as well as a good many other things he ought to be. The best we had in the Bad Lands were like that, regarding their horses rather as entities than as mere animals. Among these was A. C. Huidekoper.
Undeterred by his heavy cattle loss; still in love with the Bad Lands, as always; deeply impressed with the possibilities of horse-ranching, he decided to invest. In the valley of Deep Creek, about twelve miles to the eastward of us, he located his home ranch, known as Shackford. As long as he was doing the thing at all he would do it right. Organizing the business under the name of The Little Missouri Horse Company, he went in for raising a variety of breeds, ranging from-full-blooded Percherons to polo ponies. Polo ponies, originating from a cross between thoroughbred racing stock and the best Indian pony mares obtainable. The latter were, in fact, the pick of Sitting Bull's war ponies, taken when he was captured on the Canadian border, a number of them bearing bullet hole marks as a memento of the battle of the Little Big Horn.
Starting with about one hundred head of mares, he added to his herd from time to time, while always giving the most careful attention to the breeding When he eventually closed out in 1906 his herd numbered over four thousand with a colt brand for that year of about eight hundred. In all, approximately five thousand head of equine blue bloods, constituting perhaps the grandest, most distinctive single herd of horses the world ever knew. Equine blue bloods, raised all out-of-doors on one of the choicest sections of the northern buffalo range, from which they unquestionably derived the unusual toughness and general perfection so notably characteristic of the brand. The brand, at which eastern buyers for a time looked askance, or until they learned what it really stood for, succeeding which it came to be regarded rather A hall-mark of equine perfection.
Naturally a good mixer in his characteristically quiet way, Huidekoper was generally popular and well liked. As the time went on, he built up a magnificent organization. On a hill overlooking his ranch he erected and completely equipped a modern bungalow. Here, it was his custom to spend the summer and autumn months together with his two sons, chips off the old block, and to entertain his friends royally, among whom it was our good fortune to be numbered. Among other innovations he maintained pack of Siberian wolf hounds with which many a thrilling chase was staged after the depredatory gray wolf. At Gladstone, North Dakota, some sixty miles from the ranch, on the railway, stables capable Bf quartering five hundred head of horses were built. the full-blooded imported stallions were wintered and the young stock broken. At Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, close to the Huidekoper home, suitable headquarters were located for fitting and marketing the sales stock, inclusive of large stables, together with a magnificent glass enclosed arena, for show purposes, three hundred and fifty feet in length by one hundred and fifty feet in width.
Spending much of his time in the Bad Lands, and ever a close observer, Huidekoper knew the country; knew its commercial possibilities and limitations to dot, through having made it his business to study them. He for one knew that the region could not be successfully and that it was essentially a grazing country within well-defined limitations, and that of all classes of stock, horses were best capable of adapting themselves to the prevailing natural conditions. Like the rest of us he had an idea that Government must know something about the region by this time, if only because it was its business to know; because it had every facility at its disposal knowing. So, he felt safe in purchasing outright sixty-five thousand acres of the high and dry, broken land in the vicinity of his ranch, included the Northern Pacific Railway land grant. No more than the rest of us did he dream that the Government would ever be ill advised enough to invite general disaster by throwing open to homesteading the inter mediate untillable sections which he eventually hoped to control through lease or purchase. Unless he could do so, indeed, his holdings would be value less for ranching purposes.
Had it been otherwise, doubtless we would Ail have gone slow on investment. As it was, we still to learn how little our governing powers really knew of the Bad Lands. How little consideration they would accord the earlier settlers, the real met* of the country who knew their job and were doing it; who had sweat blood, in most cases giving their all to developing the possibilities of the region and bringing upon it the sole measure of commercial success in its history. But of this, more anon.
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