Allens receive agricultural heritage award

Last month, the Gunnison County Historic Preservation Commission recognized the Allen family for its contributions to the valley's cattle ranching history. This is the third year the county has given out the agricultural heritage honors award. 

The beginnings of the Allen Ranch came about in 1886 when an immigrant from Scotland, John M. Allen, bought a homestead just north of Gunnison in the lower Ohio Creek Valley. He had first come to this country at age 19, arriving in New York City on July 4, 1868. The booming of cannons in celebration of the day alarmed him with fear of another civil war. They prompted him to exit the city and begin what would become his migration west. 

A tailor by trade, he also worked in mining, construction and retail in a variety of places. It was not until 1882 that he and his wife, Lucia Ella, settled in Gunnison where John opened a mercantile. He gradually purchased more acreage with the proceeds from his mercantile in town and began improving the land, erecting buildings and establishing a cattle herd. It was an arduous task in those times, but especially so for a man who had lost a leg from the knee down.

John and Lucia had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood. In time, the choice between ranching and retail was presented to their only son, Ralph. He chose ranching and continued what has now endured for generations. Ralph was instrumental in negotiations between ranchers and the newly-formed U.S. Forest Service during the range wars of the late 19th century and the early 20th century. He provided a reasonable and calm, but firm voice to a volatile situation. Later he served as president of the Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association, as did his son Tim and later his grandson Curtis.

During the Great Depression, the drought years of the 1930s and at the time of his mother’s death, it became apparent that she had willed the ranch to the Christian Scientists. Ralph and his sisters contested their mother’s will. The court ruled in the children’s favor and the ranch remained in the hands of the family. 

Ralph had served on the local school board. He met a young woman from Denver by the name of Janet McKinley Johnson who had accepted a teaching job in rural Gunnison. Ralph and Janet married, raised their family on the ranch and operated the ranch together for decades.

Janet was a force in her own right with her eye always on improvement. When the opportunity arose to bring electricity to rural Gunnison County and the agricultural community, she was at the forefront of the effort. She and Hannah Spann Shackleford — having lived the life of ranch women with little to no power and consequently a terrific amount of labor — were determined, along with others, to change that. The two of them were dubbed the “indomitable duo” and the real “sparks” of what became the local rural electric co-op. Janet served on the Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) board for 36 years after which a seat on the board was filled by the next two generations.

Ralph and Janet had three sons, Ralph “Tim”, John and David all of whom continued on the ranch. With their parents, the ranch’s land holdings continued to expand, as did improvement in herd genetics. Tim and Dave later headed operations with their respective wives Anne and Betty while raising their families on the ranch. Tim and Dave were diligent stewards of both private and public land, the cattle and the horses. They added to herd numbers and believed in breeding for herd calmness. 

They were also proponents of calm cattle handling, were accomplished horsemen and were Hereford men through and through. Long after post war mechanization altered the dependence on draft horses for haying and many other chores, wintertime feeding remained a job for the big capable teams. Tim and Dave both had a strong bond with the Belgian horses and continued to harness their teams each winter morning for many years to come. 

Anne and Betty were integral in the ranch business and both served as directors and officers, and cooked many crew meals. As many ranch wives do, they also juggled careers and jobs off the ranch. On occasion Anne deployed her medical background for veterinary needs.

All of the fourth generation has worked on, or been involved in the ranch in different capacities. Most still do, often along with their spouses. Today it is Tim’s son Curtis at the head of operations for the fourth and fifth generations along with his wife, Helen. Under his steadfast leadership, land holdings have been added and additional private grazing leases negotiated. He has introduced red and black Angus genetics to the herd, taking advantage of those traits while retaining the valued Hereford traits. 

While the draft horses are no longer, the saddle horses are important partners in herd management and Curtis, like those before him, is a solid horseman. He carries on a deep sense of stewardship of not only private land and the herd, but also the public lands the herd grazes. He has worked closely with federal and state agencies to improve sage-grouse and other wildlife habitat, and range health. 

An accomplished mechanic, Curtis keeps up the fleet of machinery that is necessary for so much of the work. Helen, among other things, has served as range rider and irrigator, and does much of the late night calving shia, drug many a meadow and cooked many a crew meal.

Of the fifth generation, Curtis and Helen’s children are active in the business. Bruce and husband Rob have pursued lives off the ranch. But Bruce provides technical support and is involved in the business. Craig has continued on the ranch along with wife Corrie and is integral to everything it takes to run the daily operation. They are also raising sixth generation Ridley Ann.

(Judith Farrell is the daughter of Ralph (Tim) and Anne Allen and the sister of Curtis. She and her husband, Patrick, ran Farrell’s, a bakery and sandwich shop on Main Street in Gunnison.)