The Art of Ranching

The Monger Ranch

 Adaline Johnson moved with her family to Routt County in 1902, and at the age of eighteen, decided to homestead 160 acres under the Sleeping Giant "Oak Mountain." Like other homesteads, the land required improvements, including a built environment, land change, and water. While Adaline started this journey as a single woman, a neighbor from Kansas quickly caught her eye. John Monger, who had worked in different capacities of agriculture in the area, decided to uproot from Kansas and make Routt County his home. In 1915, the two got married and started to build a new house using skinned logs and other natural resources from the area. The help of neighbors is a continuous thread in the story of the Monger ranch, and from the beginning, residents of the area assisted one another. Adaline and John had six children together and worked constantly raising sheep and growing barley and wheat. In 1918 the flu pandemic hit the family hard. Adaline cared for her sick family members but succumbed to the sickness. John was left to raise six children under the age of eight. The youngest of the six was just six months old and, in turn, was sent to relatives for his upbringing. John worked with his brother-in-law William gray in order to create a successful business, and as land from the homestead act began to dry up, the two eagerly purchased land from families leaving the area. 

The family witnessed first-hand the area's Sheep Wars, which was a battle over which animals deserved access to grounds, and fencing became a priority for many agriculturists in the area. John and his family took up the opportunity to fence out much of their property. After World War II, the family transitioned from sheep to Herford cattle and began leasing property. At this point in time, different family members working on the ranch looked for other professions, and the land was divided. One of the six children, Lloyd kept the original homestead piece and married a nurse he had met while serving in the Navy during WWII. Together, the two decided not to live on the original property since the homes had remained vacant for some time and purchased the current operators' area. Larry, one of Lloyd's five children, continues to work on the ranch with the help of his daughter Krista Monger and her family. 

Growing up on the ranch taught Krista the value of hard work, and she has fond memories of feeding hay to the cattle with her brother on a team of horses during the winters. It was difficult for Krista and her father to acquire the land since the ranch had to be bought out instead of being passed down from one generation to another. At one point, Krista had to put her dreams of being a rancher on hold as developmental pressures were felt in the area. Krista worked in the public school system for sixteen years, and five of those were in Steamboat. After many years of conversation and saving, land conservation easements were the answer to keeping the ranch within the family. Krista and her father together work on the Monger Ranch and continue to preserve their family legacy. Overall, female leadership has come full circle. While the Monger family shares a story of success, countless historic ranches did not withstand the test of time. 

The Fetcher Ranch

Heart Mountain Ranch