Cottonwood Ranch
This High Plains ranch in Sheridan County was once home to a thriving sheep operation. Here the Pratt family built a distinctive stone ranch house and farm complex featuring architectural details inspired from their native England. They brought others from their homeland to relocate in Studley, Kansas. The Pratts planted an orchard with hundreds of fruit trees, along with shade trees like the cottonwood, and endured hardships and successes on the Kansas prairies.
Abraham Pratt was an adventurous Englishman in search of an opportunity. A widower with four grown children, he sold his liquor and mercantile business in Ripon, England, and was among the first to settle in Sheridan County in 1878. In the days before railroads had reached the area he selected a homestead along the South Solomon River and built a dugout. He convinced family and friends to leave England and move to Kansas, among them two of his sons, John Fenton and Tom, and an architect’s apprentice and surveyor.
Pratt, his sons, a half-brother, and two other friends combined their sections of land to create a sheep ranching operation. Kansas quarantine laws and a depression in the cattle market made sheep grazing attractive. Sheep were commonly raised in Yorkshire. While the Pratts didn’t have direct experience, they saw ways to adapt sheep raising for the plains. Here in northwest Kansas ranchers were venturing into sheep raising; few horses and little investment was required, and wool was in demand. Sheep could graze in open pastures across adjacent lands; only one man was needed to herd the flocks. The Pratts chose merino sheep for their high-quality wool, to supply markets in the East. The Sheridan County Tribune reported in 1881 that “Some of the very highest wool sent … was from Kansas.” Their herds grew to around 3,000 head of sheep.
John Fenton Pratt, called or Fent, began construction on the first section of his house in 1885. Made of native stone, the house initially had a sod-covered roof and an earthen floor. The sod roof was later replaced with wood. Jennie Place, his fiancée from England, moved to Kansas in December 1888, and they were promptly married. Arriving in the bleak midwinter, Jennie struggled to adapt to this land where blizzards, droughts, and dust storms were common. So disappointed with her life on the plains, she attempted escape to return to England. She stayed and the couple had two daughters, Hilda and Elsie.
The Pratts completed the west wing of the house by 1890. A stone shearing shed, built in 1891, replaced previous sod outbuildings. A washhouse, bunkhouse, and stable were added to the complex. A stone wall connected the outbuildings, following Yorkshire influence. In 1896 they ordered four stained glass windows from the Studley lumberyard. The east wing of the house was completed around 1900. Tom Pratt and his wife built their own house a half mile away.
Fent kept detailed ledgers of his business transactions. He tracked the purchase of sheep and supplies, as well as groceries, trees, bushes, and garden plants. He purchased a large wooden view camera, with bellows, a tripod, and focus hood that covered the photographer’s head. A camera was rare on the High Plains and Fent traveled around the countryside capturing a record of activities on glass plate. This valuable collection today offers a window into the late 19th century Sheridan County, featuring images of the ranch buildings and sheep, local families, and the surrounding community.
By the time of Abraham’s death in 1901 the demand for wool had declined. Tom continued to farm and ranch. Fent discontinued his sheep operation and became a successful financier and investor. Their daughter Hilda married and moved to Manhattan, while Elsie remained at the family home until shortly before her death in 1980. The home and approximately 23 acres of the original Pratt ranch were purchased by the state of Kansas in 1983, and it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Five of the six original buildings have been preserved: the ranch house, washhouse, bunkhouse, stable, and shearing shed.
Quick Facts
Date Built: 1885, 1888
City: 14432 E. U.S. 24, Studley
County: Sheridan
Significant People: John Fenton Pratt, Abraham Pratt
State site: 1983
Timeline
1878 – Abraham Pratt arrives in Sheridan County, he homesteads and constructs a dugout
1880 – John Fenton Pratt arrives in Sheridan County
1882 – Tom Pratt arrives in Sheridan County
1885 – Old-room stone house is built
1888 – Fent Pratt marries Jennie Place
1889 – Hilda Pratt born
1894 – Elsie Pratt born
1896 – Stained glass windows added to ranch house
1901 – Abraham Pratt dies
1902 – Fent Pratt sells sheep
1937 – Fent Pratt dies
1940 – Tom Pratt dies
1959 – Jennie Pratt dies
1975 – Hilda Pratt dies
1980 – Elsie Pratt died
1983 – State of Kansas purchased the buildings and 23 acres that became Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places
