Our Work
Learn more about the completed and current restoration and preservation efforts of Ranch Preservation Foundation.
100 YEARS OF DUDE RANCHING
CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL OF THE DUDE RANCHERS’ ASSOCIATION
In celebration of the upcoming centennial of the Dude Ranchers’ Association, the DRA, Ranch Preservation Foundation and the Dude Ranch Foundation are collaborating on a book project to commemorate the 100th anniversary. The photo-driven, coffee table-style book is titled 100 Years of Dude Ranching: Celebrating the Centennial of the Dude Ranchers’ Association.
The book will feature a history of the DRA and dude ranching, as well as a featured section of those “Centennial Ranches” that were accepting guests in 1926 and are still in operation today, plus written inclusion of all current DRA member ranches across the U.S. and Canada. The book will include large-scale modern photographs of the Centennial Ranches and historic images throughout. Proceeds from the book’s sales will be donated to the Dude Ranch Foundation for its non-profit work in the dude ranching industry.
The project has garnered an experienced team to assist in the writing, editing, photography, production and publication of the book.
Lynn Downey, historian and award-winning author of American Dude Ranch: A Touch of the Cowboy and the Thrill of the West, and member of the Dude Ranch Foundation board of directors will author a written history of the DRA and dude ranching.
Professional photographer Scott T. Baxter will capture images of the Centennial Ranches for this project. His fine art photography work of the American West is in numerous museums and private collections. In 2012, he completed 100 Years 100 Ranchers, an official Legacy Project for the Arizona Centennial featuring 100 families who had been ranching in the state for 100 years.
RANCHO DE LA OSA HISTORIC CANTINA
Rancho de la Osa is a historic 1800s cattle ranch and has been a dude ranch since the 1920s. The historic Cantina at Rancho de la Osa was built in 1722 as a Spanish mission outpost for Father Kino’s Jesuit missionaries. Today, it houses the ranch’s Cantina and gathering space.
RESTORATION PROJECTS
Replaced modern doors with large wooden doors designed much like they were during the ranch’s peak dude ranching years
Added stone retaining wall around the perimeter of the building with outdoor gathering space, in line with historic building practices
O.T.O. DUDE RANCH
The O.T.O. is Montana’s first dude ranch and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It hosted dudes from the 1910s to 1930s and remained largely vacant for over 80 years until Ranch Preservation’s Yellowstone Pop-Up Ranch in the summers of 2022 and 2023, raising over $48,000 for the ranch’s preservation.
RESTORATION PROJECTS
Restored the Billiard Table
Restored the original Arts & Crafts style 100-year-old clock from the Lodge
Updates for guest operations included chinking, cleaning and repairs across the property
Created an interpretive museum space for ranch visitors with historic signage and ephemera
