COTTONWOOD RANCH STATE HISTORIC SITE
Where High Plains ranching blends with Yorkshire traditions
HOURS
EXTERIOR EXHIBITS
Year round
Dawn to dusk
INTERIOR EXHIBITS
Mid April - Mid October
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Thursday - Saturday
Closed 12 - 1 p.m. Mid October - Mid April, and state holidays
Call ahead to confirm
EVENTS CALENDAR
LOCATION
One-half mile west of Studley along U.S. 24
Driving Directions
Address
14432 E U.S. 24
Studley KS 67759
ADMISSION
Free
Donations welcome
Portions ADA accessible
Call ahead to schedule
Group Tours
School Tours
CONTACT
785-627-5866
COMMUNITY LINKS
The High Plains beckoned settlers to settle the wide prairies. The Pratt family of Yorkshire, England, arrived built a ranch inspired by their homeland, which grew to become a thriving wool operation. Walk these grounds where hundreds of sheep once grazed.
Tour Cottonwood Ranch
Take a look at the interior and exterior exhibits awaiting your visit.
History of the site
Abraham Pratt sought adventure when he came to America. After trying his had in the gold mines of California he settled in Kansas in the 1870s and encouraged his sons, John Fenton Pratt and Thomas Pratt, to join him.
John Fenton, or Fent, built the first section of the ranch house with limestone quarried locally. The roof was made of sod and the floors made of dirt.
They raised Merino sheep, a breed that produced fine wool, and could thrive on the short buffalo grass. Sheep needed no fencing. which proved convenient in an area where trees and fenceposts were scare. Wool was in demand to supply the fashion industry. By 1892 the Pratts had more than 1,500 herd of sheep.
Fent convinced his fiancée in England, Jennie Place, to join him in Kansas. They married when she arrived and took up residence in the new house.
Jenny struggled at first to adapt to the dust and deluge permeating her household. Sheep flocks were susceptible to fleas, which found their way into the house. She tried and failed to escape ranch life, but was returned back home by neighbors. Within a year the first of their two daughters was born.
Improvements like another wing, finished floors, shingled roof, and washhouse helped to make the ranch more livable. Enhancements like stained glass windows, carved fireplace mantel with tiled trim, and furnishing from England brought further comfort.
A windbreak of cottonwood trees provided protection from the summer sun and the winter snow. The trees, which gave the ranch its nickname, also shielded the large garden and orchard. Here the Pratt's grew melons, peaches, plums, apples, cherries, raspberries, and apricots. Grape vines produced as much as 30 gallons of wine a year. On their 320 acres, they cultivated corn, oats, sorghum, and grazed 900 sheep that yielded thousands of pounds of wool each year.
Photography was a hobby Fent enjoyed. He captured images of life at the ranch and also of the community beyond.
When wool markets declined and the price of sheep fell, Fent and Tom sold off their herds and entered the cattle business. Fent's land sales also helped to fund his investments in stock.
State Historic Site, 1982
National Register of Historic Places, 1983 MORE
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