Peaceful Valley Ranch

The first settler at the site was Eldridge G. Paddock, who built small cabin in September 1883 about a quarter mile to the south. He had previously worked as a guide for the Northern Pacific Railroad (NPR) and for George Armstrong Custer, the Army cavalry officer who was killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. It appears that beginning in the late 1870s Paddock may have sold game to the NPR and worked as a guide for hunting parties. Paddock was also among the first in the area to engage in open cattle ranching when he, along with others, established the Custer Trail Ranch around 1879. He also worked for the French nobleman, the Marquis de Morès, who founded Medora and a meatpacking business in 1883 (he named the town after his wife, Medora).

The next person to live in the cabin was a man named Norman Lebo, who occupied it beginning in December of 1883. In 1885 the next owner, Benjamin Lamb, bought the property and built the house, barn, and a Blacksmith shop. Future President Theodore Roosevelt arrived in the area in 1883 and took up cattle ranching. Tragically, the harsh winter of 1886-1887 decimated cattle herds and signaled the end of the open cattle ranching era and the start of horse raising in the region. Lamb transitioned to horse raising around the Spring of 1889 and even, it appears, built a training track.

After a series of owners, the next person of note to buy the property was Harry W. Olsen, who purchased it in 1915. By then, it had been designated as a homestead. The Olsen family had the most impact on the property. In 1918 they started a "dude ranching" business, providing horseback riding trips to other ranches and scenic areas. They also offered camping, cookouts, moonlight rides, and round-ups. By 1920, the Olsen's built a cabin and other guest facilities. They later named the homestead Peaceful Valley Ranch in 1922. The ranch was very popular and was a stop on promotional tours for politicians and National Park Service (NPS) officials, including Stephen Mather, who served as the NPS's first director.

During the 1930s the ranch transitioned from private to government ownership. In 1934, it started to house staff from the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the Emergency Relief Administration (these were federal agencies of the New Deal initiative that provide jobs to Americans supported the economy during the Great Depression). The staff remained until 1939. The Olsen family owned the ranch until 1936 when they sold it to the NPS, at which point it became the headquarters of the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area. After Theodore National Memorial Park was established in 1947, the ranch became the park's headquarters and remained so until 1949. NPS staff occupied the ranch house until 1965. The NPS allowed horseback tours to begin again in 1967 and this continued until 2014. As of 2020, there are no plans in place to develop the site further but the NPS does maintain the structures.

"Peaceful Valley Ranch." National Park Service. Accessed August 13, 2020. Last updated December 10, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/peaceful-valley-ranch.htm.

Penny, Dori M. et al. "Peaceful Valley Ranch." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. July 13, 1994. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/3cc16b27-ba72-4b40-ae17-2d110914f071.