Located on the Missouri River in Craig, MT, Sterling Ranch Co. is a great place to go fishing, hunting, hiking, or simply relaxing!
The ranch has been in Craig since around 1865 when Benjamin Stickney established his claim at the present site of the Sterling Ranch buildings. During the first years, he raised small grains, when the grasshoppers didn’t eat them. He brought the first cattle to the ranch in about 1875. In addition to ranching, Stickney ran a ferry across the Missouri River at Craig, until the first bridge was built in 1903. He also built the first store in Craig and operated a sawmill there from 1900 – 1912. He died in 1917, leaving 500 head of cattle and 10,000 acres of land. His wife (Rachel Wareham Stickney) passed away in 1929.
The ranch has stayed in the family all these years. Children of the second, third, fourth, and fifth generations grew up there. Anna Stickney (daughter of Benjamin and Rachel) was born on the ranch in 1874 and married Joseph Sterling in 1897. They established a homestead, and he began working on the ranch.
Their son, Frank, was born in 1898. He also homesteaded and ranched and in 1924 he purchased the Stickney acres and cattle when his grandfather’s estate was being settled. With his mother and father as partners, he incorporated Sterling Ranch Company in 1927. He was able to grow the ranch to over 30,000 acres with more than 1,200 head of Hereford cattle before his passing.
His three children Edward, Francis, and Joyce were born and raised on the ranch, as well. Joyce and her husband, Gary Blackman, lived and worked on the ranch most of their married lives. Their children; Brenda, Randy, and Scott were also born and raised on the ranch.
Scott Blackman lived and worked on the ranch until a few years ago when he and his wife left to pursue their own business endeavors.
The Sterling Ranch Company consists of four enterprises – the main ranch, timber, hunting & recreation, and investments. The ranch continues to be owned and managed by the heirs of Frank Sterling, the fourth, fifth, and sixth-generation descendants of B. F. Stickney. Orville and Arlene Skogen, owners of Skogen Livestock are leasing the land for grazing of their Registered Black Angus cattle.
*Adapted from “Dearborn Country – A history of the Dearborn, Wolf Creek and Craig Areas”