Ranch History
If this land could talk, Sweet Grass Ranch and our neighboring cattle ranch, Otter Creek, would have many tales to tell…
Van Cleve Family before the age of automobiles
Otter Creek Ranch History
In 1880, the Van Cleve family homesteaded in the area around Melville, Montana. They started a guest ranch in Big Timber Canyon, called The Lazy K Bar, establishing this area as an integral part of the Dude Ranching Industry. At the same time, they built their cattle ranch, Otter Creek. Paul Van Cleve II (known to his grandchildren as Scrumper) ran the cattle operation at Otter Creek Ranch as the family’s main enterprise for many years.
Sweet Grass Ranch History
Starting in 1889, the Brannin Family made their way from New Mexico with 13 children, an army of horses, and a herd of goats, settling on the land adjoining the Van Cleve lands. The Brannin brothers, Staunton and Sid, built a homestead house that slept 17 people. They later added an “L” shaped addition, which ran back to a water spigot and then north to the den for their “pet” bear.
Across the Sweet Grass Creek, on the flat we now call the Horse Pasture, the Brannins held rodeos on Sundays during the summer for all the local cowboys. They had some pretty wild shows before the more formal Melville Rodeo, run by Paul Van Cleve, got its start. The Brannin brothers raised Angora goats, cut hay across the creek, and in the 1920s built the Main House at Sweet Grass as a family home. In the 1930s, the Brannins decided to diversify into the guest ranching business, building nine cabins and a shower house.
Paul Van Cleve II purchased the ranch from the Brannins in the early 1950s, intending to use the land for summer grazing for his cattle. This land, along with other mountain holdings of Van Cleves, became Sweet Grass Ranch. In 1965, Scrumper sold the Sweet Grass Ranch to his granddaughter Shelly Carroccia and her husband, Bill.
Bill, Shelly, J, Page, and Rocco, on great old horses: Poetry, Comet, Gidget, and Fox
Shelly and Bill, along with their four children, ran Sweet Grass as a kids’ camp for 12 years. During those years, campers learned real-life ranch skills, helping in all aspects of the ranching operation. At the same time, those early days were full of games: snipe hunts, treasure and scavenger hunts, pack trips, kick-the-can, baseball, field hockey, and trips to Yellowstone National Park. As times changed, Bill and Shelly began taking adults and families in the mid-1970s. Some of those first families still visit us each year!
Two Ranches in One
In 1972, when the Van Cleves decided to retire from ranching, they sold the cattle operation at Otter Creek to the Carroccia family as well. Shelly and Bill built their house at Otter Creek themselves, moved the kids to the school in Melville, and began cattle ranching full time, blending Otter Creek and Sweet Grass into one intertwined operation.
For many years, Bill and Shelly ran Otter Creek and Sweet Grass together, opening their doors to allow guests to take part in the experiences of a working ranch. With Otter Creek Ranch serving as an established cattle operation, and Sweet Grass as a guest ranch, the two ranches complement one another. The cattle graze on the Sweet Grass lands in the summers, and the horses graze on the Otter Creek lands in the winters. Today, Sweet Grass is run by Bill and Shelly’s daughter, Page. Otter Creek is run by their son, Rocco. Though the two ranches are now distinct, we still ride over the land of both ranches and our guests are still able to witness the realities of ranch-life first hand.
Over the years, our family has taken care to preserve and maintain the ranch’s historic buildings and untarnished landscape. The former Brannin Ranch, now known as Sweet Grass Ranch, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We feel so fortunate to live here and share our history and home with wonderful guests. Many of our guests return year after year, while others come once to check off their bucket-list. It is our mission that each one of them feels like part of our family. We have made lifelong friends with our guests, and we love being able to share a little slice of the heaven that is Montana with them.
