Grant-Kohrs Ranch Foundation

Researched, authored and posted Febraury 9, 2016 by author Patricia Nell Warren

RANCH HOUSE SITTING ROOM

OLD POSTCARDS. They give us valuable looks at a past time and place. Even the Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS, which didn't exist till the early 1970s, now has its series of vintage cards that the site issued in the 1980s. Here's their portrait of the ranch-house sitting room, which was always cozy on winter days. The Kohrses and Bielenbergs assembled here before meals, and adjourned here to enjoy strong German after-dinner coffee -- not to mention knitting, reading, card games and visiting with friends.

The large secretary desk is probably the oldest piece of furniture in the ranch's collection -- an heirloom of Augusta's, crafted by her cabinetmaker grandfather in the late 1700s to show his skills, so he could move to a higher level in the cabinetmakers' guild. The cherished desk must have been a headache to ship to the U.S. It became her personal office, where she wrote letters and kept records.

Other furnishings are all original to the room, including the plentiful seating, as well as the framed prints and paintings. Painstaking restoration of the decorative strip around the ceiling, as well as an exact reproduction of the original worn-out Victorian carpet, was done by Park Service historians and technicians. (Postcard photo by National Park Service. Photo of card from Carey's Postcards http://www.careypostcards.com/-other-montana/7861-living-room-grant-kohrs-ranch-deer-lodge-mt-postcard.html)

Researched, authored and posted Febraury 5, 2016 by author Patricia Nell Warren

RANCH HOUSE GREEN HOUSE

When the Kohrses added the new wing to the ranch house in 1890, they included this greenhouse on the south side. Kept warm in winter by the sun and a wood stove, it provided the family with an enjoyable year-round indoor garden. It always included geraniums and other favorite Victorian potted plants, like Boston fern, along with fresh cooking herbs for the kitchen. When I was a little girl, visiting Augusta on her summer sojourns at the ranch in the early 1940s, my greatgrandmother was still keeping this lovely greenhouse going. Today visitors can have the pleasure of that experience as they tour the house -- the Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS staff are continuing that tradition with Augusta's favorite plants. (Photo by Kathy Kohrs)

Researched, authored and posted January 7, 2016 by author Patricia Nell Warren

RANCH HOUSE DINING ROOM

THAT GOLDEN GLOW. The Grant-Kohrs ranch-house dining room is a beautiful example of that passion for "golden oak" that dominated American interior decorating from the 1880s into the early 1900s. Created in 1880 when the brick wing was added, the dining room's wall paneling, doors, corner cupboard, dining table and chairs -- all are executed in oak that was milled to show off its rich grain and intricate swirls. Botanically, there IS a so-called yellow or golden oak species, aka chinkapin oak, that grows across the U.S. east and part of the south. But the "golden oak" of Victorian high fashion is actually white oak with layers of varnish that was tinted with yellow ochre.

Elsewhere, throughout the ranch house, visitors will see a variety of furniture in golden oak -- from the grandfather clock in the sitting room to the Murphy bed in John Bielenberg's bedroom. Some of these pieces may have been ordered from catalogs of the period, which fed the national craze for "golden oak" with pieces of furniture designed for easy shipping.

The same trend can be seen in the Kohrses' Helena home, still standing on Dearborn Avenue and recently restored. Originally built in the early 1880s, this home's interiors are even more extravagantly done up in golden oak.

More on the "golden oak age" at: http://discoverypub.com/columns/csa/csa2010_03.html

(National Park Service photo)

Researched, authored and posted December 2, 2015 by author Patricia Nell Warren

JOHN BIELENBERG'S BEDROOM

 While the Kohrs couple were in Europe for the winter, business partner John Bielenberg generally spent his winters keeping his eye on the ranch. The home place was his great love, along with his hands-on management of much of the animal breeding that went on there. He continued to live there after the Kohrses moved to Helena in 1900 -- it was his home till his death in 1922. Here's the bedroom in the ranch-house that he occupied for some 50 years -- spartan and unpretentious in its style, so expressive of the character of the man himself. (Photo by Kathy Kohrs)

Researched, authored and posted November 22, 2013 by author Patricia Nell Warren