A Peek At the History of The OH Ranch Branding at the OH Ranch corrals, near High River, Alberta, 1892. Courtesy of the Glenbow Museum (na-466-9)
On January 29, 1880, the first cattle brand was registered in what is now Alberta, by none other than Sam Steele, who is arguably Canada’s most famous member of the North West Mounted Police (NWMP), and his partner Percy Neale in historic Fort Macleod. The brand they chose was “71”. Over the years there have been countless brands registered a nd sold by Alberta ranchers. One of the most historic brands belongs to the OH Ranch, now owned and operated by the Calgary Stampede Foundation to continue their preservation of its environmental and cultural heritage values. The historic roots of the OH Ranch and brand date back to 1881 but the brand was not registered until 1883, meaning the founders were ranching illegally for a couple of years. The OH stands for the first two initials of Orville Hawkins Smith, one of two ranchers who registered the brand. Buffalo hunter Lafayette French was Smith’s partner. Only two years later
Frederick Ings from Prince Edward Island bought all 300 head of OH cattle. Then when his brother James joined him in 1883, they renamed the ranch to The Rio Alto (Spanish for ‘high river’) as a tribute to the time the brothers spent in Spain. The NWMP established a station on the ranch, which was in operation until 1900. The original cabin burned in 1961 but a recreation was erected. The ranch was sold to a New York company during WW1 and exchanged hands again in 1918 when it was purchased by “The Cattle King”, Senator Patrick Burns. Burns controlled enough land at one time that you could ride on horseback from Calgary to the U.S. border without leaving his property! The Burns Estate sold the property in 1950 to Bill Ardern and C.W. “Kink” Roenish. They changed the name of the ranch to the OH Ranch and hired renowned cowman Bert Sheppard
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