The Triple U Ranch was founded as a cattle ranch by the late Roy and Nellie Houck and their family in 1959 after much of their original cattle ranch ended up under water as part of the land flooded by the Oahe Dam project - a federal dam that backs water all the way north to Bismarck, North Dakota. At around the same time in 1959, Roy purchased 12 buffalo at an auction in Montana and brought them to the ranch.
[ map of the area ]
When the Houcks moved onto the fifty thousand acres in northwest Stanley County, South Dakota, the land was virtually as it had been in 1804 when Lewis and Clark traveled that way on their trip west. The unbroken sod, deep breaks, and rambling creeks had been undisturbed for centuries. Deer and antelope, prairie dogs and coyotes roamed the land. All that was missing were the buffalo! So, it was fitting for Roy to buy a few buffalo for the ranch.
Houck began to question the feasibility of his cattle operation not long after he moved onto the 60,000 acres that the ranch currently occupies. During the winter of 1966, there was a  |
...the buffalo were running and playing in the snow.
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snowstorm so bad the Houcks couldn't get out of the house for days to feed the stock. When the storm finally broke, they found that many cattle didn't survive the storm, but the buffalo were running and playing in the snow.
So the Houcks started buying more of the hardy buffalo. By 1974, the ranch had switched entirely to buffalo. The herd steadily increased in size and today is maintained at 3,500 head.
The ranch itself encompasses 60,000 acres of natural prairie in central South Dakota near Lake Oahe. Along with the buffalo, an abundance of other animals flourish on the ranch including registered Quarter Horses, deer, antelope, coyotes, prairie dogs, and many species of birds and other wildlife. The ranch is currently run by Roy Houck's daughter, Kaye Ingle, and her family.
Today, the Triple U Buffalo Ranch still sprawls along enormous Lake Oahe northwest of Pierre, South Dakota. A curved sign complete with a bleached buffalo skull welcomes visitors to the Triple U.
South Dakota, North Dakota, and other states are gearing up for 2004 when they will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lewis & Clark's exploration. These adventurers have been immortalized in a documentary by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan about Lewis & Clark done in 1997. "Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery" was filmed in 1997, in part, at the ranch which is located right on the Lewis & Clark trail. The documentary, with narration by Hal Holbrook, has been shown on public television.
Learn more about the Lewis & Clark Trail at http://lewisandclarktrail.com/
or from the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.
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