Distinctly Montana Magazine

100 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 3 L OCATED IN THE SHADOW OF THE CRAZY MOUN- TAINS IN THE CAYUSE HILLS OF SWEET GRASS COUNTY LIES A RANCH THAT IS SIGNIFI- CANT TO MONTANA'S HISTORY. Not because it is one of the oldest ranches or because precious met- als were once found there. No, the Cremer Ranch is important be- cause the man who built a thriving business there from very humble beginnings changed the sport of rodeo forever. Leo John Cremer was born to German and Irish parents John and Mary Cremer on October 30, 1891 in a small town called Cashton—little more than a railroad stop tucked in the hills of east central Wisconsin. After high school Cremer attended law school at the University of Notre Dame where it is said he warmed the bench with Knute Rockne, the same man who later became the legendary coach who took the Fighting Irish to the pinnacle of the college football world. After leaving Notre Dame, Cremer chose not to spend the rest of his life back home in Cashton or confined to a law office in the city. Instead, after visiting his brother's home near Richey, Montana, Cremer decided to pick up and make his way west instead. In 1912, after meeting a young woman from Big Tim- ber, Cremer settled in nearby Melville. That woman, Bertha Stokes, who also spent time in Wisconsin, later became his wife and worked by his side the rest of his life. Bertha Cremer purchased the first tract of land that would become the much larg- er Cremer Ranch. Leo Cremer then purchased a homestead next to Bertha's. At first they raised dairy cows, chickens and pigs. Cremer also hunted coyotes for the bounty, raised a few cattle, and then many, many sheep. Cremer also raised draft horses, most of which were wild and roaming free in the empty fields there in south central Montana, many of whom were left behind by those who homesteaded be- fore them but failed. He would catch them, tame them, and teach them to pull a plow, all before trailing them back to Wisconsin to farmers who eagerly purchased them there. Melville is a small place in the heart of Montana's ranching country in northern Sweet Grass County. Located 20 miles north article and photos by TODD KLASSY The Rodeo King of Montana's Historic Cremer Ranch Leo J. Cremer

• Cover