Last updated: July 22, 2021
Place
Beef Hoist
NPS/D Shook
Quick Facts
Location:
Grant Kohrs Ranch
Significance:
Historical Structure
Designation:
National Historic Site
Amenities
5 listed
Accessible Sites, Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Wheelchair Accessible
This small structure was added to the ranch by Conrad Kohrs and John Bielenberg around 1880 and was used to hoist and butcher freshly slaughtered beef. By using poles, a notched log, ropes, chain, and a pulley system a carcass could be raised up and “dressed out” into various roasts, steaks, and other basic cuts. The meat was then stored in a room under the icehouse until the 1930’s, when a walk-in refrigerator was installed in the basement of the ranch house.
It took a tremendous amount of patience, practice, and skill to properly butcher a cow. When Conrad Kohrs first arrived in Montana, he set up butcher shops in the territory’s early gold camps. In 1918, John Bielenberg sat on a nearby fence, took out a sharpened knife and directed a young Conrad Warren on how to properly clean, skin, and butcher a cow using this very hoist. Several years later, Conrad would fondly remember this valuable lesson that he had learned from his great-uncle on the ranch that day.
It took a tremendous amount of patience, practice, and skill to properly butcher a cow. When Conrad Kohrs first arrived in Montana, he set up butcher shops in the territory’s early gold camps. In 1918, John Bielenberg sat on a nearby fence, took out a sharpened knife and directed a young Conrad Warren on how to properly clean, skin, and butcher a cow using this very hoist. Several years later, Conrad would fondly remember this valuable lesson that he had learned from his great-uncle on the ranch that day.