Lamar Buffalo Ranch

The Lamar Buffalo Ranch was created to preserve one of the last free-roaming bison (buffalo) herds in the United States. The ranch was established in 1907 when 28 bison were moved from Fort Yellowstone to the Lamar Valley in the northeast portion of the park. The herd was maintained as a semi-domesticated source of additional bison to enhance the park's natural herd. The ranch supported bison ranching till the 1950s. As the ranched herd increased in size, it was released to the open range and it interbred with the wild herd. The ranch continued to be used to produce hay to feed the bison in the winter until the 1950s. Because the winter feeding program maintained the herd at artificially high levels and distorted the herd's distribution in the park, it fell from favor as the National Park Service adopted wildlife management policies that interfered as little as possible with each species' natural ecology. The historic district comprises five buildings built between 1915 and the 1930s. The historic district includes the ranger station, built in 1915, the bunkhouse, built in 1929, a residence which was moved from Soda Butte in 1938, a 1927 barn and a corral The bunkhouse, its interior remodeled, is used by the Yellowstone Association, which conducts classes and seminars there.