Legacy INDUCTEE
BRAINARD RANCH (EST 1896)
DISTRICT 9 - YEAR 2026
The Brainard Ranch legacy began when Will Brainard traveled from Minnesota to Belgrade, Montana, in 1886, to work on a ranch owned by his uncle, Lee Brainard. Will worked for Lee ten years, then established his own homestead near Maudlow, Montana. In April of 1897, he married Laura Russel from another family who had settled in the area. Harry Brainard was born on January 21, 1900, to Will and Laura Brainard. He was the second oldest of five boys and six girls.
Over the years, Will worked his property and helped other homesteaders. As land came up for sale, during the Depression, he purchased the acreage and added to his holdings. In time he acquired 1280 acres, now known as the Old Home Ranch. Will and Laura lived there until Will passed away on March 1, 1949. At that time, Harry purchased the ranch land and homestead, which Ed owns today.
Harry had helped his father on the ranch as a youngster and in 1918 he rented farmland from a neighbor and started out on his own. His first crop that year, he had cut one round around the field with his team and binder and was hailed out. In 1920, he decided to diversify by investing in cattle. He leased a ranch on Sixteen Mile Creek near Maudlow, known as the Hokason Place, and purchased it a few years later. As time went by, he rented and bought land in the area. In the 1930s a lot of the homesteaders went broke and abandoned their property. Harry acquired these places as well, and enlarged his holdings.
In 1938, Harry sold out to Dean and Dick Francis. This was the start of what is known today as the CA Ranch. In 1939, the Francis’ hired Harry as their land agent. He bought railroad sections up the Gallatin Canyon and traded to the Forest Service for their land inside the CA boundaries.
That same year, Harry leased a place five miles east of Manhattan, Montana in the Gallatin Valley, buying it two years later, and adding more land as it became available. This has been the ranch headquarters ever since. Harry lived there until his passing in 1998.
On August 10, 1945, Harry married Anna Seeman Todd and in 1949 a son, Ed, was born; the start of the third generation on the ranch. Ed grew up there working alongside his dad. The family ran Hereford cattle, eventually developing a registered herd.
In 1969, Ed married Alice “Punky” Sarrazin. To this union, two children, J.R. and Paula were born, creating the fourth generation. They both worked alongside their dad, like most ranch kids and acquired their own cows to run with dad’s herd. Ed and Punky have three great grandchildren from J.R.’s family, making them the sixth generation.
In 1979, Ed leased the ranch from Harry and started his own ranch operation. He eventually transitioned the cattle herd to Black Angus, which the ranch still runs today. Over the years, Ed upgraded all the irrigated farm ground to pivots. In 1994, Ed purchased two sections of land that included Ed’s great, great Grandmother Russel’s homestead. Ranching and rodeo were all Ed wanted to do. Over a 56-year time frame Ed worked and served in many capacities at the Three Forks, Montana rodeo and various others, including his own events and high school rodeos. Ed hauled his kids along with neighbor kids to high school rodeos all over Southwest Montana.
The ranch operation ran along well until December of 2001, when the family lost J.R. to cancer. For three years they tried to run the ranch as they had always done but because of the lack of being able to hire help, they were forced to make some difficult decisions. Ed sold his cows and Paula kept hers. They leased the irrigated cropland and took in about 1,100 head of pasture cattle to run through the summer months. This has worked well for the ranching operation.
In August 2002, Paula married Rod Bentle. They have two boys, Dawson and Blake, now the fifth generation living on the ranch. Since graduating high school in 2024, Dawson has now joined the ranch full time and is building his own cattle herd. As the herd grows, some of the pasture cattle will be cut back. Blake will graduate high school in 2026. He runs cows of his own on the ranch as well. Paula manages her cattle and most of the day-to-day operations, along with Dawson.
In 2004, Ed and Duane Burkenpass had a vision to bring local 4th grade students to the Brainard Ranch to show them where their food comes from. The first year, they had 300 students in attendance, with eight educational stations in place. When the students were asked where their water comes from, they would say a bottle or a faucet. When asked where milk came from, they would reply the refrigerator or grocery store. It was evident this program needed to continue and expand. It has grown to a three-day event with over 1100 students and 17 stations that include education in forestry, weeds, dairy and beef cows, horses, goats, pigs, sheep, 4-H poultry & rabbits, bees, Montana crops, potatoes, water cycle, farm safety and a special treat of making and eating tin-can ice cream. The 17th station is a horse-drawn hayride at lunch time where they view the pivot irrigation, a live creek and growing crops of grain or hay. Volunteers from Gallatin Valley provide eight teams and wagons that rotate hauling students every half hour. At lunch, they are served a Montana raised and locally processed beef burger; the best money can buy. Some students remark that it is the first hamburger they have ever eaten. Around 200 dedicated volunteers come every year to help make the event a success. The Brainard Family believes it is very important to promote and educate Montana’s youth about agriculture and the rural way of life on a working ranch, that has prevailed through the generational changes for nearly 130 years.