Woolsey Burton Dugout
Billy Grant Homestead
“ They knew that they had an iconic piece of the American West,” JR Hamblet, the operations manager at Elkhorn Ridge, said of the new owners,“ and wanted to very much preserve the historical integrity of a ranch that was such a central player not just from the gold rush but from a ranching perspective.” Hamblet has been with Elkhorn Ridge since the early 2000s, and has fond recollections of working alongside Hank Frawley on projects around the ranch.“ It was extremely educational,” he said.“ I spent months with him and learned the story of the ranch from a direct descendent of the original Henry Frawley …. The Frawley Ranch today is still a working ranch in many aspects, as it was 100 years ago …. We don’ t ranch it, but we have an active grazing contract with an individual from St. Onge who grazes a few hundred cattle annually ….[ And ] today, we’ ve got two housing developments, and a commercial component. But the beauty of it is that the [ current ] owners had a vision from the early days when they acquired the ranch to preserve the historical integrity, and yet still take a chunk of it that lies in the northwest corner and try to capitalize on some housing and commercial development, preserving the other roughly 3,500 acres of the ranch and Elkhorn Peak, and its historical and geological significance.”
The two housing developments are the Elkhorn Ridge Golf Estates on the championship golf course, and the Frawley Estates, boasting bigger lots and larger homes. Both developments at this time are completely sold out, with no more lots to be put in, but neither are built out yet. The buildout date is an estimated three years away. Elkhorn Ridge Resort is a lavish getaway, with 185 RV sites and 36 cabins, tent camping sites, sport courts, a swimming pool, and all the amenities needed to make this a popular location for weddings, family reunions, and other events, not to mention vacationers. Elkhorn Ridge hosts 50-60 weddings per year, some of them at the Resort itself, but others taking place at one of the number of historic locations across the ranch.
“ Today, we still maintain 5 historic homesteads across the ranch, as funding and time permit” Hamblet said, and he noted that grant funding has helped with a lot of the associated cost of the renovations.“ The Frawley Brothers’ Lower Ranch, the Frawley Ranch or Courtyard Barns, the Billy Grant Homestead, the James Anderson Ranch, and the Woolsey Burton Dugout.” The sixth historic location carefully maintained, though not a homestead, is the Draper Roadhouse. Each of these historic sites has a story, and guests at Elkhorn Ridge can experience each of them in unique ways.
“[ The Draper Roadhouse ] was essentially the halfway house for the Deadwood Stage,” Hamblet said.“ When you took a stage from Pierre, it was a three-day trip, and you spent your third night in this house. Today, we maintain that house – it is a beautiful old Victorian house, close to 5,000 square feet. It’ ll sleep a dozen people or more. All the furniture and everything is in the era.”
Maggie Schneider, the marketing director at Elkhorn Ridge, said,“ We purchased it from Molly. We didn’ t really change the house, but we went in and fixed it up, and now family reunions and sometimes weddings will rent it out …. That’ s been in the last 5 to 10 years, where we took something we hadn’ t really touched before, and it’ s neat seeing people getting to experience it.” The Draper Roadhouse is a popular spot for family reunions, wedding accommodations, and it isn’ t uncommon for families to book the Roadhouse for Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings, JR said.
12 Down Country Roads September / October 2025