About the Ranch

Fred Akhurst and his friend Charlie Franz moved to Routt County and filed a homestead claim each in 1883 alongside a preemption and timber claim. Once the men married they sold their ranch to Hans Larson in 1915 in order to start their own families. Hans ranched on the land for years until he passed it on to his son Stanley. John Fetcher a Harvard graduate was interested in the west and as a leading scholar in water conservancy and ski jumps Routt County was the perfect place for him. John bought the ranch from Stanley Larson in 1949. His son, Jay, now lives on the ranch and runs the operation, but John and his wife, Criss, are there routinely helping with ranch chores. Images of John Fetcher can be found at the Tread of Pioneers Museums digital collections.

Images donated by Jay and Gael Fetcher to the Tread of Pioneers Museum can be found in their digital collections.