Lemmon: Our Cowboy Capital

Lemmon was created in 1907 by Ed “Boss Cowman” Lemmon, a wrangler who was instrumental in transitioning West River country from the open range to today’s fenced ranches. He became a trail hand at age 13 and managed some of the biggest herds in the USA before turning his attention to town building.

Lemmon embraces artists and writers. Native son John Lopez has gained prominence as a metal artist. He created this sculpture of the local school’s mascot, the Cowboys. The rodeo culture is strong as ever; the town’s Boss Cowman Rodeo is celebrated the second week of July.

Perkins County is home to more than 100,000 cattle in the summer month (37 for every man, woman and child in the county), including this herd near White Butte in the Grand River Valley. Lemmon, the largest city in the county, has developed as both an economic and social hub for northern West River and southwestern North Dakota. Live cattle auctions are held every Wednesday, and also Thursdays in the fall and winter when ranchers bring bawling spring calves to market. Christian Begeman photo

Lemmon is a true border town. Ed Lemmon originally intended to build towns on both sides of the state line, hoping he would get the courthouses for both Perkins County, S.D., and Adams County, N.D. He got neither courthouse; his town has survived on the rich grasslands that support family cattle ranches.

Entrepreneurs in Lemmon reflect the city’s cowboy culture. Jack and Kim Anderson started a computer and office supply store 16 years ago. Jack, who grew up locally and rode bulls in high school and college rodeo, recognized that the rodeo industry wasn’t taking advantage of technology. He developed software and started Midwest Rodeo Entries which handles reservations for several rodeo associations.

Kate Westphal, a young nurse who grew up on a nearby ranch, started Romancin' the Range, a boutique with a flair for western attire. Westphal also creates leather jewelry.

Lemmon’s Grand River Museum tells the story of dinosaurs, Native American culture and the region’s cowboy heritage. Stuart and Lisa Schmidt’s grandchildren are sixth-generation ranchers. The Schmidts homesteaded in the Grand River Valley in 1910 when Boss Lemmon was just starting the town. The family’s collection of historical and geological items was the start of today’s excellent museum.

Naturally, the town’s namesake is featured prominently in the museum. Stuart Schmidt says the exhibits are constantly changing because they keep discovering new materials and information. Just recently, a map was found at the Wisconsin State Historical Society of a fencing plan for the reservation grasslands. It had been hand drawn by none other than Ed Lemmon.

Hollywood’s chief interest in the Grand River Valley lies with the survival story of Hugh Glass, a mountain man who was mauled by a grizzly bear but lived to seek revenge, The incident happened south of town in 1823. Phyllis Schmidt often greets museum visitors near a Lopez metal sculpture of the mountain man, who was memorialized in the blockbuster movie The Revenant.

Downtown Lemmon is thriving today, It has six restaurants including Benny’s, which was recently purchased by Matt Johnson. He says it’s a challenge to run a steakhouse when most of your customers are cattle ranchers who raise some of the world’s best beef. “You gotta start with the good stuff,” he laughs. The downtown area also has a new art gallery called the Kokomo Inn, thanks to Lopez.

Petrified wood and other geological oddities are not so rare in West River, but no other town has preserved them in a park. Lemmon’s Main Street creation was built in the 1930s under the leadership of OIe Quammen, an amateur geologist. Dozens of men, desperate for work during the Great Depression, helped Quammen create fanciful castles, waterfalls, spheres and cones that have delighted people ever since. Today the Petrified Wood Park is maintained by the city and welcomes visitors. Free admission.

Inspiration for the spires at the Petrified Wood Park may have come from the rugged geography of West River, including the sandstone Castles formations located southwest of Lemmon in Harding County.