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Historian Ray H. Mattison encloses an incomplete version of the report, “Preliminary Study of and the Identification of the Elkhorn Ranch Site.” Mattison writes that Henry J. Walz, the last owner of the Elkhorn Ranch, may be able to visit Medora, North Dakota, in the spring and can show where the buildings were located.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1949-12-05
Ray H. Mattison describes the methodology used to try to discover the exact location of Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch. Mattison includes a historical background of the ranch, from its original construction and occupation by Roosevelt, William Wingate Sewall and Wilmot S. Dow, through its later abandonment and deconstruction. The primary method used by Mattison to determine the site of the Elkhorn was through a comparative study of photographs between those taken by Roosevelt in 1886 and contemporary photographs Mattison took in 1949. Additionally, Mattison interviewed a number of “Old Timers,” who were familiar with the Elkhorn Ranch, and who were able to corroborate the conclusions he came to based on the photographs.
1950-01