Ranch History

Ralph Smith with his team doing field work

In 1879, James and Charlotte Smith settled in the Uncompahgre Valley, a region that had long been home to the Ute Indians. Local lore has it that the Smiths received permission from the Utes to build a log cabin along the river in exchange for two head of cattle. That original log cabin is still in use on the ranch today as part of the calving shed.

When the Utes were pushed out of this area and into Utah in 1881, the Smith’s exercised what might be called “squatter’s rights” and established their permanent homestead where the ranch sits today. Commonly known as the “Smith Place,” it was home to five generations of Smiths who worked cattle and raised families on the site for a total of 113 years.

In 1988, the Governor of Colorado signed a “Centennial Farm Certificate” and presented it to the Smiths in recognition of their ownership of the ranch for more than a century. As a salute to the many Smiths who were associated with the ranch, the Kontny’s renamed the property “Centennial Ranch,” when they purchased it in 1992.