 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
George W. Miller
March/April 2005
Mention the 101 Ranch and visions of the Wild West fill our minds with colorful characters ridin, ropin an shootin. The 101 reputation recalls a time of Buffalo Bills Wild West, Pawnee Bill, Annie Oakley and the great spectacle of Cowboys and Indians on the untamed prairies of the Wild West!
The seeds that germinated to become the famous 101 Ranch began as most pioneer stories begin with the need for land and opportunity. George Washington Miller was born into a prosperous family on February 22, 1841 on the family plantation near Crab Orchard, Kentucky. The loss of slave labor coupled with the post war economics of the South forced the Millers to abandon the plantation.
In 1870 they headed west for California, but a winter stop-over in southwest Missouri introduced George to the trailing industry. Soon he was trailing Texas Longhorns from south Texas to markets at Baxter Springs, Kansas. In Baxter Springs he also met the Ponca Indians who would be lifelong friends. All the ingredients came together in one place on the ranch George named the 101. His sons, Joe, Zack and George II would create out of the rich resources of the 101 Ranch the worlds greatest Wild West Show.