CARSTEN CONRAD KOHRS

CARSTEN CONRAD KOHRS

1835-1920

Born: 5 Aug 1835, Wewelsfleth, Holstein, Germany- Died: 20 July 1920, Helena, Montana

Apparently, Conrad Kohrs was the first member of this family who had a wondering spirit and went in search of fortune beyond Davenport, Iowa. He initially left Iowa for the California in search of gold in 1857. Unfortunately, that trip did not pan out to well and he returned to the family in Davenport only to strike out again a few years later. In 1862, he joined the next western gold rush and headed for western Montana, where rich gold deposits had been found in the Grasshopper Creek of Bannack, Montana. It was here that Conrad Kohrs realized that he could make more money mining the miners than mining for gold. He established a butcher shop in the rugged mining town of Bannack and began to prosper. By early 1864 Conrad had established a working relationship with Ben Peel & formed “Con & Peel” partnership based in Deer Lodge, Montana. The partnership involved the establishing and maintaining of butcher shops positioned in various mining camps as well as establishing cattle ranching efforts. This would be just one of a number of partnerships Conrad Kohrs would establish throughout his life. It wasn’t much later that each of the three Bielenberg boys, John, Charles and Nickolas (1864-1865) individually headed for Montana and joined in with their half brother Conrad Kohrs butcher shop and cattle ranching efforts. Johney Bielenberg supervised the shop at Last Chance Gulch (today's Helena), and Nickolas ran the Blackfoot City shop. Charles, known as Charley, managed the Silver Bow shop first and then moved to Deer Lodge to manage the shop there. Kohrs would remain close to them for the rest of his life in Montana and enter partnerships in mining, sheep, and cattle deals with each of them from time to time. In 1866, Conrad Kohrs purchased the John H. Grant ranch, with its stock, and there continued the extended efforts of Con Kohrs, the Bielenberg brothers and a whole suite of other pioneering characters. This ranch exists today as the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site and is a working cattle ranch that preserves these symbols and commemorates the role of cattlemen in American history.

The Grant-Kohrs ranch can be visited at the following website http://www.nps.gov/grko/