The Kemptons

Welcome to the wild and heartwarming world of the Kempton Ranch

In its day, the famed Kempton Ranch of eastern Montana was one of the largest horse and cattle operations in Montana, selling mounts to armies and polo-playing royalty alike. The Kemptons themselves were a storybook family—descended from Mayflower pilgrims, Sioux Indians, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Their own exploits make for a larger-than-life Western epic.

Meet Joseph Kempton, a whaling ship captain who becomes an early Colorado pioneer; JB Kempton, the first to ship cattle on the Northern Pacific rails; and his son Berney, a trick roper with Doc Carver’s Wild West Show, hotelier, and a friend to British earls and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Author Trudy Kempton Dana mines her family’s lore for salt-of-the-earth true stories of these and many other characters to reveal a family of rare vision, grit, and integrity as they create American history and embody the spirit of the West.