History of Aspen Springs Ranch

As one might expect, the history of this property is quite colorful as settlers tried to survive in the Eastern Black Hills of Wyoming. I could find no records of the homesteaders who probably settled this country in the 1890's. At this time Weston County was part of Crook County and the records of Township 48 in these early days could not be located. The first records that were available indicate that Gerard and Ellen Godfrey bought the S2NE4 and N2NE4 from the W.S. Sundance Law Office on Oct 3, 1903. It is highly likely that they built the small home that still exists on the property in the form of fallen timbers into a stone basement just northwest of the windmill. On Dec 21, 1916 the Godfrey's bought additional land from the United States Government that together with the 1903 purchase makes up the property that now is known as Aspen Springs Ranch. The Godfrey's ranched for seventeen years and then lost the ranch when they defaulted on their loan. William and Edith Lappe purchased the land from the mortgage company on Oct 19, 1935. They sold the land to Alvin Watson Oct 21, 1949 on a loan contract. Alvin in turn sold it back to Maurice Lappe (William and Edith's son?) on March 2, 1956 and Edith then released Alvin from the land contract. Maurice ranched this land until May 28, 1982 when he sold it to James and Karen Zerbst.

James Zerbst was not a rancher but an oil speculator in Eastern Wyoming. It has been said that he was very successful in the early 80's and he purchased this land as an investment. He built a log cabin in a beautiful aspen grove at 5700 feet altitude around 1984 as a summer place to enjoy and bring prospective clients. The cabin was 26 by 52 feet and contained a loft 26 by 20 feet. A covered 12 by 52 feet long front porch was added later. The cabin was heated by a pellet stove. Behind the cabin was an outhouse (which is still functional) as no indoor facilities were included in the cabin. The present well was dug and power was brought to the cabin. More than one neighbor has mentioned that Jimmy had some pretty noisy parties at the cabin. He leased the land to Jimmy Hansen, a rancher who lives a mile north of the cabin, for grazing his cattle. In the late 80"s the oil industry fell on hard times and Jimmy Zerbst was eventfully forced into bankruptcy.

Pope and Talbot Inc. bought the property at a bankruptcy auction on Dec 1 1993. Pope and Talbot Inc. is a large wood products company based in Portland Oregon with plants in Newcastle, Wyoming and Spearfish, South Dakota. They bought the property for two reasons: the property has good timber for harvest and the cabin was a hunting retreat for their employees. They installed a bathroom, added more lighting and moved the stairs for the loft to make room for the bathroom. They built a fence around the cabin to keep Jimmy's cattle away as they continued the land lease with Mr. Hansen. They did harvest the trees on the property in 1996. In the late 90's the timber business came on hard times and the corporate folks out of Oregon weren't using the cabin much so the property was put on the market.

Garrett Enterprise LLC, a family owned company, bought the property on May 5, 2000. Roger and Beth Garrett had retired to Spearfish, South Dakota in 1995 from San Diego and had been looking for ranching property for investment and enjoyment. They first saw this property on the last day of the millennium and it ended their search to find the prettiest property in the Eastern Black Hills. After enjoying a spring and summer on the property, the Garrett's decided to upgrade and convert the cabin into a year-around facility. They hired Jorgenson Log Builders out of Custer, South Dakota to evaluate and design a modification to the cabin to include a master bedroom and bath, a laundry facility, a mud room, a fire place and a new deck and portico. The old brown steel roof was removed and intercept panels were put on for insulation and then a new green steel roof. They installed electrical radiant heating and fans for comfort. The old cabin was structurally sound but the mortar chinking was cracking and the electrical wiring needed extensive upgrade. The cabin was essentially stripped to the bare logs which were cob blasted inside and out. The old chinking was removed and new chinking put in place. All new bucked windows were cut into the cabin with two new half-moon windows added. The fire place was made out of beautiful moss rock found on the property. New stairs to the loft were built and a surround sound Bose stereo system was installed inside and outside of the log cabin. Today Willie Nelson can be heard singing to all the cowboys who have ridden the mountain trails and meadows of Aspen Springs Ranch and to Jimmy Hansen's cattle as he continues to lease the property for ranching.