Dude ranches are often linked to the 20thcentury recreational history of the American West. Many of the most famous dude ranches were in southeastern Montana and northern Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. The Double Arrow Ranch was one of the few western Montana dude outfits that catered to well-heeled tourists who wanted a taste of ranch life.

The earliest owner of the Double Arrow, Charles Morrell located this site as a working cattle ranch. But he also entertained visitors as early as 1905. However, it was the Dutch born Jan Boissevain who purchased the 7,000 acre ranch in 1929 who conceived of the property as primarily a guest ranch. Partnering with well-known Western Montanan George Weisel, Boissevain and crew constructed the main lodge, guest cabins and outbuildings in 1929 and 1930 and began receiving guests that fall.

Although the heyday of dude ranching in Montana was during the 1920s and 1930s, the Double Arrow never lived up to expectations. This was partly due to the Great Depression that plagued the national economy during the 1930s, but the ranches remote location in Western Montana and limited season also played a role in the decline of the ranch. With the outbreak of World War II, tourism suffered an additional setback. It was the death knell for Jan Boissevain’s dream.

Boissevain sold the Double Arrow in 1942 to out of state interests. In subsequent years the ranch changed hands numerous times. Efforts were made to continue it as working stock ranch and, periodically, as a guest ranch operated by local outfitter C.B. Rich. For a time during the 1950’s the Double Arrow even served as a summer camp for boys.

Finally, in the early 1970s, after a significant investment in restoring and refurbishing the main lodge and guest cabins, the Double Arrow was sold once again to Montana business interests, who not only invested in expanding the ranches opportunities for recreation, but also subdivided much of the property along the Clearwater River and sold the tracts for homes. Today the Double Arrow Ranch is a full season resort, with the main lodge and adjacent guest cabins offering a glimpse of the trials and tribulations of early Montana dude ranches.

Credits and Sources:

Mildred Chaffin, “The Double Arrow Ranch” in The Seeley Lake Writers Club,Cabin Fever: A Centennial Collection of Stories About the Seeley Lake Area, Vernon Publishing and Printing (1989) pp 185 – 194.

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Double Arrow Lodge, prepared by Jon Axline (2014).