The Terry Bison Ranch was first owned by FE Warren, the first Governor of Wyoming. He bought the 300,000-acre ranch from Charles H. Terry in 1881 and used it as his South headquarters for his Warren Livestock Company.
Ron and Janice Thiel purchased 27,500 acres in 1991 and opened the company to the public in 1993. Ron originally intended it for the purpose of raising bison. Dan Thiel, the son of Ron and Janice thought it would be a great idea to start a company that would allow people to be able to "get up close and personal" to the great North American Bison. Of course, after over 1 year of red tape "Jan Thiel Inc.," dba Terry Bison Ranch Resort became a reality.
At the beginning of the Thiel's history with the ranch, there was no Senator's Steakhouse. So, to serve the public delicious meals, they made "chuckwagon dinners" in an old barn called the Wagon Wheel. Today this building is fully enclosed, but back then it only had 3 walls. The food was cooked at the old cookshack building (The cookshack is now the photoshop at the depot).
In those early years, the 7XL stables had not been created yet as we had another company that provided the trail rides for our guests. We didn't feel that our guests were getting the proper attention, so Dan started Horseshoe Bison Inc. The horseback tours had to change over the years due to the major drought that Wyoming was experiencing during the 90's. Because of the draught, Ron Thiel with Iron Mountain Bison had to change the landscape of his grazing operation. He introduced "Holistic Grazing" which forced him to put up fencing and change the landscape throughout the ranch to herd the bison from pasture to pasture. This, of course, changed the way we had to do our tours and horseback riding. That is how the horseback tours at the 7XL stables came to be the way they are.
The train tours known today as the Terry Rail Express (TRX) began as wagon tours in 1993. In those days the wagon tours would take guests out to see the bison, but there arose a concern. The bison would charge the wagons. So in 2000 Dan brought in buses for bus tours. They called the tours the Terry Bison Express. As the buses got stuck in the mud and snow Dan again made a major change. This time getting rails from the Pacific Railroad Company and laying 2.5 miles of track. Ron Thiel, being and engineer, built trains from old military vehicles and in 2004 the Terry Rail Express was born.
Every year Dan tries to make improvements somewhere at the ranch whether it's a gazebo, a stone entrance into the ranch, or extra rooms at the Senator's Steakhouse. It seems there is always a need for something neat or cool. Grass, planters and flower boxes are arranged beautifully around the ranch. Don't let us leave out the Chicken Bus too.... This bus can be found by the train tracks and is a really cool feature, that can be moved and closed up to protect the chickens. "Tinker" the tinkered bison and the "Tin Can Cowboy" with his pack mule are also recent additions. Don't miss out on all the new things to come. Head out to see us and let us know what new features you like best when you visit!
