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Cattle Barons and Land Owners

George Lane: Bar U Cattle King and Calgary Stampede Founder

From Montana cowboy to owner of the Bar U, Lane became one of Alberta's biggest ranchers and a founder of the Stampede.

Who Was George Lane?

George Lane was born on March 6, 1856, near Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. Another source gives Booneville, Iowa. His family moved to Virginia City, Montana, when he was 16, and the Wikipedia biography says his father was among the founders of the Alder Gulch gold mine.

He became one of the most prominent ranchers in the Canadian West, known as the Cattle King of Alberta, and he is remembered for the Bar U Ranch, his Percheron horses and his role in founding the Calgary Stampede.

From Army Scout to Foreman

In 1874 Lane joined the U.S. Army as a scout and dispatch rider, carrying messages for General Nelson Miles. He later worked for Conrad Kohrs, where he developed his cowboy skills. He then came north and was hired as foreman of the Northwest Cattle Company, whose main operations were at the Bar U. Sources give different arrival years, 1882, 1883 and 1884, so the date is best treated as the early 1880s. Wikipedia says he served seven years as foreman, and the Canadian Encyclopedia says he started his own stock business in 1891.

Buying the Bar U Ranch

Sources differ on when he took control. Wikipedia says he returned in 1902 to buy the ranch for $250,000, the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame says he bought a majority interest in 1902, and the Canadian Encyclopedia gives 1905. Either way, the Bar U became one of the largest ranches in Alberta.

The Hall of Fame page says that by then the operation held about 40,000 cattle and over 1,000 horses, including roughly 750 registered Percherons shown at major North American fairs. Treat those as the Hall's figures, not a verified census.

Percherons, War Horses and the Prince of Wales

Lane developed one of the continent's outstanding Percheron breeding herds, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. The Hall says he sold and shipped thousands of horses to the British government for its armed forces during the Boer War.

In 1919 he hosted Edward, then Prince of Wales, on the Royal Tour of Canada. Edward established the E.P. Ranch on neighboring land, and Wikipedia says Lane made that purchase on his behalf. For more ranch history, see the cowboy coverage at farm.FM.

The Calgary Stampede and the Big Four

In 1912 Lane joined Patrick Burns, A.E. Cross and Archie McLean as one of the Big Four. According to the Wikipedia biography of A.E. Cross, the four put up $100,000 to finance the first Stampede, held in September 1912. The Canadian Encyclopedia lists Lane among those who organized it, and the Hall of Fame says he played a leading role in founding it.

The Key to Lane's Success

Lane built on real cowboy skills and then moved from foreman to owner. He diversified into horses, which paid off in wartime sales. A historian quoted by Wikipedia described him as a strict autocrat with all cowboys, a reminder that the Bar U's results rested on tight control of its hands.

  • He learned the work as a scout, dispatch rider and cowboy before he ever managed a ranch.
  • He spent years as foreman at the Bar U, learning the operation before he bought it.
  • He added a major Percheron breeding program, giving the ranch a second line of income.
  • He sold thousands of horses to the British government for the Boer War.
  • He cultivated the Prince of Wales, whose visit led to the neighboring E.P. Ranch.
  • He invested in public events, helping finance and organize the Calgary Stampede.

Politics, Family and Death

Lane married Elizabeth Sexsmith in 1885 and they had eight children. As a Liberal he won the Bow Valley seat in the 1913 Alberta election with 396 votes, but he served only from April 17 to May 26, 1913, resigning so that a defeated cabinet minister, Charles R. Mitchell, could return to the legislature.

He died at the Bar U on September 24, 1925. The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame inducted him in 1963 on a nomination from the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, and the Hall of Great Westerners followed in 2016. For a related read, see a farm.FM story about Alberta ranching.

Timeline

  1. 1856Born near Des Moines, Iowa
  2. 1874Joins the U.S. Army as a scout and dispatch rider
  3. 1885Marries Elizabeth Sexsmith
  4. 1891Starts his own stock business, per the Canadian Encyclopedia
  5. 1902Buys the Bar U (Canadian Encyclopedia says 1905)
  6. 1912Co-founds the Calgary Stampede as one of the Big Four
  7. 1913Briefly serves in the Alberta legislature
  8. 1919Hosts the Prince of Wales
  9. 1925Dies at the Bar U Ranch

Frequently asked questions

Who was George Lane?

George Lane (1856 to 1925) was an Iowa-born rancher who owned the Bar U Ranch in Alberta, bred Percheron horses and co-founded the Calgary Stampede as one of the Big Four.

How big was the Bar U Ranch under George Lane?

The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame says about 40,000 cattle and over 1,000 horses, including roughly 750 registered Percherons, though the sources I read give no consistent acreage.

What is George Lane known for?

He is known as the Cattle King of Alberta, for his Percheron breeding, for hosting the Prince of Wales in 1919 and for helping found the Calgary Stampede.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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