Archives West Finding Aid

Winnecook Ranch was started by Ralph and Samuel Berry on the Musselshell River in 1880. Samuel immediately began putting up buildings to house them and Ralph's wife, Evie. In the meantime, Ralph traveled to Utah to purchase their first flock of Merino sheep. Two years later, Samuel sold his half of the venture which Ralph, in turn, traded to various resident ranch managers. In 1887, Evie gave birth to twin sons with only one, Samuel Stillman Berry, surviving. Stillman's frailty had his parents constantly worried about his well being and set their business plan around securing their family's financial future. With the organization of the Winnecook Land and Livestock Company in 1906, Berry's family ranch became a corporation and the family moved to Redlands, CA to protect Stillman's health. With the sudden death of Ralph Berry in 1911, Stillman assumed control of his father's majority stock holdings and took over the presidency of the company in 1917 while still following his academic career in malacology and botany. Stillman held this post until his death in 1984. At that time his shares were put into a trust called the Goodly Heritage Foundation and eventually divided between Stanford University, Redlands Community Hospital, and the A. K. Smiley Library of Redlands, California. In 1992, the Berry family's stake in the Winnecook was eliminated by the purchase of the stock by the Mormon Farm Management Company.