A Tale of Two Families
The land that comprises the current Bar T Bar Ranch is the product of an almost century-long relationship between two families: the Tremaines, originally from Cleveland, and the Chilsons of Winslow. Although the relationship didn’t begin until 1930, the Chilson family had interests in several ranches as early as 1913 in the Tonto Basin area south of Payson. However, those ranches were subsequently purchased by John Anderson who was a contractor for the Tremaine family business, which at the time was cattle feeding. During the Great Depression, Anderson ended up turning over the deed to the Bar T Bar and another ranch (the AD near Clifton) to Tremaine. Tremaine then sought out Boss Chilson to assist in operating the ranches again.
Since most of the Bar T Bar lies south of the Hay Lake and Little Springs grazing permit area, the ranch soon pursued acquiring more deeded land and contiguous land, with the goal of eliminating the 70-mile cattle drive between Little Springs and the Tonto Basin (which meant numerous 7- to 10-day treks through downtown Payson each year). As the move to the north continued, they purchased the Pitchfork Ranch from the Babbitt Brothers in 1939. The Pitchfork probably accounts for most of the northern portion of the present day Bar T Bar. It included the lands around Meteor Crater. Several years later, in 1941, the families acquired a 199-year lease on the Meteor Crater property, which we still hold today. Other significant acquisitions included the Wolfolk allotment, two townships in the area, which provided the connection between the summer and winter ranges, and Moqui Ranch, which was purchased in 1946.