08/31/2026
Mt Haggin Sheep Company shearing barn and dipping vat at the Mule Ranch between Anaconda and Wise River, MT. A big thank you to Jim Drummond (whose extended family donated the Jim Dolan statue in front of the new wool research lab) for giving me some of the history of this place and it's location. Jim's dad managed the Montana Wool Lab for 35 years and his granddad worked for both Mt. Haggin and Montana Ag Experiment Station managing sheep flocks.
The land was historically owned for decades by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. In the early 20th century, the mining company began accumulating localized homesteads in response to smoke-damage lawsuits from its massive smelter stack.
Under the company's umbrella in the 1920s, Mt. Haggin operated a world-class Hampshire sheep operation. It was one of the largest in the nation, grazing upwards of 8,000 sheep annually across the Big Hole and Continental Divide country.
In 1965, the Anaconda Company officially sold the ranch. By 1976, the sprawling 55,000-acre property was sold via the Nature Conservancy to the state, creating the Mt. Haggin Wildlife Management Area—a vital habitat for elk and a popular area for cross-country skiing today.
In the early 1900s, the Anaconda Copper Mining Company relied on thousands of mules to pull ore carts through dark mine tunnels.
After working underground for roughly five years, the animals were sent to pasture at the scenic Mule Ranch in the Mill Creek drainage beneath Mount Haggin and the Anaconda Range to rest and recover.
