Wetzstein/Tipton Ranch
Nestled in the pine forest north of Rimini, the Wetzstein/Tipton Ranch buildings remain an outstanding example of a World War II-era Rustic style ranch. With their young daughter Mary Ellen, William and Clara Wetzstein left Mandan, North Dakota, in the early 1930s to pursue their dream of owning a ranch. They lived in Helena initially while William supported the family by working as a boilermaker for the Northern Pacific Railroad. In 1941, the Wetzsteins purchased Fred Irwin’s homestead property. With help from neighbor Fred Schwarzhans and his draft horse Old Pete, they harvested trees in Lazyman Gulch and hauled them nearly four miles to the ranch. Once the trees dried, William—a skilled carpenter—and Clara peeled the bark, saddle notched the ends, and local brothers George and Leo Sawallisch helped them stack and chink the walls. During the next seven years, William and Clara built the main ranch house, a barn, outhouse, milkhouse/utility shed, chicken house, and two garages. Mary Ellen and her husband Walter Tipton built the summer cabin. To achieve a distinctive, rustic aesthetic the Wetzstein’s painted each building red, and all the chinking, trim, and rafter and log ends white. The couple raised goats, pigs, chickens, and a variety of fruits and vegetables for home consumption. They also sold and traded milk, cheese, and eggs. William retired in 1953 but continued ranching until 1965. After the Wetzsteins died in the mid-1980s, Mary Ellen, her son Michael and daughter Diane, lovingly maintained the ranch.
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