BRANDING IRON

1899

Montana Stockgrowers Association

X1967.08.07

By the time that the first cattle were brought into Montana in the 1840s, the practice of branding livestock to show ownership was hundreds of years old. Intended in large part to thwart theft, brands took on additional significance during the open-range era when herds belonging to different owners were grazed together on public lands. In response to the new territory's burgeoning livestock industry, Montana's 1871-72 Legislative Assembly created a "general office" for recording brands and marks, and mandated that the records be kept in a "book suitable for the purpose, which shall be free to the inspection of all persons interested." On February 10, 1873, the Poindexter and Orr Ranch in Beaverhead County registered the Square & Compass (a traditional symbol of the Masons). It was the first Montana brand to be recorded. Today, the original Brand Books, in use since 1873, continue to be held in trust by the Montana Department of Livestock Brand Division.