Brochure, c. 1954. |
The History of the
Flying U Ranch.
Ride into Western Canada's rich frontier history!
The Flying U is Canada's oldest working guest ranch with a fascinating
story.
In the 1820s, the Northwest Fur Trading Co. established
a fur trade post at the ranch's location on Green Lake.
During the gold rush of the 1860s, this property became
a ranch/roadhouse and in 1886, a crown grant of land was given
to two intrepid ranchers, William and Mary Boyd. This formally
established the "70 Ranch" as a working cattle ranch,
run in conjunction with the old "70 Mile House" roadhouse.
In 1923, rodeo star Jack G. Boyd, son of William and
Mary, took over the cattle ranch, and turned it into "The
Flying U" guest ranch. It was Jack's friend, cowboy movie
star William S. Hart who came up with the idea of naming the
ranch after a popular series of books and Hollywood movies. Jack
Boyd developed the ranch into a combination resort and cattle
business, and even hosted an annual rodeo that rivalled the Calgary
Stampede for prestige and top riders.
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Jack Boyd, founder of the Flying U Guest Ranch
May Boyd, Jack's wife and one of the first
owners of the property.
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