Crail Ranch Buildings, Ranch buildings in Gallatin County, Montana.

Crail Ranch Buildings comprise two log cabins constructed with hand-worked techniques typical of early Montana settlement. The main residence has two stories with hand-fitted beam connections that show the marks of tools used in their assembly.

Frank Crail bought rights to a 160-acre homestead parcel in December 1901 for $150 and moved his family there in spring 1902. The family proved up that claim and acquired five more parcels, reaching 960 contiguous acres by 1910. They built a two-story, four-room cabin and raised horses, cattle and sheep. Emmett Crail ran the ranch until selling it in 1950.

The location preserves memories of homesteading life through personal objects, photographs, and documents from the 1800s and early 1900s. These collections show how settlers lived and managed their farms in this region.

The structures are located on Spotted Elk Road in Big Sky and are accessible to visitors. Budget time to explore both buildings and walk between them on site.

Augustus Crail experimented with grain varieties and developed a strain called Crail Fife that was displayed at a major exposition in St. Louis. This breeding work was notable for a grain farmer in Montana at that time.