Milldale Ranch

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The history of Milldale Ranch begins with Iowa businessman Charles T. Stewart, who purchased grazing land from homesteader James M. Harris on the north fork of the South Loup River in Logan County, Nebraska in 1883. The original name of the cattle company established by Charles Stewart was the Milldale Farm & Livestock Improvement Co., Limited, with offices at 525 So. 7th in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Although Charles Stewart never moved to Nebraska, he made frequent extended trips each year “to check the Milldale interests, and he spent much time working in the saddle, buying land, surveying for fencing and directly operating the properties” (The Nebraska Farmer, January 7, 1961). Commencing in 1885 Charles Stewart purchased additional land in McPherson and Arthur counties, and more property was later added. While longhorn and roan cattle were the original Milldale stock, Herefords were introduced in 1893 and remained the mainstay until Angus cattle were introduced in 2005.

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Charles Stewart and his wife, Frances Beach Stewart, had one daughter, Marie. She married D.J. McFerren and moved to Illinois. The McFerrens had two daughters, Marie M., who married E.H. (Shoey) Shoemaker, and Jane M., who married Dave Allen. When Charles Stewart died in 1939, his wife continued to take an active interest in the ranches from her home in Council Bluffs, as did his daughter and son-in-law in Illinois. After World War II, his granddaughters and their husbands, the Shoemakers and the Allens, moved to Nebraska to join the cattle corporation. In 1952 the name of the ranch was officially changed to Milldale Ranch Co. at North Platte, Nebraska.

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The McFerrens moved from Illinois to North Platte in 1957, and by 1961 the five-owner corporation (Marie McFerren, Marie M. and E.H. Shoemaker, Jane and Dave Allen) had four ranches on 60,000 acres of owned and leased grassland in three counties. In 1982 the ranches were divided between Charles Stewart’s two granddaughters, Marie M. Shoemaker and Jane M. Allen. The Shoemaker family retained the original Milldale Ranch in Logan County, and the Allen family took over the ranch land in Arthur and McPherson Counties.

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At present, the foreman and hands at Milldale Ranch sustain the high quality breeding for which the ranch is known, and the descendents of Charles Stewart continue to take an active role in ranch operations. The principal living members of the family with interests in Milldale Ranch include Diane Loughery, the daugher of Marie M. Shoemaker, her husband Tom and two sons, Shaun and Brandon.

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