David P. Ranken
History of Montana, 1894
US Genweb Montana Archives

David P. Ranken is descended from sturdy Scotch ancestry, 
although born in the north of Ireland, October 11, 1884, 
son of John and Mary A. (Laughlin) Ranken.  He is one of a 
family of seven sons and one daughter.  The daughter 
married and several years afterward died, leaving a family 
of six children.  Two of the sons died when young and of 
the other five we records that David P. is in Montana; 
John D. is at the head of the foundry and machine firm 
of Ranken and Fitch, St. Louis, Missouri; H.L. is a 
capitalist of St. Louis and the other two died after 
reaching manhood.David P. Ranken began frontier life 
at an early age.  When he was nineteen he went to 
Texas and from there explored and prospected among 
the Rocky ranges to their northern bounds.  He first 
engaged in mining in Meagher County, Montana near its 
county seat, Diamond City and was the first who invested 
largely in placer mining.  In this enterprise he invested 
$20,000 for pipe alone, the freight on his iron piping 
from St. Louis being eighteen cents a pound.  He built 
a water ditch that was seven miles long, and when his 
works were completed he had a water capacity of 2,000 
miners inches, the whole plant costing him no less 
than $100,000.  The profits were at time large.  
Frequently he realized $2000 from the expenditure 
of $100.  He owns a valuable quartz lead in the 
same mining belt, which assays $600 per ton.  This 
he is now developing and will operate it on a much 
larger scale as soon as railroad transportation is 
afforded and it is now expected that a road will be 
built to these mines in the near future.  Mr. Ranken 
also owns valuable copper deposits in the same 
region, near Copperopolis, and has sixty acres of 
valuable placer field.  He sold his first placer 
mine some years since.  In 1876 he located valuable 
grass lands on the Yellowstone fifteen mines south 
of Livingston and now owns a section and a half on 
the east and one section on the west side of the 
river.  On the east side, where he now resides, is 
a valuable spring of water clear as crystal and 
from this spring the water meanders through his 
ranch to the river and never freezes, thus making 
a great resort for water fowls in winter. 

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