Three Ringlings in Montana: Circus Trains to Cattle Ranches

The Ringling Brothers Circus—the world’s greatest shows!—made five brothers some of the wealthiest men in America in the early 1900s. One of them—flamboyant John Ringling—came to Montana in 1903 looking for investments. He ended up building a railroad and launching a ranching company. Richard, son of circus brother Alf T. Ringling, followed his Uncle John to Montana in 1917 and built a cattle and sheep empire. He and his family settled in a mansion in White Sulphur Springs. Richard’s son Pa...