These three brands were owned in 1886 by Duncan (Dunk) Blair in the White River area. Duncan was a member of the White River Stock Growers Association. The origin of the square and compass symbols can be found in several ancient civilizations including Egypt. The square and the compass were tools of architects thru the ages. This compass is the same pointy thing we used in geometry class to make circles, not the round thing with a needle we used to get lost with in the forest. Both have just about disappeared from use today. GPS and computer drafting programs have spoiled all the fun for this generation. The square and compass symbols are found on many building cornerstones today. When you place a “G” inside the two symbols, you might recognize the symbol of Freemasons. The “square and compass” is the oldest registered Montana brand.
The Brand “BB” originated in Wyoming. The Blair brothers, Duncan and Archie, arrived in the Rock Springs, Wyoming, area about 1866, two years before the Union Pacific Railroad arrived. The Blair and Hay Land and Livestock still own the Wyoming right to the “BB” brand. This family is mentioned several times in the book “Where the Old West Stayed Young.” They figure prominently in the history of Rock Springs. Duncan Jr. owned the BB ranch south of Rock Springs. Duncan Blair Sr. was born in Scotland, as was his son Duncan (Dunk) Blair Jr. Dunk left his Wyoming home drawn by the promise of tall grass in the White River while it was still controlled by the Utes. My best guess is that he was allowed to “squat” on the land between 1870 and 1884 because he was married to Mary, his Native American second wife. His first wife, Emma belonged to the Ute tribe and bore him one son, John Archibald Blair. Mary, his second wife, was supposed to have been Shoshone. Their neighbors thought highly of Mary’s knowledge of the use of herbs in medicine. In a remote area 30 miles west of the White River Agency, her skills were valuable. An 1884 survey shows the location of the Blair Mesa and the Blair ranch at its foot. There was no road, no Rangely, and no Rio Blanco County yet. Dunk Blair is credited with having the first cattle herd in the White River area. Later on, he is credited with having the first sheep, sometime before 1894. This was during the violent range wars between cowmen and sheep owners. The second person to attempt raising sheep in the Meeker area was George Black with Allesbrook holding the mortgage. Cowmen killed 250 of Allesbrook’s sheep and told him to take the rest of the flock somewhere else. I find it interesting that there were no reports of anyone harassing Dunk Blair’s flock. Maybe he didn’t pose a threat to their open range. Dunk Blair sold 20 horses and 30 cattle to Ambrose Oldland along with the brand rights to the inverted V T V in 1892. Ambrose’s brother, Rueben Oldland, owned the brand in 1914 along with his famous Spur Brand. Gerald Allen Oldland owns the inverted V T V brand today. Dunk Blair died in 1897. His will, recorded in Rio Blanco County, left everything to his wife, Mary, with the stipulation that after she died the estate would revert to his brother, Archibald. Dunk’s son John was left out of the will. I found a record of John in 1905 Utah at the White Rocks Agency. John had been granted Ute tribal membership in 1904. John later spent time around Steamboat Springs and died in Denver (1942).
Sources: This is What I Remember Book series; RBC Historical Society; White River Museum; Old Meeker Herold articles; RBC county clerk; RBC Treasurer; Leif Joy of RBC; Museum of Northwest Colorado, Craig. Where the Old West Stayed Young book by John Rolfe Burroughs, 1914
By ED PECK – Special to the Herald times
