The Johnson Ranch is located on the banks of the Grand River southeast of Lemmon South Dakota and consists of 1484 deeded acres. Approximately 4.5 miles of the North Fork Grand River flows through the center of the ranch and feeds the nearby Shadehill Reservoir. The tree-lined river bottoms provide exceptional natural protection and wildlife habitat. The ranch has a 75-acre water license from the State of South Dakota. There is an extensive set of improvements featuring a three bedroom, two bath home built in 1991, a 30 stall horse barn with a 60’ x 120’ indoor arena and office, 2nd three bedroom, 2 bath home, barn with 22 horse stalls, multiple shops and barns, corrals, paddocks and your own race track. The ranch has two wells and two rural water hookups provided by the Perkins County Rural Water District. The owner is currently running 130 cow/calf pairs year around. The County FSA shows 488 acres of cropland that is currently in hay production. The average hay production exceeds 2 ton per acre per year. There is a spring fed 15 acre lake on the south end of the ranch that is stocked with trout providing a dependable water source for livestock and wildlife.

Whitetail and Mule deer roam the river bottoms and draws. The ranch boasts a strong turkey population with great hunting in both the spring and fall. This region of South Dakota is home to some of the country’s best upland hunting. Strong numbers of Pheasants, Grouse, and Hungarian Partridge are found on multiple different areas of the ranch. Good fishing can be found on The Grand River that flows for 4.5 miles through the heart of the ranch. During the spring and summer months it is not uncommon for Walleye and Norther Pike to be caught in the many deep pools throughout this river. Shadehill Reservoir is only a short 8-minute drive from the ranch and offers some of the best fishing in Northern South Dakota

This is a tremendous property for those seeking an equestrian and cattle operation with first-class recreational amenities. The Grand River offers varied topography from grassy ridges, to upper hay meadows to tree-filled valleys along with live water and just minutes from spectacular recreational opportunities. The ranches’ improvements are abundant and allow for a highly diversified operation. The Johnson Ranch fits a horseman, cowman or investor, and we don’t find many of these types of ranches hitting the market.

Improvements

Main House 3 bedroom, 3 bath with 1352 square feet and 30’ x 32 attached garage

2nd Home 3 bedroom, 2 bath with 1320 square feet and 624 SF attached garage

Horse Stable/Arena 36’ x 180’ Stable with 30 stalls and tack room, 60’ x 120’ indoor arena, 12’ x 30’ office with bathroom and an 18’ x 48’ lean to Built in 1987.

Steel Pole Barn 40’ x 120’ with 20 horse stalls built in 2013

Steel Pole Barn 40’ x 64’ built in 2007

Steel Shop 40’ x 50 Built in 1979

Open Faced Pole Barn 10’ x 120’ built in 1992

Steel Quonset 38’ x 50’ built in 1968

Four (4) Open Faced Pole Barns 12’ x 49’ each built in 2014

Open Faced Pole Barn 12’ x 20’ built in 2014

Open Faced Pole Barn 10’ x 15’ built in 2014

Shed 10’ x 16’ built in 1987

Four (4) Steel Grain Bins 3035 bushels each built in 1968

Recreation

The Johnson Ranch offers 4.5 miles of Grand River bottoms creating hundreds of acres of riparian areas providing essential wildlife habitat for upland game birds, turkey, mule deer and whitetail deer. Less than a mile east of the ranch is the west boundary of The Shadehill Reservoir Game Production Area. The Shadehill Recreation Area offers opportunities to enjoy land and water-based activities. The reservoir is one of western South Dakota’s few large lakes. The dam, built in 1951 by the Bureau of Reclamation, creates more than 5,000 surface acres of water to enjoy. The Shadehill Reservoir on the Grand River in the northwestern part of South Dakota, immediately downstream from the confluence of the North Fork and the South Fork of the Grand River. The reservoir has approximately 4,800 water surface acres, 8,358 land acres and 65 miles of shoreline. The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks manages the recreation activities at Shadehill Reservoir, which include: public-use area, camping, picnic areas, trailer dump station, swimming, boating, and hiking. Available species include walleye, catfish, and bass.

The Johnson Ranch is also located in The Grand River National Grassland which is comprised of 155,000 acres. The north and south forks of the Grand River dissect the land unit, drain into Shadehill Reservoir and then flow easterly to the Missouri River.

Water/Mineral Rights & Natural Resources

The ranch has a 75-acre water license from the State of South Dakota out of the North Fork Grand River. It has not been utilized recently.

All mineral rights appurtenant to the property owned by the seller will transfer with the real estate. Sellers make no representation regarding what mineral rights they presently own. There is an existing gravel pit estimated to contain roughly 4-5 million tons of high quality gravel located on one of the parcels.

Region & Climate

Lemmon, South Dakota, named after cattleman Ed Lemmon who founded the town in 1906 is full of old west history. It is home to a K-12 school system, banking institutions, implement dealers, feed stores, grocery stores, livestock sale barn as well as several restaurants and retail stores. Additional livestock sale barns are located in the South Dakota towns of Faith, Belle Fourche, St. Onge and Ft. Pierre as well as Dickinson and Mandan ND.

The average annual precipitation for the Lemmon, South Dakota area is approximately 17.9 inches including 39.2 inches of snowfall. The average high temperature in January is 29 degrees, while the low is 9 degrees. The average high temperate in July is 86 degrees, while the low is 59 degrees.

History

The Grand River Grassland is also rich in cultural heritage. In the past it served as a hunting ground for the nomadic Plains Indian tribes. Tipi rings and remnants of campfires are scattered across the prairie. The early trappers such as Jim Bridger and Hugh Glass visited this area. General Custer and his troops traveled through the area on their expeditions to the Black Hills. In the early 1900s, the area was settled by European immigrants under the Homestead Act. In the 1930s a severe drought along with high winds turned the area into a Dust Bowl. This time was known as the Great Depression and many of the settlers experienced great financial hardships. Under the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the government purchased failed homesteads in order to minimize the economic hardships. These purchased lands were consolidated and rehabilitated and the administration was transferred to the Forest Service and formally designated the Grand River National Grassland in 1960.

Location

Located approximately 20 miles southwest of Lemmon, South Dakota the Johnson Ranch is easily accessed year-round via well-maintained and paved state roads. To access the ranch, travel west of Lemmon, South Dakota on State Highway 12 for approximately 10 miles to White Butte Road; turn left and travel south on White Butte Road for approximately 9.7 miles.

The Rapid City Regional Airport is located eight miles southeast of Rapid City, South Dakota. This is a commercial airport offering daily flights from Allegiant Air, Delta, United, and Northwest Airlines. Additional airports in the region include Lemmon Municipal Airport with a 4,499 foot paved runway and the Bison Municipal Airport located in Bison, South Dakota that has a 3,500 foot paved runway.

The seller is making known to all potential purchasers that there may be variations between the deeded property lines and the location of the existing fence boundary lines on the subject property. Seller makes no warranties about location of the fence lines in relationship to the deeded property lines, nor does the seller make any warranties or representations about specific acreage within the fenced property lines. Seller is selling the property in an as is condition which includes the location of the fences as they exist.

Boundaries shown on accompanying maps are approximate based on the legal description and may not indicate a survey. Maps are not to scale and are for visual aid only. Their accuracy is not guaranteed.