Another of Wyoming’s legacy ranches is hitting the market after nearly a century of stewardship. The T Diamond Ranch comes with a front-row seat to the Black Hills, as well as history to match.
It’s tucked into Crook County just a few miles from the South Dakota border on a 433-acre spread where trout streams, scenicred bluffs and Wyoming tax laws all come together for a $5 million asking price.
Deep Historic Roots
Aerial photos of the property show Lower Redwater Creek meandering through, with pine-studded hills and red-rock cliffs in the background. The ranch is part of an operation that was founded by the Matthews family, who trailed into Wyoming from Texas, first settling near Gillette in 1888 then expanding outward to Sundance and Spearfish.
In Spearfish, the family is known for the Matthews Block, which includes the Matthews Opera House, a vibrant community arts center.
T Diamond Ranch is one-fourth of a larger ranch the Matthews family owned. It includes the 1930s farmstead and dairy, along with other working ranch structures. These are not relics. They are part of what is already a working cattle ranch rated for about 50 head.
With an existing lease in place, there’s an immediate income stream.
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate)
A Showpiece Mansion Comes With
But it’s not just the original farmhouse and ranch structures that come with this property. There’s a 7,500-square-foot mansion as well, built In 2001.
“They spared no expense when they built it,” Hayden Outdoors listing agent Kerry Englemann told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s just a beautiful, beautiful place.”
The home was built with entertaining in mind, so has expansive gathering spaces in addition to three bedrooms and seven full bathrooms. Large windows frame a sweeping view of the scenery, including creek bottoms below.
The interior is finished with warm wood, high-quality appliances, and multiple fireplaces. The price competitive compared to other areas with the kind of outdoor recreation the Black Hills offer.
“This would probably be $20 million in Jackson Hole,” Englemann said. “We sold a ranch down the road there last year for $2.5 million, and it had no improvements to the property, so no residence and no working ranch headquarters.”
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate)
Where The Trout Live
With few neighbors nearby, and easements that protect the character of all four of the original ranches that were part of this cluster, the new owner will feel as though they’ve found a private sanctuary, he said.
“It’s rough country, it’s Wyoming country,” Englemann said. “But when you get down to the running water, it’s just beautiful. You have those rugged red bluffs and the contrast with the green riparian area, with all the things you want to see as a country boy.”
Water is a highlight on this turnkey ranch, with substantial, long-standing water rights that support about 125 acres of riparian and irrigated hay bottom along Lower Redwater Creek. That supports one to two cuttings of grass and grass legume hay every season, he said.
Two registered wells serve the headquarters, providing water to both residences, as well as for domestic stock use. There’s a permanent stock water pipeline easement delivering year-round stock water to the southern grazing units.
“The highlight is the running water,” Englemann said. “The Redwater Creek — in South Dakota they call it Redwater River — is just beautiful. Those riparian areas are just lush, and there’s trout swimming.”
It’s the kind of fishing many people travel hundreds of miles to find, Englemann said. Lower Redwater Creek runs the length of the property, offering cold, clear trout water starting about 100 yards from the mansion’s backdoor.
Hay bottoms and timbered draws create wildlife habitat too, attracting whitetail deer, mule deer, turkeys, and elk, who roam freely from the nearby Black Hills National Forest and creek corridor, as well as plenty of upland birds that work the field edges and frequent the creek, Englemann said.
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate) 
A Crook County ranch with almost a century of history has hit the market for $5 million. It comes with a historic homestead, 7,500-square-foot mansion, a trout stream, views of red bluffs and access to the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. (Hayden Outdoors Real Estate)
Enjoy Black Hills For Wyoming Tax Bill
The ranch is also situated to access the Black Hills in both Wyoming and South Dakota, but it comes with a much lower tax bill than its neighboring state.
“I don’t know what the exact percentages are, but when I look at properties that are similar to my property in South Dakota, my tax bill for that property is somewhere around $7,000 to $8,000 a year,” he said. “And if you go across the border to Wyoming those taxes might be around $1,200 a year. So it’s a huge discrepancy in terms of property taxes.”
The range of outdoor recreation opportunities includes horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking and backcountry skiing. The historic mining town of Deadwood, Devils Tower, Spearfish Canyon, Black Hills National Forest — all are within a half-hour or so drive.
Rapid City, a regional hub with medical specialists, an airport with flights to Denver and Dallas as well as seasonal routes to Chicago, Las Vegas and Orlando, is 63 miles away.
Noncommercial recreation on the ranch is protected in perpetuity by a conservation partnership, ensuring the property’s open-space character and ranching heritage remain intact.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
