Eastern clients sought authentically western experiences at dude ranches without giving up comfort, and the B Bar K Ranch followed that pattern. Wealthy Chicagoan J. Fred Butler bought the ranch from homesteader Clarence Lytle in 1927, and the irrigation ditches, spring house, fence lines, and horse trails are the surviving remains of Lytle’s original 1910s homestead. Butler and his daughter and son-in-law, Florence and Don Kilbourne, named the property the B Bar K and spent about $110,000 on a summer retreat built from nearby logs in the Rustic style, with native stone fireplaces and interiors furnished with Navajo rugs, Indian beadwork, hand-crafted furniture, and modern bathroom comforts. After a business downturn, the Kilbournes began taking paying guests and joined the many Montana dude ranchers operating during the Great Depression, including numerous transplanted Easterners who understood the expectations of wealthy visitors. After 1947 the ranch briefly served as a boy’s camp and then as headquarters for a logging operation. In 1955 Jack and Elaine Hume bought the property, renamed it Lone Mountain Ranch, and the place continues the long tradition of combining comfortable accommodations with outdoor recreation.