Adkin Kingsbury was one of Montana’s great sheepmen.
Kingsbury was born in Missouri but, by 1871, he was operating a livery barn in Helena, Montana. In the fall of 1871, he became general manager for Davenport, Ray and Company, which brought 1,800 sheep from Oregon to Montana. Kingsbury cared for the flock, which grew in four years to 6,000 head.
The company was reorganized in 1892 as the Big Sag Land and Livestock Company, with Kingsbury as president and general manager. Between 1908 and 1910, the firm was running a flock of 30,000.
He moved to Great Falls, Montana, in 1894, helping to finance the construction of an opera house and serving as one of the original directors of the First National Bank of Great Falls.
