Bio
Charles M. Bair (1857–1943) was a prominent figure in early American railroading and became one of the largest sheep ranchers in the United States. Born in Stark County, Ohio, he moved to Montana Territory in 1883 to work as a conductor for the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1886, he married Mary Jacobs in Chicago and brought her to Helena, Montana, where their first daughter, Marguerite, was born in 1889. Bair transitioned from railroading to sheep ranching in 1891, establishing a ranch near Lavina, Montana.
In 1893, the Bair family relocated to downtown Billings, where their second daughter, Alberta, was born in 1895. Notably, the Alberta Bair Theater in Billings was named in her honor in 1987. By 1898, Bair had sold his sheep flock and ventured to Alaska, becoming a millionaire by selling mining machinery during the Klondike Gold Rush. Upon returning to Montana, he expanded his sheep ranching operation, reportedly owning about 300,000 sheep by 1910, making it one of the largest in North America.
Bair also capitalized on the 1916 oil strike at Lost Soldier Dome in Wyoming, staking a claim that eventually became the town of Bairoil. He passed away in 1943, leaving a legacy that includes a museum at his family home in Martinsdale and a trust fund established by his daughters, which supports scholarships for local high school graduates. Bair was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2008.
