Archie Johnson was born in 1944 to Frank and Elizabeth Johnson. He was the only boy born in his generation on the Broken Box Ranch. He has spent his entire life on the family ranch outside of LaGrange Wyoming in Goshen county, as his father did before him.
Archie is a cattleman first and foremost. He started showing Hereford cattle in 4–H and FFA as soon as he was big enough to hang onto the end of a halter rope. He gradually switched the ranch herd over to black angus cows and Hereford bulls to get a true F1 cross calf. He has always said that is the best of both worlds.
His days have always been filled with cattle, horses and land stewardship. Archie’s Dad and Uncle Ernest raised remounts for the army and Hereford cattle. As a result Archie had to get around and get along with some waspy colts and horses that no one else really wanted or could get along with. He has always found a use for them starting with wet saddle blankets checking water and windmills. Getting a colt or problem horse to travel straight at a long trot, to cover country, watch a cow and pull on the end of a rope has always been a priority. Archie has always been really good at getting a horse to watch a cow and to score in the roping box.
Archie and his horse, Seth, drag hundreds of calves to the fire every Spring. “Horses are so much more refined now, but back 20-25 years ago we just got on and went out on them. My Dad has always been the guy I wanted with me to keep me out of trouble and out of the fences.” Patrick Johnson “When you borrow Arch’s horse you better have your fanny screwed down in the saddle, they will turn a cow!” Marisa Johnson
Archie always rodeo’d on his ranch horses. He picked up rodeos for over 35 years for the likes of Harry Vold, Bruegman’s, Dorenkamp’s, Franzen and Cervi’s. He picked up Frontier Days for 18 years until he retired to run the ranch full time.
After Frank and Ernest died in 1994, Archie took over full time at the Broken Box Ranch with his two sons Matt and Patrick beside him. Archie is still out checking mother cows in the middle of the night and horseback almost everyday. When the little’s are visiting Archie is their favorite cowboy! They love following him around and driving in the flatbed with him. They also love to call him over for every meal.
Archie is a wonderful storyteller and keeps the Cowboy way of life alive. With any luck Arch has many more years left in the saddle and many more tales to tell.