MOLINA, Colo. (KREX) — For 36 years History Colorado and the Colorado Department of Agriculture have been commemorating centennial farms and ranches. This year one of them is right here in Mesa County. And they even had some wiggle room in the timing because they reached that milestone 22 years ago. The Johnson family ranch has been agricultural land since the family purchased it in the year 1900. Before that though it had a different purpose which got incorporated into the family home. While gesturing at the wall behind their front porch, Johnson family member Cheri Maher explained, “this part of the house right here was originally a log schoolhouse in Mesa.” While gesturing at the wall behind their front porch.

Johnson ranch has housed cattle, crop and an orchard over the last century but its core has always been family. Maher said, “it’s been a place to work a place to play a place to live.” And living there for so long has produced many family stories. David Umstot another family member told some of the big events that had happened at the ranch, “What this farm means to the family is generations of weddings my uncle was married in the front yard, I was married on the porch.”

One of the stories was even close to the heart of our KREX family. Cheri told us, “My dad worked for KREX in the early fifties. He was the technical guy. People would call him when there were problems with the station when things weren’t coming through or whatever. One day somebody called him and said my tv’s on fire can you fix it? He told them no that didn’t have anything to do with the station they’d have to take care of that themselves.”

Grandma Johnson, the matriarch of the Johnson clan really cut to the heart of the family’s love for the ranch when she said, “it’s hard for me to separate the people from the ranch.”

This ranch represented by the reap hook brand has made so many memories throughout the years but the fact that it’s still up and running is thanks to a lot of hard work.