Our Story

John Lorang and Mary Gesellchen were married in Wisconsin in 1884.

Two weeks later they traveled on one of the first emigrant trains to Riparia, Washington, then up the Snake River to Lewiston. The journals mention Mary picking flowers on the river bank on March 15, 1884. 

They then rode a lumber wagon up the Silcott Road on Lewiston Hill,

stopped at the Ruddy-Collins place and continued to Colton, WA.  

After spending a year in Colton, WA., they moved to Genesee and found the

 Homestead on the Farm, which had been on the property in 1884.

In Dec. 1885, John and Mary Lorang rented the Farm and then bought it in 1886. 

White Spring Ranch was founded by John & Mary Lorang in Dec. 1885 and was listed on the National Historical Registry

as a museum and historical gathering place Jan. 6, 2004. 

There were many dances held in the home which once hosted Genesee Days, or “The 4th of July” as they called it then.

The Farmhouse museum contains an amazing library of First Hand documentation found here,  Artistic Photographs from 1854, more starting 1898, Letters from 1877,  Journals from 1865, Books from 1850 , Magazines from 1899, Newspapers from 1898 and artifacts covering 170 years of American history, Rural Dry Farming history and so much more; preserved by three generations of Historians of the Lorang family.  White Spring Ranch Museum/Archive Library is open for Tours and Events and you are invited to visit this beautiful icon that documents the days of Idaho’s and also America’s past. 

Our Mission

The mission of White Spring Ranch is to recreate the historical farm as it once was, as a gathering site for people of the community.White Spring Ranch welcomes as many artists, students, and volunteers as possible throughout this process.

Donate