The ranch's builder, Thomas Du Beau Soleil (Tom Sun), was a French-Canadian frontiersman who later became a pioneer cattleman.

In 1882, The Cheyenne Daily Leader, remarked that "the eastern person of inquiring turn of mind who writes to his friends out west to ask what a ranch is like would find his answer in a description of Tom Sun's.

[4] The ranch remained in the Sun family for four generations until 1996 when it was sold to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[5] Since that time some of the ranch buildings have been transformed into a visitors' center for nearby Martin's Cove, an important Mormon historic site.

However, large portions of the landmark area, particularly sections in public ownership, continue to retain their historic integrity.