Kelly Martin is a fifth generation Montanan with deep roots in Park County. His great great grandfather, William Henry Williams (featured in a Photo History of Livingston - Bozeman Coal Country by Bill and Doris Whithorn) arrived in Montana in the late1800s. Williams went to work for the Livingston Coal and Coke Co. and built the first coke oven in 1882. This oven still stands today near the family ranch on Cokedale Road.
Kelly Martin's family homesteaded on Cokedale, working in the mines and eventually building the first saloon. William Henry Williams and his wife, Sarah, owned the saloon and operated the local hotel. Their children, and their children's children, continued to maintain the homestead, where Kelly's family (including his children and their children) live to this day. Kelly's great grandchildren (twin three year-old girls and a four year-old boy) are the 8th generation of the family to reside on Cokedale Road.
HIs mother, June (Eddie) Kinnick, owned and ran the Covered Wagon Steakhouse which was built to sit on the remains of the coke ovens and now serves as her private residence.
Like many working Montanans, Kelly has spent his life in the various industries of Montana. He has worked at farming, ranching, logging, truck driving, construction, operating heavy equipment, carpentry, and mining.
He lives with his wife, Rainy Martin, and their three great grandchildren, on the family ranch on Cokedale Road.