John B. Kendrick was born on September 6, 1857 in Cherokee County, Texas. His father, John H. Kendrick, and mother, Anna Maye Kendrick along with sister Rosa, raised cotton on their property in Texas. John was orphaned by the time he was 8 years old. He and Rosa, age 6, moved in with relatives.

By 1879, at age 22, Kendrick hired on with the Snyder-Wulfjen Brothers Ranch of Round Rock, Texas, to help move a herd of cattle from the Gulf of Mexico to the grasslands of Wyoming. Like many of the cowhands with whom he rode, Kendrick's formal education was limited. He didn't attend school much after the fifth grade. However, instead of drinking and carousing like his fellow trail hands, he spent his spare time reading and studying from the books he carried in his saddlebags.

While working for Charles Wulfjen, he started building his own herd. In 1882, when Wulfjen's holdings were sold to the Converse Cattle Company, Kendrick too sold his cattle using the profits to begin another herd. He was so successful with his herds and finances that when the devastating winter of 1886-1887 put many ranchers out of business, he was in the perfect financial position to take advantage.

In 1887 Kendrick signed on as superintendent of the Converse Cattle Company and by 1897 he had completed his purchase of the entire cattle company. Before John B. Kendrick was finished, his ranching empire grew to include over 210,000 acres of land in southern Montana and Northern Wyoming.

In 1889, speculating on the coming of the railroad, Kendrick formed a partnership with A. S. Burrows to start Sheridan's second bank. The partnership dealt primarily with mortgage loans on farmland and Sheridan real estate.

By 1910, Kendrick was elected to the Wyoming State Senate by the voters of Sheridan County (despite the fact that he spent most of his time on his Montana ranches because his Sheridan home wasn't finished).

Four years later Kendrick won the governorship. He was only the second Democrat in Wyoming history to do so. He served as Governor for 2 years and then was elected by popular vote to the U. S. Senate.

John B. Kendrick contributed to many positive aspects of the Sheridan Community including city parks and recreation areas throughout Sheridan County as well as helping to develop downtown Sheridan by financing the construction of many retail and office structures.

On November 3, 1933, John B. Kendrick died from a cerebral hemorrhage. Following a private funeral at his home and a public service at the Episcopal Church, he was buried in the Sheridan Municipal Cemetery.