$6.95 USD
Quarterly Autumn 2015
In This Issue: Beef and Barley on the Camp Creek Branch of the Northern Pacific Gallatin County Post Offices and Postal History – Gallatin City / Gallatin Trapper’s Cabin, the Sterling Ranch and Homesteading at the Gallatin Gateway Remembering Forsythe Christmas Trees and Wreaths In Their Own Words… Mary E. Hopping A publication of the Gallatin Historical Society
gallatinhistorymuseum.org
The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly
Table of Contents
Autumn 2015, Vol. 38, No. 4 6 Executive Director’s Letter
QUARTERLY EDITORS: Helen Backlin, Jim Cashell, Ken Hamlin, William Jones M. Mark Miller, Rachel Phillips, Mary Taylor, Kathy VanDyke
7 President’s Letter 8 Memberships & Donations
Cover design & layout: Rachel Phillips
Issues of the Gallatin History Museum Quarterly are mailed to all members of the Gallatin Historical Society. The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly is published four times a year by the Gallatin Historical Society, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is “To preserve, promote and foster the history of Gallatin County and southwest Montana.” The Gallatin Historical Society operates the Gallatin History Museum at 317 West Main Street in Bozeman, Montana. The museum is open during the winter from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Summer hours (Memorial Day – Labor Day) are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5.00. Members and children 12 & under are admitted free. GALLATIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS: William Jones, Executive Director Rachel Phillips, Research Coordinator
9 Memorials 10 Tribute to Phyllis Smith 11 Items Donated to the Museum 12 Beef and Barley on the Camp Creek Branch of the Northern Pacific By Craig M. Lee 16 Gallatin County Post Offices and Postal History – Gallatin City / Gallatin By Ken Hamlin & Roger Robison 21 Trapper’s Cabin, the Sterling Ranch and Homesteading at the Gallatin Gateway By Barry Sulam, Linda C. Deutsch, & Ann Dickerson Edited by Kathy VanDyke 27 Remembering Forsythe Christmas Trees and Wreaths By Anne Forsythe Kero
DIRECTORS: Cindy Shearer, President Ken Hamlin, Vice-President Nicholas Davis, Treasurer Mary Ellen Fitzgerald, Secretary
29 In Their Own Words… “Incidents of Pioneer Life as I Remember and as I Have Been Told” By Mary E. Hopping, Edited by D. O. Merriman
Richard Benson • Jim Cashell • Tom Clark Richard Conover • Nicholas Davis • Mary Ellen Fitzgerald Ken Hamlin • Kelly Kelsey • Francie McLean Joyce Pollastro • Jane Quinn • Cindy Shearer
34 Pages from the Past Compiled by Barb Clawson & Emily Copeland 38 Image Gallery
EMERITUS: Bill Grabow Esther Nelson • Lou Ann Westlake
ON THE FRONT COVER: A view in Sixteenmile Canyon, taken from a souvenir Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway promotional booklet, 1914.
VOLUNTEERS Helen Backlin • Emily Beeson • Richard Benson • Jody Boland • Ellie Bowles • Nan Brandenbergerpayne • Jim Cashell Tom Clark • Barb Clawson • Richard Conover • Emily Copeland • David Davies • Nicholas Davis • Leslie Eddington Sally Fishman • Mary Ellen Fitzgerald • Kate Geer • Jerry Geise • Ken Hamlin • Pat Hamlin • Ivy Huntsman • Lain Kay Michelina Kazeminejad • Kelly Kelsey • Meredith Lewis • Carolyn Manley • Sue McCauley • John McCulloch Francie McLean • M. Mark Miller • Nick Nickelson • Sandra Oldendorf • Norm Olson • Margie Peterson Joyce Pollastro • Jane Quinn • Dee Seitel • Cindy Shearer • Vikie Stoltz • Mary Taylor • Pam Thane • Kathy VanDyke Arlene Wylie • Vicky York
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Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
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Hours (Labor Day - Memorial Day) 11 AM - 4 PM • Tuesday – Saturday (Memorial Day - Labor Day) 10 AM – 5 PM • Tuesday – Saturday
Membership Levels & Annual Fees Individual - $45 • Family - $60 Settler - $100 • Homestead - $150 Pioneer - $250 • Patron - $500 Contributor - $1,000 • Benefactor - $2,500 Business Membership Levels & Annual Fees Jefferson - $150 • Gallatin - $250 Madison - $500 • Yellowstone - $1000 Missouri - $2500
Gallatin History Museum Speaker Series ~December 16~
Lee Whittlesey
Admission Museum Members admitted free. $5 per person. Children 12 & under free. Volunteer Your Time Tour guiding, research, museum bookstore, publications, cataloging, displays, articles. Advertise in the Gallatin History Museum Quarterly! 4 issues 1 issue Full page: $160 $580 Half page: $90 $300 Quarter page: $45 $160 Business card: $30 $100 Back cover (3/4 page) $200 $700 Inside back cover (full page) $180 $625 Inside front cover (full page) $180 $625 Page 3-5 (full page) $165 $600 Page 3-5 (half page) $90 $310 Call (406)522-8122 for more information.
“The Raucous Town of Cinnabar” ~January 13~
Hal Stearns
Historic Photo Prints 20,000 images to choose from!
“Montana Towns and Rural Places, Then and Now” ~February 3~
Mary Murphy Title to be announced
Museum of the Rockies Hager Auditorium 6:00 pm
Great for gifts and home and business décor.
Gallatin History Museum
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Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
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Executive Director’s Letter
Gift Memberships to the
We are well into fall, the golden period when the leaves turn is about over as most of the gold is on the streets and yards of Bozeman.
Gallatin Historical Society Memberships start at $45.00 Free Admission to the Museum
Phyllis Smith, a friend of the museum and a past volunteer here for about 10 years, died at home in Bozeman with family by her side on Sept. 22, 2015. We had a visitor about a month ago. A couple came in and asked if this was where Seth Danner had been hung. Replying yes, he replied that Seth was his greatgrandfather. From western Washington, the family knew Seth had been hung for murder but assumed somewhere in Washington. This fellow’s mother discovered on the internet that Danner had been hung in Bozeman. The couple enjoyed the visit and took several pictures including the gallows. We copied a transcript of an appeal trial and are sending it to the couple. We are in the final stages of developing forms and policy for the rental of the Main Hall for events at the museum. Keep us in mind if you are planning an event. The bookstore has more new titles. The bookstore profits help fund the operation of your museum. Keep us in mind for that book for that special person. We have more children’s books now also. We will be having an event on Sunday Dec. 6th featuring local authors, including children’s book authors. Consider spending some time here on a Sunday afternoon buying some Christmas presents. Your museum hosted a reception for the Montana History Conference on Sept 24. Stockyards Café catered the fine desserts and we had about 100 visitors in the museum that evening.
Save the Date!
1-Year Subscription to the Gallatin History Museum Quarterly Magazine Along with the reception we sponsored an art show featuring 11 artists from the Three Rivers Art Guild. We had 20 works of art featuring local scenes hanging in the room next to the Gallows Room. Four of those paintings have sold and we received a commission which helps fund your museum. The show hangs through the end of Oct. The Montana Historical Society was very pleased at the local turnout for the history conference. About 240 were registered with an additional 40 nicely dressed and wellbehaved high school history students from Butte bused over on Friday. Among the many presentations at the conference were several locals talking about local history. First time in Bozeman since the conference started 42 years ago. They will be back. In June, your museum board and staff met with Robert Brown the retired Executive Director of Fort Missoula Museum. Many excellent ideas were discussed and the board agreed to move forward with a Standards and Excellence Program for history organizations. Committees have been reestablished and given charges, and in January we will have a strategic planning session. The Gallatin Valley has a diamond in the rough in this museum. We are using new signage to attract the attention of passerby’s. We get many people that stop and say they have lived here 25 years and have never been in here, actually didn’t know we existed.
Gallatin History Museum Annual Holiday Book Sale and Author Signing Sunday, December 6, 2015
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We have offered to the Girl Scout organization the creation of a badge, based on this institution and the local history. I hope to move this into the Boy Scout organization also. We are looking at things differently and are trying to attract a younger crowd with young kids. That starts with getting younger board members. Stop in and visit. History happens here every day! Bill Jones Executive Director Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
President’s Letter Dear Gallatin Historical Society Members, friends and supporters, I am hoping that this issue of your "Quarterly" publication finds you well and enjoying this season of transition. With the shorter days and longer nights I hope that these stories keep you company and inspire an appreciation for the ones that have gone before us and those that are currently working to capture the unique history of our community. The Gallatin Historical Society and Gallatin County lost a true storyteller and passionate researcher with the passing of Phyllis Smith in September. She spent many hours both volunteering and researching at the museum. We'd like to express our deepest sympathies to her husband, Gene and their daughters and families as well as our gratitude for donating Phyllis' research files and many books from their collection so that we can continue to share her work and tell the stories that she loved. The bookstore has copies of her out of print book Bozeman and Gallatin County, a History and we have also reprinted her Sweet Pea Days, a History. These would be great gifts for anyone on your list that loves our community and you'd be helping our organization by your patronage. I'd like to congratulate local historian, author, MSU archivist and GHS member, Kim Allen Scott, for his wellcrafted story, "Bozeman's Darkest Night" that is in the November issue of True West magazine. The heroic myth of the Montana Vigilantes get a reality check with this tale of an 1873 mob. Professor Scott is author of Splendid on a Large Scale and Yellowstone Denied: The Life of Gustavus Cheyney Doane.
I also have the great pleasure to announce that our own Rachel Phillips has submitted her final draft for her upcoming book, Legendary Locals of Bozeman, published by Arcadia Publishing. The book will contain photographs and stories about Bozeman residents, past and present. Rachel has been gathering stories through personal interviews and research here at the GHS. The collection will include early founders, business owners, local characters, athletes, artists, musicians and politicians. The book will be released in the Spring of 2016 and we could not be more proud of her work both on this project and in the day to day operations of the research center and museum. Have you ever wondered how you can be more involved with history and the community? We have about as many possibilities as you might have interests. The exhibit committee meets every Tuesday morning and could always use an extra hand with displays and exhibits. There are many projects for any interested artists, woodworkers, painters or handymen as well as computer data entry and customer service. Have you ever considered getting involved with the Board of Directors? We will have three 3 year term seats to fill and a couple appointed positions. The application is on the website or for more information please call either myself or leave a message for the nominating committee. In this season of Thanks...thank you to our staff, volunteers and members for your inspiration and hard work, and as the season changes to that of Giving please consider sharing your time, knowledge and financial support so that we can continue to capture and share the stories of our community. Warmly, Cindy Shearer
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Memberships & Donations WE THANK THOSE WHO RENEWED THEIR MEMBERSHIP, JOINED, OR MADE A DONATION DURING THE MONTHS OF JULY, AUGUST, & SEPTEMBER, 2015. Pioneer Bill & Patty Fraser Gene & Deborah Graf Audrey Jean Haight Homestead John & Ramona Baden – Enterprise Ranch Jim & Diane Cashell Cindy Shearer Mary Taylor Settler Ray & Katherine Atteberry Alanna Kathleen Brown Richard & Mary Cameron Roger & Dee Carter Huguette Coghlan Ken Corry – C&T Trailer Supply Ken Egan Marv & Kay Hathhorn James Huffman & Leslie Spencer Thomas & Ginger Leibli Alta Newman John Paul Tim & Carol Lee Roark Lee & Diane Selby John Todd Ron & Vicki Young John & Debra Youngberg Family Chris & Patty Boyd Kathleen Butler Kekoa Cabanting & Kelly Wakayama Stan & Michele Crouse Ronald & Bonni Glock Rusty & Tony Gray Janice Hand & Rick Sanders David & Marti Hoag Larry Hughes Richard & Janet Keigley Martin & Nancy Klotovich Gary & Cheryl Matthews Marsha & Mike Montgomery Tony & Peggy Novotny Tara & Terry Nunberg
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Duncan & Donna Macnab Allagene Mason Bob & Fay McRee Cliff & Joan Montagne George Niebel Tom Nygard – Thomas Nygard, Inc. Phil & Dar Lyne Olson David Perlstein Betty Reinke Individual Jerry & Marilyn Robertson Phyllis Barnes Dan & Sherry Biggerstaff Jonathan & Catherine Roen – Roen, Inc. Elinor Bowles Stephen H. Smith Louise Bradford Barry Sulam & Linda Deutsch Sherry Brown Don & Gloria Thiesen Roy Cattrell Vicki Crawford Dave Thorn Aggie Van Meter Jeff Cunningham Chris Derham & Randy Muns Brad Watts Wallace Diteman Karen Winheim Ann Drenk General Odessa Eddie Mary Ellen Fitzgerald Christine Steeb Gauss Verna Green Charles & Bonnie Hash Bonnie Hanson Eleanor Harrison Donors Sharon Harvey Karlyn Andreassen Frank Hollenback Sherry Brown John S. Hunt Robert & Olivia Ed Jensen Cashner Jerry Keeney Vicki Crawford Priscilla & John Kennedy David & Miriam Vic Larson DeLap Jack & Betsy Luther Norman Terry Nybo – Nybo Dental Care, Inc. Don & Mary Pierre Mike Schlegel Margaret Shively Pam & Kevin Thane Anita & Steve Thon Sas & Stuart Weber
Mary Ellen Fitzgerald Verna Green Ken & Pat Hamlin Melvin & Judy Hirsch Priscilla & John Kennedy Montana Arts Council Jane Quinn – Quilting In The Country Eugene and Edith Renner Jim & Charlene Townsend US Bank
Business Memberships Jefferson Old Main Gallery & Framing State Farm Insurance - Dan Rust Stockyard Café Gallatin EG Construction, LLC KB Building & Supply Madison Engineering Nine Quarter Circle Ranch, Inc. Madison First Interstate Bank
Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
Memorials WE THANK THOSE WHO HAVE MADE A MEMORIAL DONATION DURING THE MONTHS OF JULY, AUGUST, & SEPTEMBER, 2015. Gift acknowledgments have been sent to the families of those honored. *Memorials totaling $100 or more. **Memorials totaling $1,000 or more. Names of deceased under both categories are engraved on the museum’s memorial board. June Blackwood* Marvin Beatty Doug & Marilee Langohr Thelma V. (Francis) Cass Robert Cass Jack Fellerhoff* Marvin Beatty Lloyd Flikkema* Walter R. Sales
Percy Gates* Walter R. Sales
John Paugh Bill & Pat Oriet
Phyllis Smith* Esther Nelson
Chad Groth Donna Beasley W. Kirke & Charlotte Frantz
Hugh Reid Ray & Betty Bradley
Wilbur Spring** Dan McGuire
Nancy Robertson* Carl, Tim, Sarah, and Don Robertson
Ray Tatarka* Walter R. Sales
Alta Mae Newman Valerie Secor Aughney Linda Doust
Christian Schmid* Margrit Firehammer
Paul Weingart Joe & Milly Gutkoski
The memberships, memorials, and donations listed on these pages reflect payments made only during the previous quarter. If your check is dated October 1, 2015 or later, then acknowledgement will appear in the next issue of The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly. Cash or credit card payments received October 1, or later will also appear in the next issue.
IF YOU NOTICE ERRORS IN OUR MEMORIAL LISTINGS, PLEASE CALL RACHEL PHILLIPS AT (406)522-8122. TO ALL OF OUR GENEROUS MEMBERS AND DONORS, WE SAY….THANK YOU!!!
On Sunday, September 13, the Gallatin History Museum hosted a FaT Art (Fabric and Thread Art) workshop. Quilt artist and instructor Pat Hamlin, along with Jane Quinn, led participants in creating their own barn postcard art pieces. The group enjoyed a delicious lunch on the Museum lawn, provided by Jane Quinn. Thanks Pat and Jane! The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
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Phyllis Smith
Images courtesy of Eugene Smith
Eugene Smith
Phyllis Smith June 16, 1928 – Sept 22, 2015 Phyllis Smith, a tireless champion of her Bozeman community, passed at home surrounded by family on Sept. 22, 2015. Phyllis was a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota and a graduate of the University of Nebraska. She earned a teaching certificate at San Francisco State College and then taught English for seven years at Polytechnic High School in San Francisco. Phyllis and Eugene Smith married in 1962 and raised two daughters, Sarah and Rachel. Following Gene’s work as a foreign student advisor, the family lived in Berkeley, California and Fort Collins and Boulder, Colorado. Phyllis became an accomplished writer of regional history and by 1988 had written 3 books and several pamphlets on Colorado history. Following Gene’s retirement in 1988, their love of fly fishing drew them to Bozeman. Phyllis continued her love of writing regional history after moving to Bozeman. She produced five books of Montana History: Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley, A History; The Flying D Ranch Lands of Montana, A History; Montana’s Sweet Grass County: From Melville to the Boulder River Valley; Montana’s Madison County: a History; and The Northern Pacific Railroad and Yellowstone National Park. Phyllis also produced pamphlets on Bozeman street names, the Bozeman Sweet Pea Festival, and a history of the Bozeman Public Library. In 2015, Phyllis received the prestigious Heritage Keeper Award from the Montana Historical Society. Phyllis was a valued volunteer for 10 years at the Gallatin History Museum and made many friends while here. After her passing, Gene and daughters Sarah and Rachel donated her many research files on the region to the Gallatin History Museum. Also, we received her collection of many Montana history books. This donation will provide a valuable and appreciated complement to our research center collection. Our sympathy and thanks go to Phyllis’ husband Gene and daughters Sarah (Tim) Wood and Rachel Smith.
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Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
Items Donated to the Gallatin History Museum July 1, 2015 – September 30, 2015 Bozeman School District #7
United Church Women scrapbook
Lucy Burris
Stone tools and obsidian, 1950s wedding dress, local high school and college yearbooks (1940s – 1950s), ration books, Montana State College photographs, 7 scrapbooks that belonged to Helen Ada Storey Burris
Marlene Ferguson
12 back issues of the Gallatin History Museum Quarterly and Pioneer Museum Quarterly magazines
Verna Yeager Green
5 men’s, women’s, and children’s hats
Marguerite Kirk Harris
Kirk family items: dolls, handmade doll clothes, doll furniture, pitcher, quilts
Judy Kuhl
Book: Gallatin County’s Heritage: A Report of Progress, 1805-1976
Val & Dick Monroe
Box of international, national, state, and local maps
Mount Hyalite Chapter – DAR
10 DAR scrapbooks
G. M. (Jack) Newman
1947 Gallatin National Forest Map
Wayne Oldach
2 Holy Rosary Church directories, books: Historic Homes of Bozeman and Railroad Stations in the Gallatin Area, Montana.
Jim Paugh
Paugh & Reed family history book: Always Moving West, by Dorothy Reed Paugh
Lorraine Pratt
13 Sweet Pea postcards: 1990, 1992-2000, 2002, 2010
Lois Roby
26 Montana and local history books, automobile advertisement
Eugene Smith
Author Phyllis Smith’s historical research in a 4-drawer file cabinet, 7 framed reprint photographs, over 10 boxes of books and pamphlets
Don Walters
Archival material from the Prime Time News (Golden Age News)
Celinda Williams
2 books that belonged to Miriam C. Bunker
In the Bookstore…
Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley, by Phyllis Smith
Banjo, by Anne Trygstad, Margie Burke, and Emily Copeland
The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
Gateway to Yellowstone, by Lee Whittlesey
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Beef and Barley on the Camp Creek Branch of the Northern Pacific
By Craig M. Lee A work train with dam building equipment sits at the Arnold siding (mile post 10.5) on the Camp Creek Branch.
(Warren R McGee Photograph, Montana Historical Society).
A
lthough the tracks have been recycled, the grade and trestles of the Camp Creek Railway remain a familiar sight to those transiting the western end of the Gallatin Valley between I-90 and AmsterdamChurchill area. (This is the same line that used to cross the highway between Four Corners and Norris at Anceney.)
needs for feeder lines and other cooperative transportation ventures, the main company formed separate corporations to construct connecting lines. These small rail and other transportation lines were then sold to the parent company, which under its charter was able to acquire previously constructed lines" (SNAC 2012).
The 15-mile-long Camp Creek Railway was constructed by private businessmen eager to ship cattle from the Flying D Ranch to Chicago (Smith 2001:51). Originally built with 72# per yard rail, it began operation in January, 1912 (Jones 2012), extending from the Northern Pacific’s 90# per yard mainline at Manhattan to the wye at Anceney's stockyards on the Norris Road where they could load cattle and turn the train (NP 1970). Ostensibly, the Camp Creek Railway was so successful that the Northern Pacific bought it in June, 1914 (Jones 2012; Smith 2001:51); however, in reality, its construction by an independent outfit was a necessity. “Under its charter, the Northern Pacific could not build branch lines to feed into the main line. In order to meet its
Mr. Warren McGee, a career railroader with the Northern Pacific, kindly shared several vignettes and photographs regarding the branch at his Livingston home on December 7, 2013, including Figure 1. Warren’s accompanying notes describe this cattle train as consisting of 15 cars of Herefords, which were loaded by cowboys on horseback. Per Warren, in general, Anceney Ranch cattle trains were “the hottest train(s) on the Road once [they] got loaded” owing in no small part to the fact that the directors of the Northern Pacific owned the ranch and cattle!! Warren’s notes go on to say that the cattle could make it to the Chicago or Kansas City area in about 60 hours inclusive of one feeding en route and that otherwise “the longest time
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Figure 1: Hand-fired engine 1522 stands ready to head for Livingston, MT on the east leg of the Anceney Wye at the end of the Camp Creek Branch, September 15, 1941. Note: The white flags on the front of the locomotive denote this train is an ‘extra.’ Most Northern Pacific freights were operated as extras, even if they were ‘scheduled’ (Rufus Cone, personal communication, May 18, 2015). (Warren R McGee Photograph, Montana Historical Society).
the train will stand still will be while my crew eats when we find a cafe!” (Warren McGee, personal communication, December 7, 2013). In addition to transporting cattle, the Camp Creek Branch was used to deliver barley to the Manhattan Malting Company. In its later years the line even carried automobiles to Danhof Chevrolet in Amsterdam (Bill Cole, personal communication, November 1, 2012). Bates (1994:1) attributes the inception and growth of the town of Amsterdam to the branch line, which had six spurs, including White, Buell, Dyk, Westlake, Arnold, and
Vincent as well as one siding at Amsterdam (NP 1970). The spurs were used primarily for loading grain (Bill Cole, personal communication, November 1, 2012). The Buell siding was named for Buell Heeb and was sometimes called Heeb (Bates 1994:17). In 1970, the Northern Pacific, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and the Great Northern merged to form the Burlington Northern Railroad Company (SNAC 2012). Toward the end of its operation, runs on the Camp Creek Branch were reduced to less than one per week, with little or no effort put into track maintenance. The line continued
The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
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sporadic service until November 1, 1985 when it was abandoned (Figure 2). Bill Cole (personal communication, November 1, 2012) recalls that the track, ties and ballast were salvaged a year or two after the last train. The removal of the railroad infrastructure eliminated the property tax on improvements (tracks, signals, buildings, bridges, communications, etc.) (Rufus Cone, personal communication, May 18, 2015). On October 31, 1987, Montana Rail Link took over all Burlington Northern routes in Gallatin County, including the Camp Creek Branch railroad ROW (Bates 1994: 141). Ultimately, the branch’s demise is attributable to the cost of maintaining the infrastructure relative to the availability of convenient and
economical truck transport for cattle via the Norris Road (State Route 84). Today one of the most recognizable features associated with the line are the timber pile trestles and remnants (Figure 3). The trestles generally consist of end dams and two to five sets of piles for supports. Several metal culverts associated with ditches are also crossed by the grade. While most are simple field ditches, one is the historic White Ditch, which dates to at least 1884 based on decreed water right records available through Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. The 1880s were the formative era for the agrarian and ranching activities at the western
Figure 2: Next to last train used on the Camp Creek Branch at Amsterdam, MT, October 19, 1985.
(Warren R McGee Photograph, Montana Historical Society).
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end of the valley that persist to this day. After the abandonment of the branch in the early 1970s, several of the trestles were minimally modified to accommodate vehicular traffic. In a few locations remnant pilings from earlier bridges are still visible in the creek bottom suggesting that the structures had been upgraded on at least one occasion. Successful branch lines, such as the Camp Creek Branch of the Northern Pacific Railway, were significant to the social and economic development of Figure 3: Overview of a Camp Creek Branch trestle spanning an unnamed tributary the regions they served. of Camp Creek showing end dams and two sets of piers. The Camp Creek Branch Author’s Collection. was the first short line in the Gallatin Valley, and it railroads was instilled in me by my dad, Dr. Denny Lee, a longserved as a catalyst for agricultural development related to time faculty member in the Physics Department at Montana State the production of malt grains, i.e., wheat and barley, in the University; thanks, dad! area south of Manhattan. Sidings between Amsterdam and Manhattan attest to the transport of these agricultural products which were distributed in part by the Manhattan References Malting Company. Although it is unlikely the railroad will Bates, Grace return, it is worth noting that Montana Rail Link retains the 1994 Gallatin County Places and Things, Present and Past (2nd Right of Way.
About the author/Acknowledgments: My interest in the Camp Creek Branch was precipitated by a cultural resource inventory I conducted with my wife and colleague Jennie Borresen Lee through our company Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, Inc. My sincere thanks go to Dr. Rufus Cone, devotee par excellence of the Northern Pacific, as well as the inimitable Mr. Warren McGee. Warren provided the prints used in this article. Many of Warren’s images can be accessed through the Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana. I also thank colleagues Larry Lahren and Jerry Breke for their good humor; Rachel Phillips and Charlie Spray at the Gallatin History Museum; and Mr. Bill Cole for sharing his memories of the line. My lifelong interest in
edition). Self-published, Manhattan, Montana. Jones, Dale 2012 Railroads of Montana. Electronic document, www.railroads-of-montana.com/Montana_Railroad_List.htm, accessed November 21, 2012. NP (Northern Pacific) 1970 Condensed Profile and Track Chart, Rocky MTN. DIV. Branch Lines: Camp Creek Br. (9), Red Bluff Br. (10) and Ruby Valley Br. (11). Office of Chief Engineer, St. Paul Minnesota. Smith, Phyllis 2001 The Flying D Ranch Lands of Montana: A History. Selfpublished. SNAC 2012 SNAC: The Social Networks and Archival Context Project. Electronic document, socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/ xtf/view?docId=northern-pacific-railway-company- cr.xml, accessed November 21, 2012.
The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
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Gallatin County Post Offices and Postal History – Gallatin City / Gallatin By Ken Hamlin and Roger Robison
Will Everson map of the Three Forks area, 1881. Headwaters Heritage History.
P
ierre Menard wrote the first letter known to be sent from Montana on April 21, 1810 from Fort Henry at the Three Forks of the Missouri to his brotherin-law Pierre Chouteau in Saint Louis, Missouri. The letter describes a raid of the Blackfeet Indians upon the trappers in which 2 men were killed, 3 were missing (never to be seen again), horses stolen, and all the beaver skins stolen. The party was discouraged and did not want to remain in the area. This letter did not go through the postal
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system (not existing in the area at that time), but rather was hand-carried down the Yellowstone to the Missouri and thence to Saint Louis.1 One possible location of old Fort Henry (near top-center) is just into current Broadwater County, but most of the activities of the men were in current Gallatin County and near Gallatin City II (First Post Office), near the center of the map.2
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The first Post Office established within the current boundaries of Gallatin County was Gallatin City or Gallatin, officially opening on February 13, 1867 and closing on July 16, 1890.3 This was located at Gallatin City II (near center of Map). Gurdon H. Campbell, son of Major J. B. Campbell was the first Postmaster and the Post Office was in the Campbell home. G. H. Campbell had previously worked for the Post Office in Chicago, Illinois. Jarvis Akin, who platted Gallatin City II and built the Gallatin Hotel is recorded as Postmaster on June 15, 1869. J. H. Gallop (a store owner) is recorded as the new Postmaster on April 14, 1872.
The postal rate in effect at that time was 3 cents per half ounce. The pen canceled 3 cent stamp indicates that that the total weight was ½ ounce or less. The manuscript type cancel (hand-written) at the top of the envelope to the left of the stamp indicates location and date of mailing. Manuscript cancels, rather than a steel hand-canceling device were common early in the period of a Post Office’s establishment. For some locations, it is the only type of cancel known. This occurred because until the early 1890s, Postmasters in smaller towns were required to purchase their own canceling device from private vendors – they were not government supplied. By 1900, the government supplied post offices with standardized canceling devices at no cost to the Postmaster.5 From October 1, 1868 through September 30, 1869, Campbell received $57.50 as compensation for stamps sold, Registration fees, etc.6 The Type 1 manuscript cancel is the most common type known for Gallatin.
There are 4 types of cancels known for Gallatin, the manuscript style (Type 1) and those of 3 different handcanceling devices.7 The following Earliest known envelope mailed from Gallatin (Gallatin City II), Montana Registered envelope sent to Territory, mailed April 30, 1868. Type 1 manuscript (hand-written) cancel. Chicago, Illinois to Mrs. J. B. Author’s Collection. Campbell, pioneer wife of early Gallatin City entrepreneur Major J. B. Campbell and mother of first On the left margin of the earliest known envelope sent and Postmaster Gurdon Campbell, illustrates an outstanding “postmarked” from Gallatin, Montana is noted “filed May example of the Type 2 cancel, of which, only a few others 9/68”, indicating that it may have taken up to 9 days to reach are known. This cancel type (lower left), where Montana Virginia City from Gallatin. This may be because of was abbreviated as Mon., is only known for 4 towns in stagecoach schedules and/or part of the length of time may Montana. The others were Fish Creek, Missoula, and be related to availability of the recipient, the Secretary of Nevada City. the Virginia City Masonic Lodge. Also at the left margin, the Secretary noted Tom Cover as sender. This was the Note that there is no year date in the cancel. However, we same Tom Cover who was an early resident of Gallatin City, can do some “detective work” to determine the year of a County official and was with John Bozeman when he was mailing. The type of stamps used on this envelope were killed, “allegedly” by Indians. The reader can investigate issued in July 1873 and used through at least 1883, when a several publications exploring this controversy and also the new type of stamp was issued. Major J. B. Campbell died fascinating history of Tom Cover, one of the initial January 3, 1873 and Mrs. Campbell left Gallatin in 1874 to discovery party finding gold at Alder Gulch.4 try to recover dower right to land the Major owned in Chicago. She died in Chicago on March 13, 1875.8 The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
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Type 2 cancel (24 mm diameter dial with Mon. for Montana) from Gallatin, Montana.
Therefore this letter was sent on August 26, 1874, likely by her son Gurdon or daughters Fannie or Anna (Mrs. Frank Dunbar). Number 37 at top left of the envelope indicates that this envelope was the 37th Registered letter sent from Gallatin, Montana since the Post Office opened. Registration was used to ensure careful handling by the Postal Service and/or
Author’s Collection.
insure valuable contents. The Registry fee was reduced from 15 cents to 8 cents on January 1, 1874, so likely one of the 15-cent stamps overpaid the Registry fee. The additional 54 cents in postage attached indicate that the envelope weighed 9 ounces (3 cents per ½ ounce) and likely legal documents and/or a substantial amount of cash (as bank notes) was enclosed. This was likely for Mrs. Campbell’s legal battles and living expenses in Chicago.
Images of the Campbells from Headwaters Heritage History.
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The 15741 (or 15141) to the right of the cancel is likely the received in good order Registration number documentation for the Chicago end of the journey.9 Henry H. Sharmon took charge of Gurdon Campbell’s store and managed it until Gurdon died at age 43 at the LeClede Hotel in Bozeman on April 16, 1878. Mr. Sharmon then bought the business and conducted it until 1890. He was
who also obtained supplies from Helena (especially from Anton Holter) and sold them to not only people in the Crow Creek/Radersburg area, but also to merchants in smaller outlying towns and scattered individual ranchers, farmers, and miners. This envelope likely contained a letter requesting merchandise for a store in Gallatin or payment for merchandise previously purchased. Apparently, much of the Daugherty correspondence was saved because there are many examples of correspondence from the Daugherty “hoard” in private and public collections. For a flavor of the times, following is a brief summary of an 8 page letter enclosed in another Type 4 canceled envelope from Gallatin sent November 26, 1884 from “Aunt Hett” to her niece Mrs. Wesley Clark in Battle Creek, Michigan. We have been unable to determine the last name of “Aunt Hett” and further history of the writer of this letter.
Government postal card canceled by Postmaster Henry H. Sharmon by signing his name and date. Message side orders 1 Box of Soda Crackers by return (stage) coach (from Lockey Brothers in Bozeman).
Author’s Collection.
“Late in replying to your letter … not feeling well … Asa and I are alone … son Harris is over the river building two miles and a half of fence … Harris hasn’t been to school
Postmaster of Gallatin from at least 1881 until the Post Office closed in 1890. You may read more of his interesting history, including surviving a shipwreck in the Atlantic in 1872 that resulted in the death of 400 passengers, in Headwaters Heritage History pages 61 and 62. Two other types of cancels are known for Gallatin, Montana. The Type 3 cancels all date between February 27 and August 3, 1884. The envelope illustrated with the Type 3 cancel was sent to J. E. Daugherty of Crow Creek (and later Radersburg), Montana, in current Broadwater County. Daugherty was merchant with a store
Type 3 Gallatin, Montana cancel (29 mm diameter dial, double circle) – last date).
The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
Author’s Collection.
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riding much – went to Mrs. Sanborn’s once and to Mrs. Anceny’s. … have been to church twice … there is preaching once a month at 3 Forks also at Gallatin . … too bad we have few religious privileges here. If I get over my lameness I will have Hurberts’ family over (Thanksgiving). Wants dried apples, cherries and peaches sent … Please write a long letter soon.” Author’s collection.
Type 4 Gallatin, Montana cancel (27 mm diameter dial). Known Type 4 cancels date between November 26, 1884 and April 23, 1889. Author’s Collection.
since you left – had to help with horses, go to sheep camp and to the hills for posts … Tip started to Chicago with horses, including 13 head of ours, Mr. Flowers shipped horses and Mr. Anceny cattle at the same time … Burt has been up at Beartrap hunting for a few days … said he never shot a thing. He is flying around as usual helping the girls to have a good time. … School children are making preparations for Christmas … want to visit ”dear old home” back east but a great deal depends on money matters. … sewing, mending, making dresses, cleaning house, and quilting … don’t go
One hundred fifty two residents were recorded for Gallatin in 1870, 40 in 1880, and 25 residents were recorded when it lost its Post Office in 1890. In addition to sources previously cited, much interesting history of Gallatin City (II) can be found in Call of the Headwaters by David A. Miller (pages 55-57).10
About the authors: Ken Hamlin is a retired Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks Wildlife Research Biologist and current Gallatin Historical Society Board member with a long-time interest in all aspects of Montana history. Roger Robison is a 94-year-old retired Methodist minister who came to Montana in 1947. He is considered by his peers to be the “Dean” of Montana Postal History and is a member of the Gallatin Historical Society.
Chittenden, Hiram Martin, A History of the American Fur Trade of the Far West. 1902 and later editions. - Aarstad, Rich. This Unfortunate Affair: An 1810 Letter from the Three Forks. Montana Magazine of Western History, Vo. 58, No. 4 (Winter 2008), pp.62-67. - Headwaters Heritage History, Three Forks Historical Society. 1983. Pp. 1-64. - MHS Archives MC 4, Box 1, Folder 2. 1
Headwaters Heritage History. - The High Hopes and Short Life of Gallatin City. John Russell. Pioneer Museum Quarterly Vo. 35 / No. 4, Autumn 2012. 2
3
Montana Post Offices & Postmasters, Dennis J. Lutz, M. D., 1986.
Thrapp, Dan, L. Vengeance! The Saga of Poor Tom Cover. 1989. – Burlingame, Merrill G. 1975. The “Un-natural” History of Bozeman. Q / K Club. Also, condensed with the same title in Gallatin History Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 3, Summer 2014.
4
5
Postmarks on Postcards. Richard W. Helbock. 2002.
6
Meschter, Daniel Y. The Postal History of Montana through June 30, 1870. 1989. LaPosta Monograph Series, Vol. 4.
7
Montana Territorial Postmarks. Wesley Shellen and Francis Dunn. 2003.
8
Headwaters Heritage History, Three Forks Historical Society. 1983.
9
Read much more about the Campbell family in Headwaters Heritage History, especially pages 54-60.
10Miller,
20
David A., Call of the Headwaters. 1998. David A. Miller, Three Forks, Montana.
Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
Trapper’s Cabin, the Sterling Ranch and Homesteading at the Gallatin Gateway
By Barry Sulam, Linda C. Deutsch, and Ann Dickerson Edited by Kathy VanDyke The Trapper’s Cabin, August 2013.
Author’s Collection.
Introductory note: In August 2013, the Historic Preservation Board of Gallatin County led a tour of historic properties in the Gallatin Gateway area. Included in the tour was property currently owned by Ann Dickerson and known as the Sterling Ranch. The property contains many historic buildings, the oldest of which is the Trapper’s Cabin. This article, excerpted from tour notes by Barry Sulam and Linda Deutsch, outlines the history and significance of this interesting local gem.
K
nown as the Sterling Ranch for more than a century, the homestead consists of a collection of hand hewn log buildings, with the oldest being the original “Trapper’s Cabin.” Charles Lamaure, the trapper, was granted 160 acres under the auspices of the 1862 Homestead Act. The land patent was signed by President Rutherford B. Hayes and was duly recorded by the Montana Territory’s Gallatin County office. Lamaure may have begun proving up his claim on the land as early as 1868 to 1870.1 “Proving up” allowed for use in farming or mining, and the building of an abode. A search of old surveys indicates that the cabin location may first
have been recorded on the official Survey by the Government as early as September 22, 1869.2 Other neighbors’ names were written on the Washburn survey map including Mr. Etherington3 further south in the mouth of the canyon and Mrs. McCorty, whose place lay along McCameron creek to the southeast. The closest other cabin may have been owned by another French-Canadian and was located on the Labeau4 place across the Gateway South road. The entire 1868-69 survey map for this area showed seven cabins and only two named places, which was, at that time, a sparse settlement for a township covering 36 square miles.
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The Henry Sterling family had travelled west with the Nathan Lay family wagon train from Macon County, Missouri to Salesville. Sterling with his wife Martha had equipped two of the twenty wagons, carrying their possessions and their three children (Alpha Retta born 1871, Jenettie “Nettie” born 1872, and George born 1875). The journey covered fifteen hundred miles and lasted three months. “It is said that he had the only cow, cook stove, sewing machine, and flatiron in the whole train.”5 The Sterlings bought the 160 acres from Francis Archambault6 for $500, who had bought out Charles Lamaure the year before for $400. The Sterlings started ranching less than three years after Lamaure first took title to the land along the west bank of the Gallatin River. Henry Sterling’s three children grew up on the ranch and two were known to have stayed. Their ranching enabled them to enlarge both their housing and their acreage to 480 acres.7
A view of Salesville, facing east. Date unknown.
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Henry Sterling, included in the publication “Progressive Men of Montana”, was a disabled Civil War veteran, a former road supervisor, and a school trustee for Salesville. He was an ardent member of the Odd Fellows and was reportedly able to walk all the way to Bozeman for meetings. For most of the first century on this ranch, there was neither running water nor indoor toilet facilities. Wood fired stoves heated the log buildings that remained drafty despite labor intensive chinking in the cracks. The Sterling Ranch operation prospered enough to allow Henry to have higher pastures when he acquired more land on February 4, 1893.8 The Sterlings’ neighbors, the Lanes, had the 240 acres to the west of the Trapper’s Cabin homestead and had bought some Northern Pacific property.
Gallatin History Museum Collection. P4075, 92.576
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The Lanes’ son, William, eventually married Sterling’s daughter Alpha Retta.9 George Sterling became the sole owner when he bought out his sister Alpha Retta’s interest in 1940 for $6,141. He sold the cattle ranch in 1944 to Louis Fuller who in turn sold out to dairyman Larry Wilson in 1946. Wilson worked and resided at the Sterling Ranch for fourteen years where he ran a semi-modern small dairy operation. During his time there he moved the Sterling Cabin off its foundations to its current location and built a log addition to the rear in 1948. The updating to a modern dairy took some new construction and it included a new dairy barn built of log on a raised concrete foundation. Wilson sold the Sterling Ranch to the Stimson family in 1960. The Stimson’s daughter Ann and husband Milon Dickerson moved to the ranch with their three children, and the entire family was involved in the dairy and ranching life. Ann raised the children in the Trapper’s Cabin (and in an addition), and recalls that the first priority after surveying her new homestead was to install indoor plumbing and running water. The Dickerson’s built a new home in 1988 on the northeast forty acres that contains the Trapper’s Cabin, the bunkhouse, granary, dairy barn, loafing sheds and some hay fields off the South Gallatin road. Ann is retired and her son Bruce continues to live and work the cattle ranch from his own home to the west of Ann. Her daughters Merianne Ross and Carrie Mikkelson all live on nearby ranches that were once part of the original Sterling ranch outfit. Their son maintains his ranching operation to the south and west side of the old Home Ranch leaving the NE corner of the property where the Trappers Cabin has abided since the 1870s for Ann’s use and favorite pastime. She has Granary Southwest View moved her business from
Bozeman’s Main Street to the converted Dairy Barn where Ann’s Dollhouse studio now resides. She stays busy designing and building her new creations in the workshop. Altogether, there have been five generations of Montanans living off this land for the past hundred and forty-five years since the trapper Charles Lamaure began the claim for a homestead. Few log cabins have endured with as much integrity as evident in the homesteader’s structure. This is an American story and it is essentially a story of abiding. Henry Sterling Ranch: 1878 – 1946 Extant buildings: Several hand-built log structures remain on the property including the original Trapper’s Cabin, the Sterling Cabin, the Granary, and the Dairy Barn. Interesting tidbits about the buildings include: The Granary – This log structure contains logs showing axe and adze cut marks. The extra wood working and skilled log joinery to close gaps was probably due to a need to be as weather- and vermin-proof as possible. According to the Todd Family history, Henry Sterling put up all his own grain to feed his stock, and never sold any of it in the market.
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Author’s Collection.
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The Bunkhouse – Wilson expanded the Sterling Cabin, now called the Bunkhouse, by adding onto the rear of the original log home. The Bunkhouse logs have cuts by an adze or axe and simpler corner joinery. The Bunkhouse did not have indoor toilets or running water until 1982 when the Dickersons renovated it for a rental tenant.
The Sterling Cabin, now the Bunkhouse (2 images).
Author’s Collection.
The Sterling Home – The cabin in its new location was occupied by George Sterling, then Larry Wilson’s son, followed by Ann Dickerson’s family.
The Trapper’s Cabin – The oldest log structure is the Trapper’s Cabin. During the Sterling and Wilson eras the Trapper’s Cabin was lived in by the property owners, family members, or hired hands. The log work represents one of four styles of log building found on the property and consists of rough-hewn logs with distinctive corners and extended log ends for the front and rear open porches. Usually the first homestead structures were built much more simply and in a hurry in an effort to prove up the claim. Some were dugouts with a sod roof or insubstantial tarpaper shacks. Few could have foreseen that the Trappers Cabin would be a residence continuously inhabited and the structure would abide for over a hundred and forty years.10
Dairy Barn Log Structure. The 1940’s barn is adaptively used today for Ann’s Dollhouse Workshop. Author’s Collection.
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Besides the trapper Lamaure, every subsequent family occupied the log cabin. The cabin was typical of the area according to Phyllis Smith’s Flying D Ranchlands history, “The [Trapper’s] cabin was built much the same as others in the area, with a dirt roof and dirt floor, the dirt roof kept sparks from the fireplace igniting above and insulated the cabin during the winter months. Sterling’s daughter Alphie, her youthful nickname according to Todd’s recollections, found another use for the dirt roof. When Frank Eckley’s mother visited her one June, she was about to leave when she said, ‘Wait a minute, I want to get you some radishes and onions. She climbed a short ladder to the roof, disappeared, and came down in a bit with fresh salad makings.”11
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Exterior Photos of the Trapper’s Cabin:
Front porch.
Northwest view.
Author’s Collection.
Author’s Collection.
Rear Entry. Author’s Collection.
South window wall.
Author’s Collection.
About the Authors: Barry Sulam and Linda Deutsch volunteered to be docents at the Trapper's Cabin during the Second annual Historic Preservation Tour of the Gallatin Gateway area for the Historic Preservation Board of Gallatin County in August 2013. Over two hundred attended that tour which gave the coauthors motivation to rewrite the story of the families that lived off the land where a river runs through it. Ann Dickerson hails from a pioneer family who arrived in the Gallatin Valley in 1864. Her great-grandfather, G. W. A. Frazier, built and operated Bozeman’s City Hotel and the Frazier Hotel in the mid- 1860s.
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In 1953 our son was born. Two years later, in 1955, Hank suffered a heart attack at the age of 33. That was a very 1 The Flying D Ranch Lands of Montana: A History, Phyllis Smith, Gallatin Historical Society and Gallatin History Museum, Bozeman, 2001. he could notLamour resume pg.18, Smith cited Lester H. Todd’s recollections about early homesteaders shocking as her sourceexperience of much of theand information “Charles (sic),normal a French Canadian fur trader settled just west of Salesville in 1868 or 1870…” activities for months. We continued to farm the two places 2 The U.S.G.S. Survey Map: H.D. Washburn approved the hand drawn official of Township 3 South, Range cabinAfter appears on we andsurvey a dairy with some hired help4 East. untilThe 1958. that Section 15 in the W1/2NE1/4 and E1/2NW1/4 and was recorded as Patent to Charles Lamaure. BLM Serial Nr: MTMTAA 042580, Document decided to 25 discontinue farming and find something easier Nr: 125. According to the BLM data entry record it was a 160 acre grant dated January 1878 but without a facsimile of the original legal land patent. Washburn’s expeditions to survey Yellowstone are legendary and led to the official designation as America’s First National Park The About(12Stat. the Authors: granting of the land was based on the Authority of the Homestead Entry Original 392) duly passed as a law on May 20 1862 during the administration of Abraham Lincoln.
As a result of her husband’s declining health the Heys family
The Flying D Ranch Lands of Montana: A History, Phyllis Smith, Gallatin Historical Society and Gallatin History Museum, Bozeman, 2001. pg. to Arizona in 1964. Mrs. DeBoer currently lives in Sun 20, illustration on pg. 21: Kit Etherington was an Englishman who had donemoved placer mining for gold at Bannack then Alder Gulch where he made a City, Arizona. She does not often have the opportunity to visit the good income before moving to settle down in Salesville. His name is attached to the Bush-Etherington Ditch. 3
Gallatin butGallatin continues to hold it dear in Peter her heart. Todd, Lester H. Early Settlers of Salesville, Spanish Creek and Cherry Creek Basin Valley Bozeman, Historical Society, 1965 Labeau Her sister, Ann Van Dyke, lives in Bozeman. Her brother, Peter was another Frenchman who located just North of Lamour in 1871.
4
5
Ibid
Blanksma, lives outside of Bozeman and still farms with his sons.
6 Abstract of Title facsimile: In less than three years the records show that Lamaure accepted the sum of $400 and according to the Abstract a Deed Kathy Van Dyke knew nothing about the Dutch community in was recorded (pg 522 dated October 13, 1877) by Francis Archambault the the second owner.Valley He only heldtothe property into for less sold11 Gallatin prior marrying thethan Vana year Dykeand clan it for $500 to Henry Sterling on August 21, 1878. years ago. Now she’s fascinated by, and proud of, the Dutchmen’s
contributions to theGallatin area economy local1965; history. Kathy Todd, Lester H. Early Settlers of Salesville, Spanish Creek and Cherry Creek Basin Bozeman, Historical and Society, Sterling also is a had pastureland five miles west of Salesville on high land in what would bemember the Flying Ranch today. Some of his land was to the of of Dthe Gallatin Historical Society andbequeathed a past President Odd Fellows upon his death. the Board of Directors.
7
8
Gallatin County Records of Deeds Book 10 page 276: S½ SE ¼ NE¼ SE ¼ SE ¼ SW ¼ Section 22, T3SR3E
9
1 “Gallatin Smith, Phyllis, The Flying D Ranchlands of Montana: A History, pg 19: Lanes, ToddsValley and Sterlings are all neighbors. main industry was agriculture,” by Lynn Israel,
10
Bozeman Chronicle, March 1983. Society, 1965 pg. 58 Todd, Lester H. Early Settlers of Salesville, Spanish Creek and Cherry Creek BasinDaily Bozeman, Gallatin Historical
Smith,toPhyllis. 1996. Eckley’s Bozeman“Looking and the Gallatin Dotand Smith, Phyllis, Flying D Ranchlands of Montana: A History, pg. 21: Attributed Frank Junior Back, AValley. PioneerTwo Trails Trials volume One.” At the Madison County History Association, 1976:821.Publishing, Falcon Press, Helena; see also Burlingame, Merrill G. 1976. 11
2
Gallatin County’s Heritage: A report of Progress – 1805-1976. 3
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Id. (Burlingame)
Volume 38 / Quarterly Number 4 // www.gallatinhistorym Autumn 2015 The Gallatin History Museum
REMEMBERING FORSYTHE CHRISTMAS TREES AND WREATHES By Anne Forsythe Kero Chambers-Fisher Department Store decorated for Christmas. Max J. Hunke photograph.
Preston Collection. P11996-1, 04.99
E
vans Forsythe, my father, furnished Christmas trees and evergreen boughs for holiday decorating to many Bozeman businesses and families from the mid-40s into the 70s. Some will remember Chambers-Fisher Department Store’s beautiful decorations every holiday season. Chambers-Fisher always ordered their trees and boughs from Evans Forsythe as long as he was in the Christmas tree business. He also furnished the perfect huge trees for the Bozeman banks. I can’t remember all the businesses and families who ordered and bought Christmas trees from him. Forsythe trees and boughs were special. We lived on South Tracy during the winter for a few years while my older brothers, Pete and Alan, and I were in grade school. My father set up a Christmas tree sales lot in our front yard for us kids to sell trees to earn Christmas money. We had to help find the trees, cut them down, and haul them to the truck to take to our lot. It was fun and profitable for
us, and we got to meet lots of people. After Pete, Alan and I were old enough to go to school in Bozeman from Bridger Canyon we stayed up Bridger Canyon all year. Pete was old enough to drive us to school. Evans found most of the trees on our land up Bridger Canyon, and some neighbors let him hunt trees on their land. He would not cut the trees until after a hard freeze. He knew the freeze would set the needles and the tree would last longer for the holiday. He took a lot of pride in the trees and branches he found and sold. One year he found and cut a perfect 20 ft. tree for a bank. He went the next day to pick it up, and someone had cut the top out for their own tree. I have never seen my father mad before or since, but he was furious. My mother, Jane Forsythe, came to Montana from New York and became a resident of Bridger Canyon in 1931, as a 19-year-old bride of Evans, a Montana rancher. Jane loved
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to explore the meadows and forests of Bridger and was fascinated by the different flora of the area. She decided to utilize nature on our land and make Christmas wreaths to accent my father’s trees. She first made them as presents to send to family and friends. When people saw Jane’s wreathes at friends’ houses, they would want a wreath too. They called Jane and ordered wreathes. That started her wreath making business. She started in mid-to-late summer collecting and preserving the “makings” for her wreathes. Jane used the wonderful Montana smells and colors: Oregon grape leaves, rose hips, straw flowers, sage, juniper, cedar and pine cones. Later, after a freeze, she would cut masses of evergreen branches and store all the “makings” in gunny sacks. Jane started making wreathes the last of October to start filling orders. Evans made the wire ring used as the base of the wreaths. I can’t even estimate how many he made every year to keep up with the orders.
Main floor of the Chambers-Fisher Department Store at Christmastime.
Mid November into December, Jane would host wreathmaking parties for family and friends and she would furnish
Preston Collection. P9578, 99.302 all the “makings.” One fond memory for many is sipping Jane’s home -made dandelion wine, visiting with friends, enjoying the smell of burning scraps in the fire place and making wreaths. Jane heard from customers that her wreaths had been sent to many parts of the world as Christmas presents. Jane continued her wreath making business into the 90s even after Evans died in 1979. Arthritis in her hands then slowed her hands. She hated to give up making wreaths; she loved collecting and working with the natural Montana “makings.” There are still friends and family who miss Jane’s wreaths, the wreath making parties, and the Forsythe Christmas trees. About the author:
Main floor of the Chambers-Fisher Department Store at Christmastime. Preston Collection. P9577, 99.301
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Anne Forsythe Kero was born and raised in the Gallatin Valley, and grew up participating in her parents’ holiday decorating ventures. A big thank you to Kay Campeau for her expertise and wonderful memories, which contributed to this article.
Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
In Their Own Words…
“Incidents of Pioneer Life as I Remember and as I Have Been Told” by Mary E. Hopping as edited by her grandson, D. O. Merriman
An early building at Gallatin City. Photograph by Bertha Clow.
Bozeman Camera Club. P6954N, 95.1416
Mary E. Hopping was born on a farm in Wisconsin in 1851. During her early childhood, Mary’s father, Stephen Allen, alternated farming in the Midwest with mining gold in California. Stephen Allen eventually sold the family farm in Wisconsin and moved his family west to the Idaho gold fields (now part of southwest Montana). The journey began on April 11, 1864, and the Allens joined a train of 100 wagons crossing the Plains on the Oregon Trail. After five months and several fascinating adventures, Mary and her family arrived at Gallatin City on September 11, 1864. A portion of her story is excerpted here.
W
hen we arrived at our destination, Gallatin City, at the junction of the three rivers forming the headwaters of the Missouri, we found the following people there. They were men who had come to the area in search of the elusive gold that had brought so many people to the new territory. Messrs Lon Pease, Al K. Stanton, Mr. Green, Mr. Elicha Terril, the Coutzenhciser brothers (Oliver and Will, John and Rocalia), and Miran and Frank Stone were settled on the south side of the river and the north side were Mr. Wilson, David Ferguson, Doctor Ketcham and the Dunbar brothers, Thomas and H. J. These men had pooled their money and sent Parks and Nichols to bring seed potatoes and garden seeds from Salt
Lake. Winters at that time were very mild and the potatoes a “Prairie Schooner” full of seed potatoes at Gallatin in the early spring. The land had been kept from freezing by a fire built each night near the wagon. The containers were lined with blankets and paper and the tubers arrived in good condition. The new settlers also raised cabbage, carrots, onions, tomatoes, radishes and cantaloupes. Vegetables sold for fabulous prices in the mining camps. Cantaloupes brought a dollar each as fast as they could be handed from the wagon. In 1864 the Stone brothers raised an acre of cabbage big drumheads some of which weighted thirty pounds, they
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were so large that they almost touched each other in the rows. One acre of cabbage brought six thousand dollars. The winter of 1864 and 1865, provisions of every kind were priced very high. Flour sold for $125 per hundred pounds, salt $1.25 a pound, potatoes brought 65 cents a pound but beef was cheap and wild animals plentiful for those who lived in the country. Deer, antelope, elk and wild fowl furnished a large portion of our diet. In the six months that it took for uncle Stephen Gratten’s broken leg to heal, Stephen junior, only eleven years old, supplied the Gratten family with meat by hunting with a shotgun. He killed prairie chickens and ducks and developed a system for outwitting the wily antelopes that ranged in the valley. He haltered a gentle old milk cow and sneaked up on his quarry by approaching only his cow. Stephen junior was very proud of his accomplishments.
Mr. Aiken and Mr. Wilson’s brother had boarded at Mother’s place at the Pinery at Stevens Point. Several more of our former neighbors came west and we no longer felt like strangers in a strange land. About the middle of September, 1864 the Flathead and Nes Perce Indians on their way to the Buffalo hunting grounds arrived in the valley. The settlers were glad to see them for in exchange for farm produce they were able to get buckskin moccasins, buffalo robes, beaver furs, and badly needed horses from the tribesmen. Encamped in the valley for several days the Indians gathered roots, choke cherries and buffalo berries, catching fish which they carried for use while hunting. On a nice level strip of ground half a mile or more long the Indians held horse races. This was near enough to our house so that I could watch these and share in the excitement.
The weather remained fine until November. Scarsely a cloud Soon after our arrival at Gallatin veiled the beautiful blue sky. To Mr. and Mrs. McDonnell came to us weary pilgrims it seemed as the valley. Mr. McDonnell went though we were in paradise. to work for Mr. Jesse while Mrs. McDonnell and I worked on a Late one winter evening a Mr. ranch a few miles up the Madison. Foote came to Father’s to get I milked cows and made butter some butter. On his way home he which I sold for $1.50 a pound. was attacked by a cayote. He The lower valley was a huge meadow. The grass was so tall Newspaper photograph of Mary E. Hopping. stayed the night at Schaffers cabin which was nearby. that the cows were hard to find when they were lying down. They On the day before Christmas sometimes wandered two miles Father struck frost while plowing. We were all invited to away in the fenceless pasture. My cousins, Stephen and Christmas dinner with the bachelors at the Wilson ranch. Viola Gratten usually helped me find them. Mr. Joseph Wilson cooked a dinner that consisted of all sorts of vegetables, elk steak and baking powder biscuits, My parents worked for others in order to grow potatoes and and a cake baked in a dutch oven. It was a splendid meal other crops so that we could start farming in the spring. prepared as nicely as any woman could have done. I could never make biscuits that equaled the ones those bachelors While Mother was at the Wilson ranch one of our old used to make. Wisconsin neighbors named Mr. J. Aiken appeared there.
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Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
Photograph by Professor W. F. Brewer.
P2468N, 91.703
P2469N, 91.704
Two Gallatin City buildings. Images taken circa 1930s.
During the long winter there was little to amuse people. There were about twenty novels in the community which were passed around. I think I read them all but the only one that remained in my memory is “Bleak House”, by Charles Dickens. Mrs. Nicols and Parks gave a dance to celebrate completion of laying a floor in their cabin. The music was furnished by Mr. Sammy MacKinsie. There were twelve, Mesdames Sloan, Bailey, Gratten, Allen, Gallagher, Cambell, Tyler, Burrell, Brown, Thorpe, and Mrs. Selvary and Drew. Three younger girls were Viola Gratten, Viola Sloan and I. After the first number or two several other instruments were brought into play and the party livened up considerably. The men out-numbered the women by a wide margin and when some who were unable to get partners would say “Come out with me while I tend to my sick mule.” Well their mule was “White Mule” but no one got drunk. A bonfire out of doors eased the crowding in the cabin. Mr. Gordon Campbell got a little tipsy and lost his balance and
fell into the fire but he didn’t get badly burned. When he got up he looked around and asked if anyone got burned. The dance was a great success. Cabins were lighted by candles held by little brackets nailed high on the walls. Visiting was done on Sunday when friendly neighbors get together to discuss their hardships, the dangers and their pleasures. Those Pioneers were a friendly generous people. When we first came to Montana it was our intention to go one to California as soon as we made a little money to see us through but we soon learned to love the Land of the Shining Mountains and the good people who were our neighbors. People who welcomed a stranger with “When did you eat last”? and fed anyone that was hungry. Very few of the old timers who returned to the east stayed “back home”. In 1863 Mr. E.N. Burris had come to the headwaters of the Missouri with a charter to put light raft boats service on the
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A view of the Missouri River Headwaters.
upper river. Gallatin City townsite was laid out on the west bank. It was presumed then that, being at the head of navigation Gallatin City would become a metropolis. Houses were built on lots located by miners and rancher. Mr. Gallager and Mr. Weir established a ferry a short way above the confluence of the Gallatin River. They soon found that the upper Missouri was not navigable so they abandoned the boating project. Mr. Burris then went to the mouth of the Morias River where he started a town called Ophir. He and nine other men were killed by Indians while working in the timber getting out building logs for the new town. Early in the spring of 1864, Mr. and Mrs. Major Campbell with Mr. Gordon Campbell had come to Gallatin City where they opened a Saloon. Along in the winter Mrs. F.J. Dunbar, Mr. Joseph Wilson and my father, Mr. Stephen Allen met and mapped the boundaries of Gallatin County. At that time Gallatin County included what is now Park County on the east and included Diamond City on the north. The officers appointed by the Governor to serve in the new county were as follows: F.J. Dunbar, county commissioner; Thomas
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Gallatin History Museum Collection. P7124, 96.399 Dunbar, judge; William Wright, county clerk; Jerry Rogers, county recorder; George D. Thomas, treasurer; Professor T.D. Gray sherrif; Mr. Gallager was later appointed to serve in Mr. Thomas Dunbar’s place as Dunbar failed to qualify because he was too busy selling potatoes at sixty five cents a pound. In the fall of 1865 three large herds were brought into Gallatin county from California where they could be bought for a dollar a head because of a draught. One herd was put in the upper end of the lower Madison Valley on the east side of the river, another was placed on the west side and the other in the Crow Creek Valley. At that time there were no railroad, telegraph, telephone or postal service at Gallatin City. Mr. Jeff McGowan brought the mail once a week from Virginia City. He charged a dollar for each letter and fifty cents for a newspaper. One day in the summer of 1866, father came home to the ranch from Gallatin City with the jubilant announcement that we were to have mail service twice daily. One delivery from the east and one from the west; “We are making History” was Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
his timely comment. Before 1865 the floors in the pioneer’s cabins were plain hard packed soil or puncheons made by splitting small logs in half but soon lumber was being made by whipsawing and nearly everyone had board floors in their houses. Uncle Stephen’s house had a puncheon floor. Father used whipsawed lumber to make shelves in our mild house. We secured them with wooden pens because there were no nails to be had. Uncle Willard peeled some splint brooms that served very well to sweep rawhide floors with. Dirt floors had to be kept damp. Before we got a board floor I cut tall rye grass that grew tall and used it to cover the dirt floor. Brooms were not to be had.
In the winter of 1865 three miners stopped at our place for a hearty meal. From them we learned of the discovery of gold on Montana Bar. The Montana Bar gold strike uncovered the richest diggings ever found in the territory. The bar was owned by only four men. Father was at Diamond City when they moved their gold. They loaded it on a wagon pulled by four mules and the Vigilantes furnished an escort of fifteen to see it safely to the Henry Ellings bank in Virginia City. A poor woman was given a pan full of dirt from the diggings at Diamond City from which she is said to have washed out three hundred dollars worth of dust.
The tall grass was a haven for Meadow Larks that stayed in the valley all winter. After a short storm when the sun came out bright a clear the larks used to sit in the tips of the tall clumps of grass and sing their happy lays. Father had met Mr. Thorpe when that man was on his way to this place in 1861. Mr. Thorpe, who had travelled from California to Wisconsin told Postcard view of Henry Elling's California Store in Virginia City. Postcard by Father that the headwaters of the The Albertype Co., Brooklyn, N.Y. Missouri River was an excellent Gallatin History Museum Collection. P4581N, 93.23 place to winter. When Thorpe reached the headwaters he rested for a few days and became so enamored with the area that he was determined to bring his Banks were few and sometimes bachelor minors family there to live. When he arrived with his household he accumulated quite a pile and in order to have it kept safely selected an island in the Madison River upon which to live they would take it to a woman whom they knew they could but he changed his mind and settled on the Gallatin. He built trust and leave it in her care. The old miners had profound his house under an embankment north of the wagon road respect for a good woman. Even the outlaws treated them between Manhattan and Central Park. He brought some respectfully. In the summer of 1865 Mr. Shaffer brought cattle from the east. He also brought a mowing machine three hundred ounces of gold dust that he and Mr. Perkins with which he harvested hay on the Manhattan bench land. had mined and gave it to Mother for safe keeping. The gold Bunch grass grew high enough to sweep a wagon bed and was from Alder Gulch and the twenty five pounds, troy, was when it is cured makes the finest kind of stock feed. worth $5,400. Unfortunately bunch grass depends on reseeding yearly and To be continued… soon dies out if regularly harvested. The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
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Pages from the Past… Compiled by Barb Clawson & Emily Copeland Avant Courier – October 25, 1883 The marble monument for the grave of J. M. Bozeman after whom our beautiful city was named, recently arrived from the East, and will be placed in position at an early day. The monument is the voluntary contribution of our townsman, Nelson Story, Esq., and is a handsome tribute to the memory of a noble hearted and generous pioneer. Avant Courier – November 22, 1883 Miles City purposes having a skating rink, the waters from the artesian well to be utilized for this purpose. As the water is reputed to contain wonderful medicinal virtues which it will preserve when congealed, it is supposed that the skaters can sit down with perfect impunity on its glassy surface, and its powerful medicinal properties will instantaneously cure all bruises on the “back, side or joints” as a patent medicine almanac would express it. Avant Courier – November 22, 1883 Three to four inches of snow fell Sunday night and Monday morning. Another little flurry will make
excellent sleighing, and nobody seems to care how soon it comes. Avant Courier – November 22, 1883 John J. Reese “takes the cake” on raising vegetable monstrosities. A mammoth beet and rutabaga exhibited at the Geyser Concert Saloon, created a great deal of astonishment among those who did not know the capabilities of Gallatin Valley soil. Avant Courier – November 22, 1883 A man traveling East from Portland, Oregon accompanied by his family, attempted to cut his throat on the passenger train, within a few miles of Bozeman. Dr Carroll was telegraphed to, but on his reaching the depot he ascertained that the would-be suicide had continued on his Eastern journey. No cause was assigned for the rash act, but it is more than probable that after seeing our beautiful country, remorse and regret at having purchased a through ticket to the States took possession of him and he resolved, that if he could not live in our superb country he could die in it. Avant Courier – December 6, 1883 Church street was made lively last Sunday by the appearance of a crazy man, brandishing a large knife. He was promptly arrested by Officer Herendeen, and lodged in the cooler.
Avant Courier – December 13, 1889 A bank has been started at Cooke City ---- a huge snow bank. It is fair to say that cheques on it will not be honored until late in the spring. Avant Courier – November 28, 1889 An electric light has been placed on Central avenue opposite the M. E. Church. It shed its effulgent light on sinner and saint alike. Avant Courier – September 4, 1897 “The Corrupting Ballot Box” Women of ordinary intelligence are staggered by the bold and convincing manner in which it is so commonly asserted that politics are too corrupt for women, and that the cesspool of the ballot must be avoided by the gentle sex. Such assertions are made on the presumption that man is a superfine article, like solid silverware; it matters not how blackened and corroded he may become, a little
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Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
season. The coaches and outfits have been stored for the winter, and the employees for the most part returned to the city Monday. The horses were driven through Bozeman Tuesday. Mr Wylie reports a most successful year and all who have traveled over his line speak in the highest terms of the accommodations.
brushing up and he is as beautiful and bright as ever. We poor women are supposed to typify the cheapest kind of Britannia ware. By the slightest blemish we are undone forever ----the magic touch of Alladin can never restore our pristine luster. If a woman must necessarily become polluted by entering the political arena, why is she not contaminated by intimate association with those who have occasioned this moral leprosy? And yet amid this noble army of men who so heroically guard the honor of American womanhood by shielding it from the dangers of the ballot, we hear no mention of one of them condemning himself to celibacy or shunning matrimony for the lofty idea that his society would degrade and debase women. Oh, no! The weakest woman on earth is supposed to be invulnerable to a 365 day’s contact with the originator of corruption, but would be besmirched in ten minutes by approaching the ballot box once a year.
will be ready for occupancy the early part of November. Avant Courier – September 26, 1906 The Wylie Permanent Camps in the National Park have been closed for the
Bozeman Courier – October 11, 1922 Wednesday afternoon the citizen of Bozeman dropped all matters of business at 5 o’clock, the stores closed and everyone joined in the big parade formed to go out and dedicate the Seventh Avenue road, which had just been completed. Headed by the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce band, a big procession of automobiles filled with citizens passed through Main street and out over the new highway. There was joy in the hearts of everyone.
By Helen Morris Lewis, President North Carolina Equal Suffrage Association. Miss Lewis was a noted advocate of women’s suffrage in the United States. Avant Courier – October 10, 1902 The Gallatin county high school is nearing completion. The roof is on and the walls are being plastered. It is expected the school
North Seventh Avenue in Bozeman, 1976.
Bozeman Camera Club, donor. PA16071-30, 09.87
The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
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Bozeman Courier – October 25, 1922 Registration at Montana State College has been steadily increasing day by day, until Friday, October 20, showed a total enrollment of 806. As in the case of several years back registration has eclipsed all previous records. Of this number, there are 540 regular college students; 77 being seniors, 116 juniors, 149 sophomores, and 295 freshman. Bozeman Courier – December 13, 1922 Oscar Nelson had the misfortune to break his arm last Sunday evening while cranking his car. Bozeman Weekly Chronicle – October 26, 1933 Police have been instructed to arrest immediately any youngsters whom
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they see scratching windows along Main street, or any other street, for that matter. Yesterday morning several merchants found the show-windows of their stores had been scratched apparently a glass-cutter, a diamond point or some other hard, sharp instrument. Bozeman Weekly Chronicle – November 30, 1933 Burglars entered the Irving School sometime Tuesday night or early yesterday morning and made away with loot which included all the light globes, a pair of lady’s skates, a pair of rubbers, an electric iron and a pencil sharpener. They entered the building through one of the windows. Bozeman Weekly Chronicle – December 7, 1933 Recreation Board Rules Municipal
Rink Tickets to be Sold at Same Prices as Last Year. The charges are 15 cents for single admissions; season tickets for grade school children, $1; for high school students, $2, and for adults, $2.50. Cold weather which has persisted until yesterday made a start of the skating season seem near when the board met Tuesday evening, but yesterday’s chinook wind ruined the bottom ice which Caretaker John Hancock was building up. Bozeman Weekly Chronicle – December 7, 1933 Editorial by James P. Bole, Editor “Good Work Done” President Roosevelt has announced that the Civilian Conservation corp will be continued another year. Last Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
year’s experience with this form of forest work was exceeding satisfactory and not only were many young men put to work but much useful work was accomplished. The Civilian Conservation corp was Roosevelt’s own idea. He had experimented some with it in New York state while he was governor. It worked well in New York, even if it met with vigorous opposition from Alfred E. Smith. A bond election was held in that state to provide the funds for carrying out the work. Roosevelt supported the bond issue and Smith opposed it. The bonds were carried by a wide margin.
Civilian Conservation Corps workers gathered at Spike Camp on the South Fork of the Madison River, summer of 1935. The men at Spike Camp were tasked with improving the roads into Cliff and Wade Lakes.
The same idea upon which the New York experiment was based was put into action on a much wider scale to help out the unemployment situation throughout the whole country and to do useful work in the forest. When
Gallatin History Museum Collection. P4551N, 92.1151
such an organization was first advocated there was much doubt as to how it would work out. Even the forestry people were inclined to be skeptical as to its value. It is true that it did take some time to whip this untrained force into form but once they became acquainted with the task everyone was surprised with the amount of work they accomplished.
season in the open and they were taught self-reliance and industry. It did much to build up the morale of large bodies of young men who were out of work and depending on outside aid for a living. Of course there were some misfits in these camps, but they were soon weeded out and a competent working organization was developed.
It was not only a splendid thing for the forces but also for the young men engaged in it. Their health was built up by a
With the experience gained this year even better results can be expected another year. The added protection against forest fires which comes from clearing out the underbrush and building trails into inaccessible regions is in itself worth all it will cost the government to maintain such a force. It should be one of the good things to come out of this depression. By all means the work should be kept up for some time to come at least.
The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
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Image Gallery‌
Thanksgiving dinner at Julia Martin’s house, Bozeman, ca. 1940s or 1950s.
Ray and Kay Campeau, donors. P16521, 09.537
Alexander Art Company storefront at Christmastime. South Tracy Ave., Bozeman. Gallatin History Museum Collection. 1748N, 90.2511
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Huffman Family Christmas.
Geraldine Perkins, donor. P10562, 00.193
Volume 38 / Number 4 / Autumn 2015
A view from the Nash Ranch, date unknown. Schlechten photo.
Gallatin History Museum Collection. P7617, 96.893
A 1976 Christmastime photo of Main Street, Bozeman, looking east from Tracy Avenue. Arthur Josef Bartosch photo.
Bozeman Camera Club, donor. PA16073-671, 09.89
The Gallatin History Museum Quarterly / www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org
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