Old Missoula

 

“Can You Speak German?”

 

The following article is taken from The Anaconda Standard on June 19, 1897 p 10.

 

Good Thing Recognized

 

A Young German Girl Finds a Benefactor

 

They Meet On The Train

 

Missoula , June 18 – Manager Deffenbach of the telephone exchange had a fright Tuesday from which he has not entirely recovered yet. His usually rosy face and cheerful smile have not been as much in evidence since that day and his friends have been at a loss to account for the change that has come over him. The truth, however, has leaked out and the fact is established that the genial telephone man is not in love. Quite the contrary, he trembles now whenever he sees a woman coming toward him. On Monday he had been up the line, making some repairs, and had boarded No. 1 to come home. Sam Long was the conductor and when he saw “Deff” get aboard he smiled all over. As soon as John had taken his seat, the conductor came up to him with the inquiry. “Can you speak German?” Deff said that he could just a little. That was all the conductor wanted to know and he grabbed poor Deff and led him to another car, where he took him to a buxom girl who was sitting in a seat alongside a big emigrant’s valise that showed that she had not been long on this side of the water. “Here is a girl,” said the conductor, “who has a ticket to Missoula, but she cannot speak English and does not want to get off at that station. Tell her that that is the place for her to stop.” Deff tried to tell the young lady, but all that she would say was that she wanted to go to Montana and that Missoula was not the place where she was bound. Vainly the perplexed telephone man tried to convince her that he knew that it was all right. She wouldn’t stand his work at all. His German vocabulary had long been exhausted in the attempt to assure the fair emigrant that he was her friend, but she failed to believe him. The fact that Deff could speak the tongue that she had not heard for days commended him to her in a measure and she finally began to think that he might be all right. When the train pulled into the yard at Missoula, Deff had a happy thought. He knew that Otto Siegel of the Montana hotel would be at the depot to meet the train and he knew that Otto could talk with any one who came from the Fatherland. So, as the train stopped, he told the girl to remain where she was till he found Otto. He started for the door to carry out his plan, but the girl would not be forsaken in that sort of way and grabbed her valise. Out of the car door she sped and landed on the platform as soon as Deff, her unwilling protector, did. She seized his coat sleeve and hung on to the only man that she had seen who could talk with her, as if she was determined never to leave him. Thus they came up the platform. Deff’s face was rosy with blushes and he failed to return the smiles of congratulation that his acquaintances bestowed upon him as he worked his way through the crowd to find Otto Siegel. It was a pretty picture, anyway. Deff looked like a manly bridegroom and the timid, hesitating, wooden-shoed, queerly-clad young lady at his side looked for all the world as if she had come all the way from Bavaria to meet him. It was an opportunity for a kodak fiend that is seldom afforded. However, it did not last long. If it had, Deff would have been crazy. As soon as he reached the hack stand he found Otto Siegel and told him of his trouble. Otto promptly relieved the gallant telephone man of his trouble and took in charge the bewildered girl. She was bound for Quartz [Superior] and the next morning was placed on board the Coeur d’Alene train and taken to her destination. Deff, however, does not dare to speak to a woman for fear that she will cling to him. That is strange, too.

 

 

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84036012/1897-06-19/ed-1/seq-10/

 

 

 

“Old Jerry” Johnson, the venerable trapper

 

Jerry Johnson Hot Springs is a locally famous spot about a mile from U.S. Highway 12 as it winds down from the top of Lolo pass toward Lowell, Idaho. It is approximately 63 miles from Missoula. The springs were named for pioneer Jerry Johnson who trapped and built a cabin near there in the late 1800’s.

 

Local Mention [1895]

 

Missoula, June 8 – The friends of “Old Jerry” Johnson, the venerable trapper, who figured in the Carlin-Colgate episode last year and who returned last fall to the Clearwater country with one companion, are becoming alarmed over the fact that he may have perished during the winter. It is possible, however, that deeper snow than usual has delayed his return.

 

The above article appeared in The Anaconda Standard on June 9, 1895 p. 6.

 

 

The article below is from the U.S. Forest Service article – The Clearwater Story: A History of the Clearwater Forest by author Ralph Space – see Chapter 18 ‘Mining’. Ranger Ralph Space finished his career with the U.S. Forest Service as Supervisor of the Clearwater National Forest. He spent 90 years of his life in the Clearwater area, retiring in 1963.

 

Jerry Johnson and the Lost Mine

 

On September 26,1893 the Carlin Party reached the Lochsa River a short distance below the mouth of Warm Springs Creek. They were surprised to find four men there. Two were hunters and departed for Montana the next day. The other two were Jerry Johnson and Ben Keeley. They were building a cabin and planning to stay during the winter.

 

In his book “In the Heart of the Bitterroot Mountains“, Himmelwright has a chapter on “The Lost Indian Prospect and Jerry Johnson”. He writes:

 

“Six feet in height, with a powerful frame slightly bent by advancing years, black hair mixed with gray, jet black eyes, and a stubby gray beard, Jerry Johnson, the prospector, would arouse curiosity and interest anywhere. A Prussian by birth, he emigrated at an early age to New Zealand. There he became interested in mining, and since then he has devoted his life to prospecting for the precious metals in the wildest and most unfrequented regions of the earth, and occasionally acting in the capacity of guide, hunter and packer. Enthusiastically devoted to his work and often with no other companion than his faithful dog, he has searched for gold in the most inaccessible regions of the Cascades and Rocky mountains, and now, at the advanced age of 60 years, rugged from hardship and exposure, he still loves the isolation and solitude of the mountains, and is seeking with characteristic perseverance the long lost Indian Prospect.

 

“Many years ago, while Johnson was encamped in the heart of the Bitterroot Mountains, a half-starved Indian found his way to Johnson’s camp. The Indian was given food and shelter, and grateful for the favors shown him, before departure, in broken English and by signs and gestures, he informed Johnson he knew where there was “Heap Elk City, heap Pierce City”, meaning much gold, there being mines at the places named. Johnson at once engaged the Indian to guide him to the place.

 

“Returning to the nearest point where supplies could be purchased, he secured adequate equipment, and with one other man and the Indian started back into the mountains. The route taken by the Indian was along the Lolo trail to the warm springs. Here the Indian fell sick, but the party pushed on fifteen miles farther east to a small prairie which Johnson calls “The Park”. When they reached this point, the Indian became so sick he could proceed no further. Fearing he might die, Johnson got the Indian to tell him how the gold was found. This was quite difficult as the Indian could speak few words of English and had to convey most of the information by gestures. The story he told was substantially as follows:

 

‘A party of Indians were camped at the place they were journeying to, some years previously, and one of them being suddenly taken very sick, a “sweat-bath” was prepared for him. (Here the author describes the making and use of a sweat house.)

 

‘While preparing this sweat-bath, it was necessary to loosen and remove some white rock and while doing this, the Indians discovered that the rock was full of gold, or, as the Indian called it “Elk City”.

 

‘The Indian guide grew worse and weaker every hour, and Johnson being alarmed, took him in his arms and carried him to a more elevated position, where a view to the eastward could be obtained.

 

‘Which way from Here?’ Johnson Asked.

 

‘With his remaining strength, the Indian raised his arm and pointed to a peak covered with snow. “See snow”, he said. Then raising one finger, he pronounced the one word “sun” and rolled over on his blanket exhausted. A few hours later he died.

 

“Not discouraged by his ill fortune, Johnson and his companion buried the Indian and pushed on to the peak indicated to him and searched the country beyond and around the peak all that summer, but never succeeded in finding the old Indian camp. Since that time he has spent several summers fruitlessly in the same neighborhood, and is now passing the winter in that desolate snow bound region, hoping, early in the spring, to continue his search for the “Lost Indian Prospect.”

 

Such is the story of Isaac’s mine. I have heard various versions of it but this is the oldest and came directly from Jerry Johnson so I presume that it is the most authentic. Isaac’s complete name was Isaac Hill. He came from a family of white, Delaware and Nez Perce origin which lived near Kooskia. His grave has become somewhat lost, but a map I have which was made in 1894 shows his grave on top of the ridge about one and a quarter air miles southeast of Tom Beall Park.

 

A lot of people have searched for Isaac’s mine. Ben McConnell, Joe Ebberly and Bill Parry, early day Forest Rangers, it is said, looked the country over thoroughly. There were many others that did the same.

 

Another story that ties in with the Isaac’s Mine is that years ago some Indians were camped at what is now called Gold Meadows. They had some gold but refused to say where they had found it. That is how Gold Meadows got its name.

 

Jerry Johnson spent his old age in the Missoula vicinity and is buried at the Missoula Cemetery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The obituary below for Elmer Frame appeared in the Missoulian on May 7, 2004

 

 

Elmer Morris Frame

 

MISSOULA – Elmer Morris Frame of Missoula, died Tuesday, May 4, 2004, at the age of 80.

 

He was born Dec. 1, 1923, at his family home in Kane, Wyo., to George and Beulah Frame. Elmer grew up on the Big Horn River near Lovell, Wyo., with his seven younger brothers and one older sister. He graduated from Lovell High School in 1941, after attending grade school in Kane, Wyo.

 

During his freshman year at the University of Wyoming, he had the opportunity to spend the summer fighting forest fires with a “hotshot” crew in Missoula. He worked out of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp near the Nine Mile Ranger Station.

 

Elmer’s summer in Montana proved to be a long one, 1942-2004. He found that he liked Missoula, so in the fall of 1942, he enrolled at the University of Montana for his sophomore year. He had broken his arm in Devil’s Canyon at the age of 7 and due to the nine mile horseback ride home, his arm healed at a peculiar angle. This kept him from being accepted into the Army after Pearl Harbor. He spent the next 2 1/2 years working for the Forest Service and attending UM. However, he was finally accepted into the Army after the third attempt in October 1944.

 

Elmer was trained for the field artillery at Fort Sill, Okla. He spent two years in France, Germany, Austria and England. While in England, he attended the Shrivenham American University in Swindon. In Germany, he attended the Friesing Agricultural College. He returned to Missoula and the University of Montana in October 1946 and was employed at the Highlander Brewery for a short time.

 

Elmer met his future wife Marjorie Trucano in 1947 in Missoula, where she was attending the St. Patrick School of Nursing. They were married on May 22, 1948. Elmer and Margie spent the next eight years traveling throughout Montana and Idaho while Elmer worked for the Bureau of Public Roads on location survey, design and road construction.

 

During this time, their two oldest daughters were born, Kathy in 1951 and Julie in 1953 at St. Patrick Hospital. Their youngest daughter, Laurie, was born in 1959 in Missoula after they had purchased land on the “far” west side of Missoula. They designed and developed El-Mar Trailer Village, which has grown to 100 mobile home spaces.

 

In 1962, Elmer saw the need for transportation to Hellgate Elementary School on Flynn Lane. He purchased one school bus, creating Hellgate Transportation Co., which has grown to a fleet of 18 buses, and is now managed by their daughter, Kathy Riley.

 

Elmer and Margie expanded their business in 1965 to include campsites for tents and RVs. They became a part of the KOA network in 1967 and the Missoula KOA still continues to serve vacationers on North Reserve Street with 200 campsites. Their daughter Laurie Wisby and her husband Dale manage the KOA. The Missoula KOA has been named Campground of the Year and received the KOA Award of Merit for Outstanding Service for 15 consecutive years.

 

Elmer and Margie’s daughter Julie Frame is managing shareholder of her law firm in Burlington, Vt. Julie continues to advise and support the family in legal matters and returns home to Montana whenever possible. She has made possible some wonderful vacations for her family. Elmer and Margie especially cherished their time with Julie and family in Vinalhaven, Maine.

 

Elmer was responsible for design, construction and sale of 417 residential lots at El-Mar Estates during the years of 1975 through 1992. He also held the public office of Missoula County surveyor from 1971-1975. He was active on the Missoula County Study Commission in 1974 and 1975.

 

Elmer held many volunteer positions throughout his long career. He served three terms as a member of the National KOA Kampground Owners Association Board of Directors. From 1970-1975, he was a member of the Missoula County Planning Board. He was a member of the Governor’s Tourism Advisory Council. In 1993, he was chosen as Tourism Person of the Year by Governor Marc Racicot.

 

Elmer enjoyed helping young people whenever he could and worked enthusiastically with the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Committee including providing bus transportation for HOBY ambassadors over a period of 14 years.

 

In 1985-1990, he was a member of the Missoula City-County Planning Board. Elmer was a member of the Missoula Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors. He was a member of Glacier Country Board of Directors. Other positions that he held were on the President’s Advisory Council for KOA Inc., president of the Campground Owner’s Association of Montana, member of Missoula Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, board of directors for the Montana Tourism Coalition, advisory council for Water Quality District, Open Space Advisory Council for the City of Missoula and a member of the board of directors for Five Valley Land Trust.

 

Elmer was an eternal optimist and continued to seek new adventures throughout his life. He loved the mountains of Montana and it was an annual ritual when his grandchildren were young to visit Mary’s Frog Pond and Surveyor Lake. Even with his busy life, he always made time to take his daughters camping, teaching them to enjoy the woods and the mountains. He supported them in their riding endeavors and spent many hours at horse shows and Junior Rider events.

 

Elmer loved to watch the Grizzlies and attend football and basketball games for 35 years. He enjoyed any sporting event in which his grandchildren participated, especially their basketball and football games. He taught his children and others the value of hard work and the importance of pride in one’s work. He also loved to travel. He and Margie visited hundreds of KOAs over the years and enjoyed traveling to many foreign countries as well. He leaves a huge void in our lives on this earth but we know we will see him again, smiling and at peace, doing good works on the other side.

 

He is survived by his wife, Margie Frame of Missoula; daughters, Kathy Riley and grandsons Nate and Ben Riley of Missoula, Julie Frame (Kenneth Peck) and grandson Gabriel Peck-Frame of Charlotte, Vt., Laurie Wisby (Dale Wisby) and grandchildren Tyler and Jenna Wisby of Lolo; sister, Georgia Close of Powell, Wyo.; brothers, Ralph (Peggy) of Missoula, Hugh (Sylvia) Frame of Missoula, Tom (Evelyn) of Frenchtown, David of Dayton, Wash., and Warren (Glenda) of Ronan; sister-in-law, Patricia Rice of Hamilton; and many beloved nephews and nieces.

 

Elmer was preceded in death by his parents, George and Beulah Frame; brothers, Charlie and Glen Frame; son-in-law, Doyle Riley; nephew, Charles Jr.; and brother-in-law, Harold Close.

 

For those wishing to offer memorials, the family suggests Five Valley Land Trust, 211 N. Higgins Ave., Missoula, MT 59802; St. Patrick House, 501 W. Alder, Missoula, MT 59802; or a charity of donor’s choice.

 

Visiting hours will be from 6-8 p.m. Sunday, May 9, at Sunset Memorial. Services for Elmer will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Sunset Memorial Funeral Home on Mullan Road. A reception will follow at the same location.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a link to the Missoula KOA website which features an article Elmer wrote before he died. Although many of the facts featured in this website also appear in Elmer’s obituary, a short history of his property is featured here that has information about the first settlement on the acreage occupied by his campground. A cabin on this property likely dates back to the 1860’s and actually still exists. It has to be one of the oldest buildings in Missoula. This property is not far from the original Hell Gate settlement and one of Frame’s visitors (Vern Huckaba, who lived there once & who is one of 6 siblings born in Missoula) believed this old cabin was originally built as a stage station.

 

 

 

http://missoulakoa.com/about-missoula-koa/history/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO JOSH ABOUT ‘EM

 

Real, Pure, Undeniable Facts Related by Fishermen.

 

Missoula, June 15. – The fishing record for Western Montana has been rudely and severely broken this week by local Waltonites, who have brought in catches that eclipse all previous exhibitions that have been made here. The good work started on Sunday, when P. Z. Prince landed two trout that weighed together 19 ½ pounds. Alderman John McBride came back from Lou Lou Sunday night with a catch that was a hummer. The fish were not as large as those of Mr. Prince, but there was a lot of them. The total catch was in the neighborhood of 40 pounds. Some of the fish dressed at three-quarters of a pound, and all of them were prime in quality. Mr. McBride was thoughtful of his friends and the Standard office force had trout for breakfast Monday morning that were all right. Yesterday was not such a good day for the fly casters, but they did some good work just the same. To-day however, was a honey and the fish have risen at all the flies cast upon their waters till the fishermen have had all the sport they want. One big trout was hooked at the mouth of the Rattlesnake this morning that weighed 12 pounds.

 

In the Bitter Root the waters of the streams are in fine condition and those who have been up the valley report excellent sport. There is one good feature about the fish stories of this section this year. They are nearly all accompanied by the necessary evidence to establish their truth and no one can doubt that they are all right.

 

The article above appeared in The Anaconda Standard, June 16, 1897 – p. 10

 

 

 

Originally from Missoula, Deane Roesch Hinton has served as a career diplomat in many places throughout the world for close to 40 years. He has also been honored by the State Department and received a Presidential award for his diplomatic service in 1983. Some of his assignments came with controversy as noted below. He is also the author of ECONOMICS AND DIPLOMACY: A Life in the Foreign Service of the United States, by Deane Roesch Hinton – 2015.

 

Deane Roesch Hinton

 

ambassador

 

Deane Roesch Hinton, American ambassador. Recipient Department State Superior Service award, 1967; recipient Presidential award for distinguished diplomatic service, 1983. Served to Second lieutenant Army of the United States, 1943-1945. Member Council Foreign Relations, Foreign Service Association, Royal Central Asian Society, Society International Development.

 

 

·

 

· Hinton, Deane Roesch was born on March 12, 1923 in Fort Missoula, Montana, United States. Son of Joe A. and Doris (Roesch) Hinton.

 

 

• Graduate, Elgin (Illinois) Academy, 1940. Bachelor, University Chicago, 1943. Postgraduate, University Chicago, 1946.

  Postgraduate, Fletcher School Law and Diplomacy also Harvard University, 1952. Graduate, National War College, 1962.

 

 

• Appointed foreign service officer, 1946. With Department State, Washington, 1946, 51-52, 55-58. 3d secretary, vice consul Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, 1947-1948.

  2d secretary, vice consul Syrian Arab Republic, 1948-1949. Vice consul Mombasa, Kenya, 1949. Consul Kenya, 1949-1951.

  2d secretary, consul Paris, 1952-1955. Attache United States Mission to European Communities, Brussels, 1958-1959, 1st secretary, 1959-1961. Chief commodity programming division Department State, Washington, 1962-1963.

  Director Office Atlantic Political Economic Affairs, 1963-1967, Agency for International Development mission to, Guatemala, 1967-1969, Chile, economic counselor Santiago, Chile, 1969-1971. Assistant director Council International Economic Policy, Washington, 1971-1973, deputy director, 1973-1974. Ambassador Kinshasa, Zaire, 1974-1975.

  United States representative United States mission to European Communities, Brussels, 1976-1979, assistant secretary state for economics and business, 1980-1981. Ambassador San Salvador, El Salvador, 1981-1983, Islamabad, Pakistan, 1983-1987. Career ambassador Pakistan.

  Ambassador to Costa Rica, since 1987, Panama. Professorial lecturer American University, Washington.

 

 

Served to Second lieutenant Army of the United States, 1943-1945. Member Council Foreign Relations, Foreign Service Association, Royal Central Asian Society, Society International Development.

 

 

• Married Angela E. Peyraud, May 10, 1946 (divorced 1971). Children: Deborah, Christopher, Jeffrey, Joanna, Veronica. Married Miren de Aretxabala, December 6, 1971 (deceased November 1979).

  Stepchildren: Pedro, Guillermo, Miren, Maria, Juan, Sebastian. Married Patricia Lopez, February 14, 1983. 1 child, Deane Patrick.

• father: Joe A. Hinton

• mother: Doris (Roesch) Hinton

• spouses: Angela E. Peyraud

• Miren de Aretxabala

• Patricia Lopez

  http://prabook.com/web/person-view.html?profileId=565910

   

  Some comments about Foreign Service Officer Deane R. Hinton by William Blum in his book ‘Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II’, appear below:

  “Deane Roesch Hinton was no ordinary Foreign Service career diplomat. He had worked closely with the CIA since the 1950s and was no stranger to extra-diplomatic operations. From 1967 to 1969 in Guatemala and the following two years in Chile (against Allende), Hintson, under the cover of the Agency for International Development (AID), had played a role in the CIA operations. He then served on a subcommittee of the National Security Council until taking up his post in Zaire in 1974.”

  While acting as US ambassador to Zaire in 1975, “Deane R. Hinton was ordered to leave the country and Zaire recalled its ambassador from Washington.”

  
  In his book, ‘Corporate Diplomacy in the Third World’, author Art Madsen briefly mentions Ambassador Hinton’s role in Zaire as he was concluding his duties there:

 

Dean Roesch Hinton, former Ambassador to Guatemala and Chile, implicated in the overthrow of the left-leaning Guatemalan regime and, later, of the Allende Government in Chile, was appointed Ambassador to Zaire in the 1974 time frame.

 

While he was relatively tranquil in the initial stages of his mandated term in Kinshasa, and participated in many of the duties normally expected of a plenipotentiary diplomat, commendably representing his country at such functions as the ceremony marking assembly of the First Tower of the 1700 Kilometer Inga-Shaba Transmission Line, held in sweltering heat at Gombe-Matadi in Bas-Zaire during November of 1974, he took advantage of such occasions to persistently wedge himself into the relationship between the MKI Consortium (CIS) and the Zairian Government.

 

This hardline political stance, foisting American ideology on an African Government preparing literally to adopt the teachings of Kim-Il-Sung, combined with the fast-moving, arguably Soviet-inspired events of June 1975, got Ambassador Hinton, a decorated American career diplomat, quite dramatically thrown out of Zaire, on the heels of an “abortive coup”, responsibility for which was summarily assigned to him by the Mobutu Regime. Declared “persona non grata” and given 48 hours to depart, Ambassador Hinton created a near-crisis situation in relations between the U.S. and Zaire, daring to call into question the “integrity” of President Mobutu, who, admittedly, had been responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Zairians and the impoverishment of tens of millions more.

 

 

 

William McWhirk – Pioneer by Bob McWhirk

 

 

WILLIAM McWHIRK: WALLA WALLA PIONEER William McWhirk was one of Walla Walla’s first merchants and my great great grandfather. His story began in rural Ohio where he was born in 1827 of a Scottish immigrant father and New England mother. The eldest of several children, William was captivated by the American West after reading a “dime novel” written by a fur trapper, a type of book which popularized frontier life and probably lured many pioneers to the West. At the age of 25, William went west, and rather than continuing on to Oregon or California, stopped at Ft. Hall in what is now southeastern Idaho near the confluence of the Snake and Portneuf Rivers. Ft. Hall was originally built by American Nathaniel J. Wyeth in 1834 and sold to the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1837, its southernmost trading post serving the Upper Snake trapping and trading region. Richard Grant was the HBC’s Chief Factor at Ft. Hall in 1852, and William worked for him for the next two years, although the type of work he did for Grant is not yet known. In 1854 William reportedly moved to an area 30 miles below Salmon Falls and whip sawed enough lumber to build a boat which he took down the Snake River, stopping at the confluence with the Boise River near what was then the HBC’s Ft. Boise; there he operated his boat as a ferry for the next three years. Severe flooding on the Snake had destroyed many ferrying operations, and he probably saw a lucrative business opportunity essential to American emigrants flooding into the West. Historical records indicate that William McWhirk went to present-day Walla Walla in 1857 where he built a house and dry goods store, possibly a tent store, at the corner of Second and Main. There is also an account of McWhirk going to Walla Walla in 1858 at the behest of Henry Isaacs, an established merchant and miller at The Dalles. Although the dates don’t coincide exactly, it is possible that McWhirk’s Walla Walla venture was a dry goods business which involved Isaacs, the more seasoned merchant. Regardless, by 1859 McWhirk apparently tired of being a merchant and sold both house and store to Frank Worden. He then tried his hand at farming, something his family would have been familiar with in Ohio, and cultivated a sizable tract of land and invested in livestock. Throughout his tenure in Walla Walla, McWhirk was civically active and participated in the creation of the City and County of Walla Walla. On October 1, 1859, William married Margaret Laroque, metisse daughter of the elusive Joseph Laroque. (There is evidence that Margaret was born at Ft. Hall along with her siblings, and that a Joseph Laroque lived there and had business dealings with HBC there between at least 1834 and 1837, possibly longer; it is not known whether William might have known the Laroque family at Ft. Hall.) William and Margaret had a daughter, Henrietta, in 1860, and all 3 of them are recorded in the 1860 U.S. Census in William’s household. In 1861 the couple had a son, Charles, who was reportedly born at Lapwai, Idaho, but it is unclear why he would have been born there if his family still lived in or near Walla Walla. William and Margaret divorced in 1863.

 

 

Page 1 of 2

 

In 1864 William McWhirk shows up in a neighboring part of the Washington Territory, this time back on the Snake River where he had a town site surveyed at the confluence of the Snake and the Palouse River, and the area was referred to as McWhirk’s Ferry. The impetus for this venture was development of the Kootenai mines, and apparently 100 pack animals used the ferry en route to the mines in that year. William McWhirk may have had several business ventures operating at this time, but the severe winter of 1866 apparently killed off enough of his livestock so that he lost all his property and investments to creditors. He apparently took what little he still possessed, the two children Henrietta and Charles, and relocated near Missoula in what is now Montana (At one time prior to their becoming U.S. territories, all of present-day Idaho and about one-quarter of Montana had been part of Walla Walla County!). McWhirk acquired a tract of land where the Rattlesnake and the Missoula Rivers join, and managed to divide it into smaller parcels which he sold to others, the land on which Missoula stands today. During these years all of William’s brothers also came west, and brother Cyrus entered into Missoula businesses with William, including a dry goods store and a “mild drink” saloon. William and Cyrus apparently used part of their land as a large fruit, vegetable and flower garden, an area at the east entrance to Missoula which was widely known as McWhirk’s Gardens and contributed to Missoula being known as the “Garden City.” William later moved to Corvallis where he was a merchant until his death there in 1889. William’s daughter Henrietta died in childhood, but son Charles grew to manhood in Montana and had a large family including my grandfather. Charles McWhirk would have been 1/4 Indian and apparently returned to the Walla Walla/Umatilla area often enough to be remembered by older Umatilla residents as a man who helped others protect their property from unscrupulous people trying to take over Indian land.

 

Bob McWhirk – September, 2014 – Kapoho, Hawaii

 

 

Page 2

 

 

John S. Caldwell

 

John Caldwell was one of the early Missoula Pioneers that did not receive much attention in historical documentation of early Missoula. What a shame as he was an interesting and productive person who was a member of John Mullan’s road building expedition. After much searching, I found the following article that shed some light on him.

 

Article from The Daily Republican newspaper from Monongahela City, Pa – May 4, 1885:

 

Died In Montana

 

Mr. John S. Caldwell, brother of Mrs. Col. Gregg of this city, died at his home in Missoula, Montana, on the 19^th of April aged 70 years and 11 months. The Missoula Times says: –

 

“John S. Caldwell was a native of Pennsylvania. He emigrated to California in an early day, and in 1861 found his way to this part of Montana. In the following year he purchased a ferry on the Missoula river, which he operated for four years. He then bought a farm in Grass valley, where [he] lived up to four years ago, when he moved to Missoula. About six years ago he had the misfortune to break one of his legs, which was afterwards imperfectly set, and the confinement which this occasioned told heavily against him, as he had always been out of doors and a hard working man. About one year ago he was stricken with apoplexy, and this disease led to other complications that hastened his end. Death finally was the result of exhaustion and feebleness.

 

“Mr. Caldwell was quite [sic] and peaceful disposition, industrious and frugal, and thoroughly honest in all his dealings. The funeral services were held on Monday.”

 

 

 

John Caldwell was a noted Missoula pioneer who first came to Montana with the John Mullan expedition and is cited by Frank Woody in his description of events of the time for his article about Missoula County in the book, History of Montana by Michael Leeson.

 

“The expedition of Lieutenant Mullan and the building of the Jocko agency brought a large number of men to this county, and a number of them remained and are now prominent citizens of our county, among whom are W. B. S. Higgins, John S. Caldwell, C. C. and D. C. O’Keefe, E. D. Dukes, John Chatfield, Charles Shaft, and some others whose names the writer has forgotten.”

 

Caldwell’s name also appears in the celebrated list of Missoula County residents during the winter of 1862-1863; a list held by the Montana Historical Society.

 

Woody also gives two descriptions of John Caldwell’s property as it related to other events of the time. Although he couldn’t furnish a precise description since the area had not been surveyed, the location of Caldwell’s ranch is well described.

 

“The treaty between the United States and the Confederated Flathead nation, consisting of the Flatheads, Pen d’Oreille, and Kootenai tribes, was concluded in a council held in July, 1855, in a large pine grove on the river, about eight miles below the present town of Missoula, and opposite to the farm of John S. Caldwell.”

 

And Woody again:

 

“In the spring of 1857 only a few men remained in the area. “Adams and Hereford went to the ‘Road’ to trade, McArthur and Brooks moved their stock to Hell’s Gate Ronde – or as it was commonly called Hell’s Gate – and located on land now owned by J. S. Caldwell.”

 

Caldwell was elected a Missoula County commissioner, serving from Feb. 1869 to Nov. 1872, according to Frank Woody in his valuable history ‘sketch’.

 

Caldwell’s small obituary states that he operated a ferry on the Missoula river for a period of 4 years. The location of the ferry was likely close to the junction of the Missoula and Bitter Root Rivers, but I cannot confirm it.

John Caldwell was mentioned by Bitter Root pioneer Robert Nichol in one of his articles that appeared in the Bitter Root newspaper, The Western News.

 

 

Robert Nicol wrote an account of these early days for The Western News of Hamilton, Mt., which appeared over a five-week period, starting March 7, 1894:

 

(See also, Bitterroot Trails – Volume One, by the Bitter Root Valley Historical Society, 1982.)

 

 

“In the fall of 1866 the first threshing machine made its appearance in the valley. It was owned by John S. Caldwell, who afterward located in Grass Valley, eight miles below Missoula. He brought the machine across the plains from Omaha, Nebraska, being he told me four months on the road. I afterward purchased a half interest in the machine with Jack Slack. I raised about 250 bushels of grain and my threshing bill amounted to $66.

 

“Mr. Caldwell told me his threshing accounts amounted to between $6,000 and $7,000 that fall, his charges being 25 cents per bushel for oats and 30 cents for wheat. Our money at this time was gold dust, everybody having gold scales, and he got his money as he went along, so it is easily seen that threshing was a paying business at that time.”

 

 

John Caldwell was also mentioned by the Missoulian in 1877 and is cited in the article about John Catlin that appears on the website oldmissoula.

 

J. S. Caldwell leaves for Fort Benton about June 1st, to bring in a steam thresher he is expecting about that time. He understands this business pretty thoroughly, having worn out one of these machines in the service in this country. He ordered through the well-known firm of T. C. Power & Co., of Helena, who do the bulk of the agricultural business in this county. [Caldwell & his thresher were mentioned above – he was a member of John Mullan’s road building expedition and former Missoula County commissioner. In his ‘Sketch’ written for the Montana Historical Society, Judge F. H. Woody stated that the location for the Hellgate Treaty at Council Grove west of Missoula was opposite Caldwell’s farm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Missoula claims 3 of these, only one born there.

The answer is Governors. Dixon, Cooney, and Bullock

There are slightly more than 1.67 million of these.

Answer is acres in Missoula County at one time.

Born & bred, Missoula’s only had one of these.

Answer is female Congresswoman, Jeannette Rankin.