The First White Women of Montana On a cold evening, in the month of December, of the year 1859, I, a solitary and tired traveler, arrived at the house of Antoine Plant, on the Spokane river, in Washington Territory, and begged the proprietor of the half-breed establishment for a Read More
Reminiscences of the Mullan Expedition by Charles Schafft – From The Benton Weekly Record – Jan 2, 1880 Commencing at Walla Walla, in Washington Territory, and terminating at Fort Benton, in Montana, is located one of the oldest public roads in the Territory. Its construction was commenced and consummated Read More
Introduction to Charles Schafft – A Beguiling Missoula Pioneer/Writer/Soldier/Historian/Mullan Road Builder Following is an introduction to one of Missoula’s most fascinating pioneers, Charles Schafft. He arrived in the Missoula area while working with the famed Mullan Expedition and lived there on and off until his death. He was a Read More
A VERITABLE HISTORY OF HELL GATE. [In 2 Parts] By One Who has Stood in the Portals. (The following history of Hell Gate relates to the now deserted village of Hell Gate, situated a few miles west of Missoula. It was the first town in Montana, and the writer, who Read More
Missions / Indian Legends / Bad Spirts & Submarine Assemblage of a Very Large Beaver The story below appeared in the Pioneer Day bulletin, issued by the State of Montana – Department of Public Instruction, November 3, 1911. The first Friday of November each year shall be designated Read More
LEWISTON IDAHO – A VIOLATION As noted earlier, the activity near the new towns of Orofino and Lewiston (as well as in most other prominent gold strike communities) would have been remarkable. By late 1861 some of the Nez Perce people were taking advantage of the circumstances for their own Read More
Blackfoot City – Carpenter Bar – Largest Gold Nugget – Calamity Jane Below is a description of the Blackfoot City mining area available at the Montana Abandoned Mine Lands web site: Located about 25 miles west-northwest of Helena near the town of Avon is the Ophir District. The district lies Read More
Cousins In his interview with A. L. Stone above, Catlin mentioned that his cousins, named Elliott, lived in the Bitter Root and that he wanted to visit them after returning from the coast. Eventually, Catlin would settle near these cousins in the Bitterroot, close to what is present day Hamilton, Montana. Read More
John Catlin’s biography from Progressive Men Of Montana continued: They arrived in Virginia City, Mont., in December, 1866, where Mr. Catlin remained for a time, then with five other men he took a stock of supplies to near the mouth of Divide creek in Deer Lodge county, where they erected Read More
Finding A Home A. L. Stone wrote a second article about John Catlin appearing in The Missoulian on January 20, 1912: The general eastern idea of Montana, even now, is pretty vague. And this condition exists in spite of the publicity which has been given our state and its resources, Read More