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CASCADE |
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In 1882, the present site
of
prairie,
upon which grazed hundreds of buffalo and antelope. Along the banks of
the
made their
camps. Save the ceaseless plunge of the old
rapids and
falls, there was nothing to indicate the upbuilding of
a great
manufacturing and commercial center.
In that year, 1882, a
visit was made to this place by Paris Gibson, who perceived
the immense
possibilities of the situation. A number of other gentlemen were
interested,
and in 1884 the original townsite of
the town had grown to a population of 500, and in that year the
Great Northern
reached the town and gave it an impetus which sent it straight
on toward the
proportions of a city.
Its’ growth from that
time has been steady, substantial and progressive. Capital
was attracted by
the magnificent possibilities of profitable investment offered, and
labor
followed closely in its’ wake.
Business blocks, equal to
any in older and larger cities, were erected and
comfortable and commodious
homes followed as the residence portion was built up.
Manufacturing
industries of various kinds were located, and proved lucrative
investments.
The great water power of the
Montana Smelting
Company, and they moved their plant here from
industrial enterprises
followed the example, and the near future will see the banks
of the Missouri
at Great Falls the seat of an industrial community as busy as are
those on
the banks of the Merrimac and its’ tributaries.
While the recent panic
brought with it doubt and distrust, and called a halt to the
growth and
expansion of the city, it was a pause only, and already the
is regaining its’ old-time gait,
which will eventually make it the metropolis of the
Northwest.
Outside of the
indomitable energy of its’ citizens, the secret of
perity and the guarantee of
its future greatness is found in the great water power
furnished by the
out in a recent
article by M.S. Parker, C.E., from which the following extracts
are
taken:
“Among the large water
powers of this country, the falls of the Missouri river in
The full development of this
great power would, naturally, under other conditions,
be slower of development than that of
“The falls of the
over a distance of 16
miles, from the crossing of the river by the Great Northern
railway bridge at
the head to the mouth of Belt Creek. The principle cascades, in the
order in
which they occur, are called Black Eagle, Rainbow, Crooked and the
falls
falls,
and below the last named, are series of smaller cascades and rapids capable of
development into what would be considered large powers in section of this
country
less favored by nature with respect to water power.
With a population of
11,269,
progressive city, with all the conveniences which that
implies; in fact, her equipment
in that respect puts many an older and larger
rival to blush. Situated in the center of a
great mining, agricultural and
grazing country, she has a magnificent future before her.
DIRECTORY AND GAZETTEER
of
ARMINGTON
Armington is situated in the Belt valley,
23 miles east of
Branch
of the Montana Central and the Great Falls & Lewistown Mail and Stage Line.
It is the receiving and shipping point for merchandise of wool, cattle,
sheep and horses
for Geyser, Stanford,
Country. The resources are coal,
produce of all kinds, cattle, hogs, sheep and horses.
BELT
This busy mining camp is
situated on the Neihart branch of the Montana Central
railroad, about 26 miles from
operations and has had a marvelous
growth since 1894. Before that time, in
1877, J.K. Castner had prospected successfully for coal and he and
Michael Worley
began mining operations in that
year, shipping the product to
work was stopped on the mine on
account of the high freight rates charged by the
railroad company who controlled
the mines at Sand Coulee. In 1893, the property
passed into the hands of the
Anaconda Mining company.
Belt was first called
was afterward
changed to the present name. Belt is a live hustling town and has a
prosperous future in store, and is well supplied with the conveniences of
civilization.
There are several churches, a bank, large stores and a weekly
paper.
CASCADE
Cascade is situated on
the north bank of the Missouri river on the Great
Northern R.R., opposite the
beautiful Chestnut valley noted for its’ beautiful
homes and its’ fine ranches, which
are stocked with fine thoroughbred horses
and cattle. Sheep raising is one of the leading industries in this immediate
vicinity. Within a radius of 35
miles, there are about 250,000 sheep, 75,000
head of cattle and 50,000 head of
horses. The town of
about 100 inhabitants, but two
years ago there were more than 200 persons
registered at this point. The
school facilities are of the best and are under the
able supervision of Prof. Geo. H.
Mullery. There are two churches, two
blacksmith
shops, two hotels and one livery
stable.
Mr. Thomas Graham was the
founder of the town which has grown to be one of
the most thriving in Cascade county. At present a ditch is being constructed in
the Chestnut valley which will be
capable of carrying 25,000 inches of water and
which will, when completed, make
the Chestnut valley the garden spot of
great numbers. Close to Cascade
there are large “sloughs” where geese and
ducks gather in great numbers in
the fall of the year, making a perfect paradise
for the hunter.
Mr. Robt. Chestnut, who settled more than 30 years ago in the
valley which
bears his name, is still an
honored resident.
CORA
Cora is situated about 28
miles east of
is the center of a prosperous community of
stock growers. Sheep raising takes the
lead, and
there are 50,000 head of sheep within a radius of 10 miles from Cora.
EVANS
Evans is a country
village, consisting of not more than half a dozen houses, and a
post office,
about 28 miles south of
Sand Coulee, and is usually called
Upper Sand Coulee. It was settled about the
year 1879 by Messrs. Jamison,
Johnson, Fowler and Tague, the two latter
gentlemen having come from the
13 and School District No. 14.
There are about 150 voters in the precinct, and
about 40 school children in the
district, with three schools, No. 1, 2, and 3. Miss
Maud Warner is teacher in the
primary department; Miss Olive Brown in the
intermediate, and Miss Steff in the fifth and sixth grades. The school directors
are: James Collard, chairman; Mrs.
Wm. Warner and Geo. Gillet. Argiculture is the
main industry of Evans, it being
known throughout that part of Cascade county as
the “
splendid water for all purposes,
and crops have never been known to fail.
William Warner is the postmaster.
GEYSER
Geyser is situated about
47 miles from
Armington, the shipping point on the Neihart branch of the Montana Central.
There is considerable farming
carried on in the vicinity, but stock-raising is the
principle industry. Mail arrives
on the stage daily, and there is telephone
connection with the principal
places in the state.
HARDY
Hardy is a station on the
Montana Central, 47 miles from
and agri-culture are the leading occupations. Hardy is also the
distributing point
for the upper Chestnut valley.
HEPLER
Hepler is a post office six miles above
KIBBEY
Kibbey is a post office on Otter creek,
about 43 miles southwest of
and 9 Northeast of Monarch. It is
the center of a very fine country, which is
being rapidly developed. The
Montana Stucco Works are located here, and the
gypsum mines are of a very high
grade.
LOGGING CREEK
Logging Creek is located on the
Niehart branch of the Montana Central, at the
mouth of Logging creek and is
noted for the fine quality of lime rock for making
lime and fluxing and the excellent
fir timber in the immediate vicinity, which is
driven down Logging Creek. The
place is also noted for trout fishing, the trout
being very plentiful in both
Logging and Belt Creeks. Gold placer mines extend
for 10 miles up Logging creek. The
quartz mines of the carbonate district are
very rich in silver and gold and
claim the largest lead of copper in the state.
MID - CANYON
Mid-Canyon is a farm post office
on the Montana Central about 45 miles
southwest of
Mr. James Wantz, one of the first settlers, has been particularly
successful in the
introduction and culture of the
small fruits, as well as tomatoes and melons,
marketing seven tons of tomatoes
from 4,000 plants.
MILLIGAN
Milligan is the center of
a very fine stock-raising country, about 47 miles south
of
MONARCH
Monarch is a beautiful
canyon town on the banks of Belt creek, at the junction of
the Barker and Neihart branches of the Montana Central railway, surrounded
by
the rich agricultural districts of
Kibbey, Belt, Park, and the
which are renowned for fertility
of soil and the abundance of rich pasturage for
stock-raising purposes. This is
the distributing point for supplies of hay, grain and
all the cereals for the mining
camps of Sand Coulee, Belt, Armington, Neihart and
Barker, from, the outlying
agricultural districts, this being their nearest shipping
point. The coal camps of Sand
Coulee, Belt and Armington have for years past
received all their mining timber
from this point, and the demand for poles and
cordwood for the
The railroad ships a
large amount of cordwood each year for its ‘ own use
from
Monarch, making it a noted timber
center. Monarch is also noted for being a
natural summer resort, furnishing
the finest fishing in
supplied with trout and whitefish,
and the streams of Dry Fork, Tillinghast, Pilgrim,
and Tenderfoot are literally full
of trout and greyling. These streams being quite
near Monarch, make it one of the pleasantest resorts of
patronized by tourists. The
surrounding mountains for a distance of 20 miles
abound with all the kinds of game
for which
is 4.553 feet sea level. The
population is about 100.
RICEVILLE
Riceville is a signal
station on the Neihart branch of the MontanaCentral, 38 miles
from
SAND COULEE
Sand Coulee is an
unincorporated mining camp of 2000 inhabitants, 12 miles
southeast of
Great
Northern Railroad company, the Great Northern Express company and the
Western Union Telegraph company. It was first settled in 1888 as a mining
camp,
but Eugene Willis, a colored man located the first coal claim in
1883.
Sand Coulee has three churches - Methodist Episcopal, Slavonian Roman Catholic
and Finnish Lutheran; three
libraries - English, Scandinavian and Finnish; the
English library contains 1,200
volumes and is supported by the employees of the
coal company, formed into an
association; a good public school with four teachers;
a bank, three hotels, one
restaurant, one general store; one furnishing house; a
brickyard one mile north of town,
and several small coal mines for local and
country trade; two brass bands,
one orchestra; several secret societies; one labor
organization, known as the Western
Federation of Miners (Inc.) ;two livery stables;
one laundry; and an opera house
with a seating capacity of 300, and also a
gymnasium in connection. Sand
Coulee is represented by one newspaper, the
correspondent for the Times. T.A.
Gillespie is postmaster.
St.
miles from
country is Devoted to agriculture
and grazing. Extensive Indian schools are carried
on by the Jesuit Fathers and Ursuline Nums.
SUNNYSIDE
Sunnyside is situated 13 miles west of Great Fall, with
daily stage connections.
Several large ranches are in the
immediate vicinity.
Sun River is situated 20
miles west of
best farming land in
irrigation is extensively used.
Mining is also carried on. There is a daily stage from
TRULY
Truly is situated 13 miles southwest of
agricultural community. Cattle and
sheep raising are extensively carried on. There
are also excellent coal deposits
in the vicinity.
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Last Updated March 27,
2008
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John Birkholz All rights reserved.
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