Livingston's West Side Residential Historical District.

This afternoon I decided to combine a little exercise for myself and my dogs with a quest for historical information to pass along. Our outing took us to the West Side Residential Historical District here in Livingston. I have been meaning to walk along Yellowstone Street to read all the historical plaques and today turned out the be the perfect day for it.

Yellowstone Street is probably the best known street in our little town. On the southern end of the street, leading from the main highway to Yellowstone River, lie some of the nicest old homes in town. Nothing says elegance to me more than wrought iron fences and stately stone or brick homes. For the youngsters in Livingston, Yellowstone Street has a different appeal, it is “the” place to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.
All of the homes along the street are interesting to look at, their historical register plaques telling of their architectural design and the history of the people who designed, built and resided in them. There are examples of Queen Anne, Italianate, and Colonial Revival. While all of the architectural stuff is interesting, the best part is the stories of the men and women who lived there.

I think my two favorite houses of those we saw today were the Hefferlin house at 224 South Yellowstone and the brick house at 128 South Yellowstone. If you have been following this blog, the name Hefferlin will sound familiar.  In my August 2, entry I mentioned Gary Fish portraying Charles Hefferlin during the Cemetery Walk. I learned a little more of the Hefferlin family by reading the plaque on the family home. The brick home at 128, was, for a time, the Lott Birthing Hospital, run by local nurse, Edith Lott. I am hoping to find out more about the history of birthing hospitals in the 1920’s.

For more information about the West Side Residential Historical District or any other site in Montana on the National Register of Historical Places, you can go to the Montana Historical Society Research Center’s website and click on the Montana History Wiki. http://mhs.mt.gov/research/

Triumph and Tragedy, Cromwell Dixon July 9,1892-October 2, 1911

September 30, 2011 marks the 100^th anniversary of Cromwell Dixon’s flight from Helena to Blossburg. Dixon was the first pilot to fly over the Continental Divide. The feat was especially noteworthy when you consider that his airplane which resembled a motorized bicycle with wings. This daring flight, in addition to establishing a world record, netted him a reward of $10,000 which was offered by local aviation enthusiasts for the first airplane to fly over the Divide, among them Louis W. Hill, President of the Great Northern Railroad, Lewis Penwell, president of the state fair and land dealer, and John Ringling, of circus fame.

The Exhibition flight was part of the Montana State Fair and a large crowd gathered at the fairgrounds to watch. At 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon, in less than perfect flying conditions, Dixon took off. He circled the field once and headed west into strong headwinds, his destination seventeen miles away. The townspeople of Blossburg, excited to be a part of history, had built a fire to provide smoke to guide the aviator to their location. At 2:34 pm Cromwell Dixon landed in a grassy field, a short distance from town and delivered a letter of appreciation from Montana Governor, Edwin L. Norris to the people of Blossburg,. After sending a telegram to the Curtiss Exhibition Company in New York, advising him of his accomplishment, he climbed back onto his airplane and took off, flying back to Helena.

Cromwell Dixon’s next flying exhibition was not so triumphant. The Curtiss Exhibition Company, Dixon’s sponsor and booking agency, had booked him along with another aviator, to make three flights daily at the Interstate Fairgrounds at Spokane Washington. On October 2, 1911, just two days after his record breaking flight in Montana, Cromwell Dixon died from injuries sustained when his plane crashed to the ground during his first scheduled flight of the engagement. The horrified crowd watched as his plane fell more than a hundred feet. He was still alive when pulled from the wreckage but died less than an hour later at the Emergency hospital in Spokane. At the time of his death, he was only nineteen, the youngest licensed pilot in the country.
　
You can read more about Cromwell Dixon and other aviators in Montana history in Frank W. Wiley's book, Montana and the Sky, which was published by the Montana Aeronautics Commision in 1966

In Memory of those who lost their lives. Fort Peck Dam, September 22, 1938

Sometimes the only way to make your way into history books is to die doing something noteworthy. On September 22, 1938. A huge section of the Fort Peck Dam slid, killing eight workers. Two of the bodies were recovered, the others still lie beneath the dam.The slide set the work on the dam by almost an entire year.  Fort Peck Dam was part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal to put Americans back to work during the Great Depression. The huge dam was planned to provide flood control. Thousands of workers moved to the area to be a part of the huge project. After the job was done, most moved on. Those eight men, who died that September Day were just doing their jobs, but they will be remembered by every visitor who sees the memorial at the Dam. Their deaths remind us of the price that sometimes has to be paid to conquer and harness nature.



Aerial view of the Slide at Fort Peck Dam, September 22, 1938

 There is much information about the dam on line, one source that gives a pretty good general picture is http://www.fortpeckdam.com/ .  To learn more about how the workers lived, I recommend the book, Fifty Cents an Hour: The Builders and Boomtowns of the Fort Peck Dam, by Lois Lonnquist

 

Before Manhattan was Manhattan

On my way home from Helena last weekend, I decided to stop and check out an interesting historical story tip that I received recently from a clerk at Walmart. (It never fails to amaze me how many people are interested in history and how often the subject comes up in every day conversations) To check it out I needed to exit Interstate 90 at the Manhattan exit and follow the sign directing me toward Amsterdam. Just a mile or two, on the left hand side of the road, I found the turn-off I was looking for- the road to Meadow View Cemetery. At the entrance to the cemetery I found a historical marker placed by the Gallatin Historical Society, From this sign I got a brief lesson on the history of Manhattan Montana.

Text of Sign

Hamilton

Early Day Manhattan

This location of an early day (1860’s) stage stop provided over-night accommodations for the Bozeman-Virginia City -Helena Stages. Hamilton was named for Ted Hamilton. The town was most active in the 1960’s and 1970’s. There was a hotel, churches, stores, blacksmith shop, post office and cemetery. No saloon due to an active “Good Temperance Lodge.” From 1875-1878, a Female Seminary (Girl’s boarding and day school) operated one mile east on the Heeb Lane. A stone church was built there in 1878. With the coming of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883 the town moved to the railroad and was renamed Moreland. New York investors started the Manhattan Malting Company. They encouraged Holland Immigrants (farmers) to come and raise Barley. The name changed again from Moreland to Manhattan. (1891). Prohibition closed the malt plant. The Meadow View Cemetery remains at the old Hamilton Site.
　

While this was not the information I was seeking it was certainly interesting.  Not only did Manhattan start out with a different, well two different names, but it also was like many Montana towns that changed location to be near the railroads that played such a significant role in our history.

As far as the other matter, the tip I was following, there is more investigation to do before I pass that along.

A Visit to Helena Montana

I set out Friday afternoon to do some research at the Montana Historical Society Research Center. It turned out to be a spectacular weekend. After spending a couple of hours at the research center, I spent the rest of Friday evening exploring Helena. I will have to get a bumper sticker that says: This vehicle stops at all historical markers. I found some interesting homes along Rodney Street that I have overlooked on previous visits. Most of the time I drive to the Museum, maybe hit Last Chance Gulch and Forestvale Cemetery then head home.

Saturday morning before heading back the research center. I grabbed my camera and headed back to Last Chance Gulch to do some more exploring on foot. I took the time to read all of the National Historical Register Plaques and to admire some of the details on the buildings. Downtown Helena is really quite beautiful , the newer buildings designed to fit in with the ones that have been there nearly a century and a half. There are also small parks tucked away in unexpected places and benches everywhere so you can stop and savor the atmosphere.

There are several really exceptional buildings but my three favorites are the Power Block, the Atlas building and the Securities Building.

 

Another of my favorite buildings is the Park Avenue bakery which is located in the historic Eddy’s bakery on Park Avenue. Of course I go there to do more that admire the old building. Saturday morning I enjoyed the best blueberry scone that was ever made, It had the perfect balance of texture and flavor and I am sure that it was enhanced by sitting on the patio out front, looking back toward the gulch. Anyone stopping at the bakery should take a second to look at the ceiling.

On the way back to the car, I stopped in a store called Montana Book and Toy Company. They had an excellent selection of Montana history books, the title noticeably missing from their shelves was my book, MONTANA DISASTERS, but hopefully they will remedy that small problem soon. I would encourage anyone visiting the walking mall on Last Chance Gulch to check it out. Another business shouldn’t be overlooked is the Parrot, which has been in business since 1922. I don’t know how they arrived at that name, but inside there is an old soda fountain and hand-dipped chocolates. It is a good thing that Last Chance Gulch is a walking mall, visitors need to burn off some of the extra calories they get from indulging in the rich treats.

Back at the research center, I spent a few more hours digging up information for my next book as well as some tidbits for this blog. After wrapping up there I stopped in the Museum Gift Store to see what was new in their selection of Montana books. I was pleased to see that they had a few copies of my book on hand. Then it was time to head home. Of course it took me almost five hours to make a normally two hour trip, because my van does stop for all historical spots.

The Women of Bannack

I used to wish I had been born in more exciting time.  When I first visited Virginia City and Bannack I thought that living during the gold rush would have been thrilling.  After reading some the letters and diaries written by women who lived in Bannack, I realize that I was delusional.  While men had all sorts of diversions to occupy their time, saloons, stores, dance halls, not to mention politics and hard work, respectable women had only their homes and families. 

Emily Meredith and her husband Frederick spent the winter of 18262-63 in Bannack.  She found it to be a barbaric place full of Southern sympathizers and no sign of religion.  In a letter to her father, written the following spring, she wrote, "I don't know how many deaths occurred this winter but that there have not been twice as many, is entirely owing to the fact that drunken men do not shoot well."    

In her letters to her sister "back in the States" Mary Edgerton writes of doing without the things that she had been accustomed to having. When describing her family's living arrangement, she writes: "We are all living, or staying rather in a house."  That single sentence summarizes how Mary felt about the time she spent in Bannack.  If you are able to find a copy of the book, A Governor's Wife on the Mining Frontier, the Letters of Mary Edgerton from Montana 1863-1865, it will give you a good idea of what life was like in the early days of Bannack.  The complete text of Emily Merediths Letter can be found in the book, Not in Precious Metals Alone: a Manuscript History of Montana.

Answer to last Tuesday's Mystery photo

Last Tuesday I posted a photo of a two-story outhouse.  I had several people guess that it was taken in Bannack but the actual location is Nevada City Montana.

Bannack, Gold Camp and Montana's First Territorial Capital

This is a great time of year to visit Bannack State Park.  The Park is open year round and I have visited there during every season but Fall is my favorite.  After Labor Day the Visitor Center is only open on the weekends,  but I encourage you to visit on the weekdays if you have the luxury of doing so. You can have the place almost to yourself and it is easier to let your imagination take over if the only sounds you hear are the creek, the wind and the occasional sound of a maintenance worker going about his business. 

Bannack grew up along the banks of Grasshopper Creek after John White discovered gold there in 1862.  But rather than giving the history of the town I suggest that you visit the official website of Bannack State Park, there you can view a map of the town, take a photo tour and get all of the information about the park's hours and activities.

http://bannack.org/index.htm

Watch for upcoming posts for some interesting stories of Bannack's history.