With holiday travel upon us, it is interesting to consider how previous Montanans traveled throughout the state, region and nation to visit loved ones during this season of unpredictable weather. For those of us who drive to our destinations, it can be fun to look for indicators of previous travel modes in the remaining landscape. Abandoned railroad beds, ferry crossings and dilapidated bridges are indicators of the extraordinary evolution in transportation over the last 150 years.

Native American groups gathered in winter encampments from which they traveled by foot and later horse to procure food and to see other members of their tribe for social occasions. Physical indicators of these residences are subtle, but visible. Tipi rings, collections of stones in a circle which originally weighted down the edges of a hid-covered cylindrical tipi, can be found at various places throughout the state. Usually gathered in clusters of 11-50 tipis, these encampments were located adjacent to rivers and creeks in areas which could expect milder winter weather.

Permanent Anglo-European settlers arrived in Montana beginning in the 1850’s and established community sites alongside the resources they came to extract. Bannack, then Virginia City and other mining camps grew adjacent to
the streams from which gold was panned. Deer Lodge and Bozeman became centers for agriculture and supplies for area mining and ranching. The game trails used by Native Americans evolved into primitive roadways and many of our current state highways follow the same routes along low-lying river pathways and mountain passes.

An 1877 map labeled “New trans-continental map of the Pacific RR and routes of overland travel,” details travel corridors in the intermountain west. From Bozeman travelers could go west along the East Gallatin River to Three Forks and then south to Virginia City, Fort Hall and the Union Pacific Railroad stub at Corrine, Utah. Another stage road ran from Three Forks to Helena and then via the Mullan Wagon Road to Fort Benton, where paddleboats on the Missouri River carried passengers back “to the states.” Travelers west from Three Forks followed the current path of Interstate-90 west to Butte City and then followed the Clark Fork River to Deer Lodge and Fort Wright at “Hell Gate”- now known as Missoula. Points east of
Bozeman were closed in the late 1870’s, following the Plains War and Custer’s defeat in 1876.

An 1881 map indicates an expanded road network, including new routes north of Bozeman through “Bridger’s Pass” to Fort Howie (in the vicinity of present day Martinsdale), east from Bozeman over Bozeman Pass to the Crow Agency, then located a few miles east of present day Livingston (not founded for another two years), and south from Bozeman along Hayden Creek and Trail Creeks into the Yellowstone Valley nearly to Emigrant.

Montana historical archives abound with stories of winter travelers piling on warm clothing and buffalo robes, and placing heated bricks near their feet to survive a trip. Stage routes offered a tavern every 20 miles or so; the extent that a team of horses pulling a stage coach or sleigh could travel before needing to change horses. These taverns offered warm fires, food and drink, and rooms for rent, though an overnight guest usually shared a bed with a fellow traveler. Many passengers would abandon the stage for the tavern to warm up for 15 minutes while the stage driver changed horses.

With careful observation, these stage roads are still visible on the landscape (and passable with a four-wheel drive vehicle). They are often narrow, twisting roads most easily identified when they cut through a hillside or coulee. Occasional tavern houses can still be found; usually built of log with a nearby corral or barn for the teams of horses needed to pull the coaches. The Red Bluff Experiment Station between Four Corners and Norris originated as a stage stop and the old stage roadbed is visible on the north side of the canyon as you climb up the east side of the pass between Ennis and Norris.

The arrival of the railroad and passenger service after March of 1883 widened travel options. The east-west running rail line enabled travelers to leave Bozeman’s passenger station on Front Street, travel to points on the line, and then use a carriage or sleigh to travel north or south in portions of the state. Bozeman’s remaining NP passenger depot, at 826 Front Street, is actually the third iteration of a depot on the site. It is a 1924 remodel of an 1891 building, which replaced an 1882 frame building damaged by fire.

Other railroads sprung up in 1880’s and 1890’s, further developing passenger service in the state. The Great Northern Railroad completed its transcontinental line in 1893. While the main line ran primarily east-west across the northern portion of the state (paralleling modern Highway 2), the GN sent a number of stub lines southward to Great Falls, Helena and Billings in order connect to the NP rail network.

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, known as the Milwaukee Road, was the last major transcontinental railroad to arrive in Montana and many indicators of the railroad’s existence dot the state’s landscape. The Milwaukee’s construction focused on high quality bridge and tunnel construction and a number of steel bridges and trestles remain, especially along I-90 west of Missoula.

In 1916 the Milwaukee Road bought electricity from Montana Power’s new dam on the Missouri River at Great Falls to electrify their railway between Harlowton, Montana and Avery, Idaho, necessitating the construction of 22 large brick substations. Two substations are easily visible: one with a tree growing through it about 30 miles east of Missoula on the south side of I-90 and another is alongside Montana highway 294 between Martinsdale and the road’s intersection with highway 89.

At the turn of the 20th century Montana’s transportation network included trails, paddleboats on the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, primitive roads, improved coach roads, “MacAdamized” (graveled) roads and rail lines. All of these modes of transportation left visible indicators on our landscape.

Courtney Kramer is a proud graduate of MSU’s History Department and serves as the City of Bozeman’s Historic Preservation Officer. She may be contacted at the City Planning Office, 406-582-2260 or via email at ckramer@bozeman.net. More information about Bozeman’s historic districts is available at www.preservebozeman.org.