The Roaring 20's was a boom to the future of Blaine County

 

July 29, 2020

In my 10 plus years of writing articles for the Blaine County Journal News~Opinion I have covered a wide range of subject matter. From high school sports to school functions. Agriculture, public events, fundraisers, fairs, Powwows, rodeos and many more. The list is a long one, and I have enjoyed everyone.

One thing that I have found very interesting is the wide range of subject matter our readers like to see in the paper. We have a strong readership in following the local high school sports. School activities, FFA, Concerts, Speech and Drama are all received.

The Blaine County Fair, Powwows and local non-profits are always big draws amongst our readers, but through it all there is a connected interest to the past. The history of the Hi-line, Blaine County is something that many of our readers enjoy in connecting the past to the present.

Blaine County has a very long history and for an area this size and with such a small population it has been very well documented. For some time, I have wanted to take a deep dive into some of this history and share my findings with our readers. There are plenty of resources that document some very interesting facts about the county, and I will include some of those anecdotes for you in this article.

Looking ahead though I am very interested in reaching out to the members of our community to add a more personal touch to some interesting events in our history that may not be documented. I am looking for readers from all points of the county, the Big Flat to Chinook, to Cleveland and south through the Bear Paws on down to the Missouri River Breaks. I'm interested in old stories from Harlem Fort Belknap Agency, Hays, Lodge Pole and Mission Canyon. If anyone has a story they would like me to cover please contact me at bcjads@mtintouch.net or frate_kracker@icloud.com.

My first story will be a trip through the Bear Paw's with Frank and Bettie Barber. We will be visiting various sights, gathering a little history along the way and then share it with our readers. Did you know at one point there was a golf course in the Bear Paws. Know about the Bear Paw store and post office? There is a marker designating its location. These are some of the things we will look into and I'd like to do the same with all parts Blaine County.

As far as some interesting facts about the history of Blaine County, here are a few:

~ Did you know that the original home of the fort Belknap Agency was located just south of the present-day location of Chinook? In 1886 Blaine County saw its first day of school here. 1886 also saw one of the most destructive winters on the local cattle herds.

~ The Great Northern Railroad planted roots in the area when they completed the rail line from Minot, ND as it passed through Harlem on August 24, 1887.

~ The St. Paul's Mission in the Little Rockies was completed in September of 1887 with Father Frederick Hugo Eberschweiler as the first Priest to serve there.

~In 1888 the Fort Belknap Agency was moved to its present location south of the Milk River and Harlem, MT. and the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was established with an enrollment of 964 Gros Ventre and 830 Assiniboine Tribe Members. The location included a trading post early on operated by Charles A. Smith Sr., Office Buildings, A Boarding School, Laundry Services, a Dairy Barn and housing for agency workers. Telephone services arrived by 1914 and the Great Falls Power Company began serving the Agency in 1926. By 1985 enrollment had risen to over 4,000 with about 25% living at the Agency. The Agency also included a maintained 18 bed hospital on sight early on that has gone through many remodels in the years since.

~ 1890 Saw the first day of School on Fort Belknap with 14 students attending Edith Simmons Class. The first school in Harlem was built in 1892 and subsequently schools were constructed in Chinook Turner, Hogeland and Dodson as well as a number of smaller schools in the Bear Paws.

The area continued to grow and as technology improved and farms and ranches began to really take shape in the early 1900's the county saw a huge economic boom. Following the end of World War I the 1920's were a period of robust growth with the railroad providing a reliable service, the Agricultural industry was in high gear.

Business of all sorts filled the communities with over 50 blacksmiths serving the Harlem and Chinook areas, there were dance halls, countless restaurants and mercantile stores. The auto industry was booming, and Chinook became home to the Sugarbeet Factory.

There are so many interesting anecdotes that accompany so many of these businesses and I would like to learn about them. If any of our readers have personal family connections to these early businesses, the development of Fort Belknap, the agency or the Big Flat let me know. I would love to learn about it.

 
 

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