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    Big Timber
    Big Timber
    Big Timber
    Ebook170 pages49 minutes

    Big Timber

    By Leslie Paulson Stryker and Crazy Mountain Museum

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    About this ebook

    Big Timber, watched over by the Crazy Mountains of Southwest Montana, has always been named for its natural surroundings. Big Timber was originally founded in the late 1800s. An Irish immigrant named the settlement Dornix, from the Gaelic word “durnog,” which when translated means “a rock that fits in the hand and is handy for throwing,” and there are indeed many such rocks around the region. In 1883, however, when complications with the railroad forced the town to move to its present-day location, it was renamed Big Timber, for the grand and plentiful cottonwood trees along the banks of the nearby Boulder and Yellowstone Rivers. Pioneers began arriving in earnest around 1890, bringing with them sheep, and by 1892, Big Timber was among the world’s largest exporters of wool. Later, when a fire devastated the town, the community stood together to rebuild.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439623176
    Big Timber
    Author

    Leslie Paulson Stryker

    Local resident Leslie Paulson Stryker offers a visual glimpse into this mountain community’s origins through the photographic archives of the Crazy Mountain Museum. Stryker delves into the history and beauty of this rugged, picturesque, western town, showing through the years Big Timber’s growth, industry, and sense of unity, which is alive and well in this lovely town to this day.

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      Book preview

      Big Timber - Leslie Paulson Stryker

      North."

      INTRODUCTION

      Like the rivers and creeks that surround it ebb and flow, so too has the history of Big Timber, Montana.

      Beginning in 1806 when William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, first stopped here and named the area Rivers Across because of the merging of the Boulder River and the Big Timber Creek into the Yellowstone River, the town and surrounding area have seen many changes. And yet even today, visitors and residents alike will tell you that Big Timber remains in many ways a place where time stands still.

      Those who drive down the main street of town, called McLeod Street after W. F. McLeod, the first permanent homesteader in the Boulder Valley, who arrived in 1882, can see and feel that much has transpired here through the years.

      In the beginning, the main inhabitants of the area were the Crow Indians. The Blackfoot and Sioux Indians also traveled in and out of the area. Then slowly, the white man started to arrive. They came in small numbers at first, by wagon trains, stagecoach, and ox team or on horseback. Some of them herded cattle or sheep long distances in order to have a way to make a living and survive, while others chose to bring family heirlooms as a way to keep those they left behind close at heart. It was a difficult journey at best, and there was not much here once they finally arrived.

      Originally, the town of Big Timber was a settlement named Dornix by an Irish immigrant. The word Dornix is derived from a Gaelic word, Durnog, which means a rock that fits in the hand and is handy for throwing, and even to this day, the ground is littered with just such rocks.

      When the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived in 1882, the settlement was relocated (to the present location) and given the name Big Timber. With the completion of the railroad in 1883, the settlement became a town that quickly started to progress and prosper. Not only did the physical size of the town grow, but the population of both people and sheep exploded as well. By 1892, Big Timber was one of the largest exporters of wool in the world. More than 2 million pounds were shipped out by rail that year alone.

      By 1894, other commerce was booming as well. The Big Timber Pioneer newspaper was started in 1889 and is still in print today. By 1893, the population had doubled to 500. And by 1898, the Sweet Grass County Courthouse had been built and the town could boast of having more varied and numerous businesses than just the essential establishments most new frontier towns had.

      Around this time, several of the founding fathers were actively helping mold and shape the town. By using their imaginations and finances to build such things as a wool warehouse, a toll bridge over the Yellowstone River, and several businesses in town, they were helping set the tone for other investors coming into town. It is interesting to note that even the roads in town were paved. Not in the modern-day style with asphalt but with large smooth rocks. It was a very ingenious way to keep the mud roads from washing out. Big Timber was established, prosperous, and continuing to grow.

      Then, in 1908, on a windy Big Timber day, tragedy struck the entire town. It should be duly noted that Big Timber and the surrounding areas are typically very windy from late fall until early summer. The area sits between the mountains that create these winds and funnel them along through the area. This particular tragedy happened on Friday, March 13, 1908; it was a massive fire. The fire was started by embers blowing from the smokestack of a train making a stop at the train station. Because of the strong and gusty wind, the embers quickly scattered and set fire to a large rubbish pile near the tracks, which in turn started a grass fire. By then, the winds were spreading embers and starting fires across the entire town. With so many fires all burning at once and in so many different locations, the fire department just could not keep up, and by the time it was finally out (even with the help of some neighboring firemen and their trucks from Livingston), more than one-third of the town was destroyed. It was a devastating blow to everyone but especially to those who lost everything.

      Even before the smoke had cleared, the mood of the town was one of survival and determination. Those who had survived without a loss would do all they could to help those who had lost it all. The businessmen of the community started right away to rebuild the businesses that were lost with both financial and physical help. The Northern Pacific Railroad admitted negligence and offered funds to those who had suffered. But even with determination and money, it still took a long time for things to be rebuilt. Many establishments just rebuilt while others took the opportunity to enlarge

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