Jan. 4, 1864"Good-bye, boys; God bless you, you are on a good undertaking."
So supposedly said Red Yeager before the vigilantes of southwestern Montana strung him up from a cottonwood tree at a ranch established the previous summer by John Batiste Laurin (pronounced "la-RAY") on the Ruby River.
Capt. James William and his posse were returning from a cold and fruitless ride from Alder Gulch to Deer Lodge, where a notorious road agent, Alex Carter, was reported to be hanging out. Carter was nowhere to be found. The vigilantes suspected Yeager and Brown of delivering a warning to him.
When apprehended, both men confessed, according to the posse. Before he was hanged, Yeager revealed the names of his fellow agents. One of those he pointed to was Henry Plummer, sheriff of Bannack.
The two bodies were left hanging for days with signs labeling them road agents pinned to their backs.
Dec. 30, 1864
The first territorial Legislature, meeting in Gov. Sidney Edgerton's dirt-roofed cabin in Bannack City, incorporated Montana's first town - Virginia City.
By then Virginia had far outstripped its older cousin to the west, but Edgerton had made his "home camp" the capital of the territory several months earlier.
The legislators detailed the duties of a city council, a mayor and other administrative positions in Virginia. They also provided for a water company, and repealed Virginia City's incorporation of the previous January by the Idaho Territorial Legislature.
Elections for town offices were set for the first Monday of February 1865, when Paris Pfouts was elected mayor. Later in the two-month legislative session, Virginia City won out over Bannack and Nevada City for the right to seat the territorial government.
The session was marked by divisiveness centered on politics of the ongoing Civil War. Voters had elected a pro-secessionist Democratic majority, while the officers appointed by Abraham Lincoln were Republicans, or unionists. Edgerton didn't help matters when he addressed the session earlier in the month by calling former Democratic President James Buchanan an imbecile.
Jan. 1, 1892
"The iron horse has at last snorted in the Garden of Eden of Montana."
So proclaimed one of four weekly papers that had sprung up in Kalispell since the previous May after the town site was laid out in anticipation of the Great Northern Railroad.
The first train rolled through downtown on New Year's Day amid a huge celebration. A spike made from silver coins donated by the citizens was hammered into the final tie.
"Although the City of Kalispell dates its inception several months back, it makes its debut today in the commercial world," another newspaper said. "Hitherto its citizens have modestly refrained from sounding the praises of their city, but the time has arrived to lay claim to prominence and to proclaim to the world the proud position occupied."
Indeed, the railroad attracted tourists, settlers and businessmen, but its time in Kalispell was short-lived. In 1904 the main line of the GN was moved north to Whitefish.
The Great Northern depot in Kalispell has been renovated and today serves as a visitor center for the Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce.
Kim Briggeman can be reached at 523-5266 or at kbriggeman@missoulian.com.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)