Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

This Month in Montana History: September

September 17, 1851; 171 years ago: The Fort Laramie Treaty is signed by representatives of the United States, Cheyenne, Sioux, Arapaho, Crow, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidasta, and Arikara nations. The treaty set forth boundaries between the nations and ensured that white settlers would have safe passage west. The treaty was broken almost immediately by white settlers moving into what is now Colorado and Kansas.

September 16, 1855; 167 years ago: Montgomery H. Parker is born in Kentucky. He moved to Boulder in 1887, where he was elected Jefferson County Attorney in 1889 and again in 1892, then elected Fifth Judicial District judge in 1896.

September 18, 1870; 152 years ago: Old Faithful is named by the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition. This is not the first time Old Faithful was ever observed by human eyes, as archaeological evidence points to human occupation of Yellowstone as far back as 11,000 years ago.

September 14, 1876; 146 years ago: John Collins is born in Wisconsin. He served as State Representative for Blaine County and Assistant US District Attorney for Montana before being appointed to Fifth District Judge by Governor J W. Bonner when Lyman H. Bennet retired. He only served on the bench for four months, but managed to dismiss 200 cases.

September 8, 1883; 139 years ago: The Northern Pacific Railway is completed. Former President Ulysses S. Grant drives the final "golden spike" at a ceremony in Gold Creek.

September 11, 1884; 138 years ago: The Society of Montana Pioneers is founded in Helena, with James Fergus as the first president. The Society existed to be a people's history of Montana, with members all having lived in the territory prior to 1869. The society lives on in the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers.

September 11, 1889; 133 years ago: An explosion in the Wickes Tunnel kills 10 and injures 60.

September 23, 1894; 128 years ago: Miner William Laughlin dies when the cage fails at the Comet mine. This is the first of a series of strange accidents that plagued Comet, forcing the mine to close in 1897.

September 4, 1905; 117 years ago: Phillip Charlton Duncan is born in Virginia City. Duncan would serve as State Representative for Jefferson County in 1945, 1947, and 1949; state Senator in 1951; and Fifth District Court Judge in 1952 until his death in 1970.

September 1, 1937; 85 years ago: The Farm Security Administration is formed to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression. As part of these attempts, the FSA sent photographers to rural areas across the United States, including Montana, to photograph how the Great Depression and the New Deal affected Montanans. These photographs were curated by Dr. Mary Murphy in the exhibit "Hope in Hard Times," our rotating exhibit at the Jefferson County Museum.

--Information from The Age, The Age Sentinel, Boulder Monitor, and Montana Sunlight, as well as additional historic sources.

Questions? Comments? More information to share? Visit The Jefferson County Museum, 5 N. Main Street, Clancy, MT, 59634. Open Tuesdays and Fridays 12 PM to 4 PM and Saturdays 10:30 AM to 4 PM, or call to schedule an appointment at 406-224-5106. You can also conduct your own research at MontanaNewspapers.org.

 

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