Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 107 G E T T O K N O W G E T T O K N O W A C O U N T Y A C O U N T Y T O O L E C O U N T Y T O O L E C O U N T Y STRETCHED BE- TWEEN THE MA- RIAS RIVER AND THE CANADIAN BORDER, Toole County covers 1,946 square miles, of which 30 are water (mostly Lake Elwell aka Tiber Reservoir). The 2020 census estimate showed 4,686 county residents, a drop of 12 per- cent since the 2010 census, and the lowest count since 1920. Created in 1914 with land taken from Hill and Teton Counties, the county gets its name from Joseph Toole who served two terms as Montana's governor. Toole was the first governor of Montana state, serving from 1889 to 1893. He ran again and won as Montana's fourth governor, serving from 1901 to 1908. From the beginning, Shelby has served as the county seat. It is the largest community and only incorporated city in the county. Local lore says the city got its start when the Great Northern Railroad dropped off a box car and called it a station. That was in 1891. A good place to get an overview of Toole County's histo- ry is Champions Park in downtown Shelby. While nominally referring to the 1923 heavyweight match between Jack Dempsey and challenger Tommy Gib- bons, the park features Toole County in general. A replica of the boxing ring is at the park's center, but panels describing the arrival of the railroad, homesteading on the Hi-Line, and the oil strike that brought indus- try to Toole County are on prominent display. The park is located on the 400 block of 12th Avenue North close to other attractions in Shelby. Of course, people traveled across Toole County before there were highways or railroads. One of Montana's most infamous routes was the Whoop-Up Trail. Connecting Fort Benton with Fort Hamilton, today's Lethbridge, Alberta, the Whoop-Up Trail crossed Toole County. In 1993, two Toole County sections were added to the National Register. The Rocky Springs Segment, near Kevin, still showed visible wagon ruts in 1993, although the springs themselves had dried up. Another section south of Shelby marks where the trail crossed the Marias River. Kevin is a good place to start our drive around Toole County. Off any major highway, Kevin is 21 miles northwest of Shelby and 25 miles northeast of Cut Bank. Founded in 1910, the town took its name from Thomas Kevin, an official with the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company. The town's railroad depot, built by the Great Northern in 1903, is on the National Register. In 1922, just four miles north of article and photos by BRYAN SPELLMAN SHELBY

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