Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/1469889
D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 86 Until it wasn't. Radersburg soon suf- fered a two-punch as- sault that permanently altered its upward tra- jectory forever. In addi- tion to a devastating drop in gold prices, the town was snubbed by the rail- road, which instead opted to build through the community of Toston 13 miles to the east. Many of the city's professional residents followed suit, and Radersburg ultimately lost its title as the seat of Jefferson County in 1884. Today, it is part of Broadwater County. Despite the losses, a core group of deter- mined Radersburg residents clung to their city and continued utilizing and develop- ing the area's natural resources to build comfortable lives for themselves in the scenic valley. They erected a Methodist church in 1912, which was dedicated by well-known traveling minister Brother Van Orsdell two years later. The cozy place of worship contin- ues to quietly greet visitors passing by on Main Street today. The two-story historic Radersburg Schoolhouse, built in 1913, sits just up the street. The stately white building's large school bell still hangs in the belfry. Although the school closed in approximately 1965, residents have devoted considerable time and resources to successfully re-es- tablish the building as a community center, complete with a historic class- room and displays about the area's agricultural and mining heritage. Radersburg was also once home to Chicago White Sox pitcher Cecil Elba "Larry" Duff, who was born there in 1896. Duff, the third Montana-born man to play Major League Baseball, was 25-years-old when he made his debut with the team in 1922. Another notable resident was glam- ourous Hollywood actress Myrna Loy. Born in 1905, Loy was raised on her fami- ly's Radersburg farm and went on to appear in nearly 130 films from the 1920s through the 1950s. She received an Academy Honorary Award in 1991 for her lifetime career achievements. Although the city's story panned out much differ- ently than its founders and initial settlers might have ex- pected, its refusal to succumb to the "ghost town" label like so many other boom towns speaks volumes about those who have made it their home. The collective tena- cious spirit of Radersburg's townspeople—both past and present—remains evident. TREKKING TO CROW CREEK FALLS Radersburg's Main Street becomes Crow Creek Road on the north edge of town, slowly rising out of the valley before cutting a serpen- tine route deep into the Elkhorn Moun- tains. I reached the Jenkins Gulch in- tersection 13 miles out of Rad- ersburg, then resumed a parallel journey with Crow Creek as I drove northwest along Hall Creek Road. Jump Off Trail- head sat two miles beyond. The marked trailhead is locat- ed near a parking area on the right side of the roadway, high above the creek. The drive to the trailhead is also dotted with mul- tiple campsites and fishing access opportunities. The trail began at the edge of a clearing and immediately descended into a short series of undemanding switchbacks. Hall Creek and Crow Creek wound through the valley below and both were pleasantly navigated in quick succession via two sturdy footbridges. This area—minus the foot- bridges—was once the fertile hunting grounds of the Crow Indians, who also used Crow Creek as a freshwa- ter source. According to Radersburg Historical Preservation Inc., a local nonprofit organization, research- ers and outdoorsmen have located multiple tipi rings, bison jumps, and various other Native American relics throughout the area. It wasn't difficult to envision the skilled hunters stalking their prey through the lush undergrowth as I skirted the creek's edge beneath the forest canopy. The softness of the earth along the creek gave way to the crunching of brittle, time-worn grains of weathered rock shifting beneath my boots as I started a short-but-steep climb out of the Crow Creek drainage approx-