Distinctly Montana Magazine

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 • F A L L 2 0 2 2 38 HUNTLEY HUNTLEY PROJECT MUSEUM OF IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE When the Crow In- dian Reservation was established in 1868, its eight million acres were hemmed in on the north by the Yellowstone River. Once the railroad began to bring settlers out west by the carload, Frederick Billings decided that the semiarid land east of his town should be farmed—especially once he saw it was being successfully cultivated by a few Indian farmers. The U.S. reclaimed the land around the river by cession, the Reclamation Act of 1902 was passed, and in 1907 the Huntley Irrigation Project, covering three towns along a 27-mile-long sec- tion of the Yellowstone River Valley, opened its canals to the thirsty land. The early years were plagued by structural failures, floods, droughts, and numerous calamities that caused many of the 582 original 40-acre parcels to be abandoned. It's quite a story, and with more than a thousand artifacts, the Huntley Project Museum of Irrigated Agriculture tells it quite well. The craziest piece of irrigation history has to be the hulking Ruth Dredger, parked on the lawn just a few yards from an irrigation ditch it dug. Huntley Project Museum of Irrigated Agriculture is at 770 Railroad Hwy. They're open every day, weather permitting. Find out more at huntleymuseum.com. WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS CASTLE MUSEUM AND CARRIAGE HOUSE When Byron Roger Sher- man decided to build a dwelling in White Sulphur Springs at the end of the 19th century, he chose a location on Knob Hill at the edge of town, a spot that afforded a sweeping view of the gorgeous Smith River Valley. The Castle Mountains dominate the view to the south, and beyond them the Crazy Mountains. To the north, the Little Belt Mountains stretch across the horizon. As construction began on the opulent Victorian mansion in 1890, Sherman—no doubt desiring an abode worthy of its world-class view and his larger-than-life reputa- tion—said, you know what? Let's make this sucker a castle. Using granite hauled from the Castle Mountains, the aptly named Castle of White Sulphur Springs was built using only the finest marble, hardwoods and other materials worthy of this shrewd operator who had built his fortune in mining, milling, and a successful livery busi- ness. The Castle was finished in 1892 with a total cost of $36,000. To- day the Castle and Carriage House Museum is home to the Meagher County Historical Society, and it is maintained at the level of opulence Mr. Sherman would surely have enjoyed. The museum is open during the summer months. Learn more at www.visitmeaghercounty.com. The new Trident Depot museum in Three Forks is a railroad buff's dream, right down to examples of vintage civilian dress and railroad uniforms from the Milwaukee Trail. Remember that episode of "Twilight Zone" where the department store mannequins were allowed to become human for a month? Thanks to years of therapy, neither do I. Barbed wire styles from as far back as 1868 are featured in this display, among the fascinating treasures in the Huntley Project Museum.

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