Distinctly Montana Magazine

71 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m that was built in 1925 and closed in 1952. Built originally on a site chosen for its proximity to the railroad and the Milk River, a further contributing factor was the number of German immigrants living in the area who had experience growing sugar beets. The refinery is long gone, but its memory lingers on not just with the smokestack but with the name of the Chinook High School teams, the Sugarbeeters. Roughly 15 miles south of Chinook, you will find one unit of the Nez Perce National Historic Park. The park, also known as the Nee-Me-Poo Trail, commemorates the 1877 trek made by 750 Non-Treaty Nez Perce In- dians from Joseph, Oregon to the Bears Paw Mountains. At this location, just 40 miles south of the Canadian border, Chief Joseph made his famous "I will fight no more forever" speech. The park includes an interpretive trail, picnic tables, and the parking area, but no overnight camping. The Blaine County Museum offers a multimedia presentation '40 Miles from Freedom' which describes the battle and siege that took place here in October 1877. The Fort Belknap Reservation covers most of southeastern Blaine County. The reservation, established in 1888, was set aside for the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes. Montana Highway 66 crosses the reservation from north to south and connects Fort Belknap Agency with the town of Hays near the Little Rocky Mountains. The reservation's headquarters, Fort Belknap Agency, is the largest population center in the county with a 2020 census count of 1,567 people. Located at the junction of U.S. Highway 2 and Mon- tana State Highway 66, the town is home to Aaniiih Nakoda College, one of Montana's seven tribal colleges, as well as tribal governmental offices. If you are out for a road trip, you will have no trouble driving around Blaine County. In addition to U.S. Highway 2 and Montana Highway 66, there are there are numerous roads crisscrossing the county including six of Montana's secondary highways. Montana Secondary 240 connects Chi- nook with the ghost town of Cleveland in the foothills of the Bears Paw Mountains. Montana Secondary 241 connects Harlem with the Canadian border at the Port of Turner. Other secondary roads will take you to Co- burg and Hogeland, while Savoy, Harlem, Zurich, and Lohman are all on Highway 2. One road I cannot recommend starts at Hays and climbs into the Little Rocky Mountains following, and sometimes fording, Little People Creek. When I took the drive in the late 1970s, I expected to end up in the mining camp of Landusky. Instead, I stopped at a locked gate high in the Little Rocky Mountains where I had to turn around and retrace my route back to Hays, again fording the creek several times. Do not try this without a rugged 4-wheel drive vehicle. To close, I would be remiss if I did not mention the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument and the Missouri National Wild and Scenic River which form the southern border of Blaine County. Both are accessible by road and offer a multitude of recreational opportunities. FBR F O R T B E N T O N R E A L T Y L L C UNIQUE EQUESTRIAN RANCH // HAY FARM 67 acres located along Sun River Road about 1 mile W of Great Falls, MT, and along the Sun River for ¾ of a mile. This property features an elevated ranch-site area for buildings of 3 to 4 acres with two very nice ranch homes having a view of the river valley. Also included are a new 72ft x 140ft indoor riding arena with 3 stalls, a hay barn and tack room, an outdoor round pen, a combi- nation shop & hay barn, 8 run-in sheds with attached dry lots and a well with good potable water. The current use of the property consists of 51 acres of flood irrigated cropland for quality grass- hay production in small square bales of approximately 160 tons per year and 12 acres of grass for grazing. Additional uses for this property are horse riding, boarding, breeding, and training, all offering good potential income. The river frontage, with brush/ trees along the bank, supports a population of pheasants, ducks, geese, and deer, plus there's fishing and floating on the Sun River. This unique property, with an incredible and convenient location, is proudly presented at $2.5 Mil. For more details, or to schedule a showing, contact: Eric Easterly at 406-621-0161 or Dennis Franz at 406-788-1163. Fort Benton Realty LLC Broker Mark Pyrak, 406-788-9280 For the Brochure, go to this link: www.fbrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2-Lazy-C-Brochure-1C-A.pdf

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