Distinctly Montana Magazine

42 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 4 ers of this noisy new contraption called the automobile, which wouldn't become prevalent in Montana for another couple of decades. The Good Roads advocates wanted better, smoother roads for the popular new craze sweeping the nation: the bicy- cle. At the forefront of this effort was the League of American Wheelmen (LAW), which had been lobbying for better roads since 1880. By 1892 they were four million strong, collaborating with journalists, farmers, engineers, businessmen and politicians to pressure the government into funding better roads. This was truly a grassroots movement that put an emphasis on education, giving rural areas the ability to build and maintain their own roads. The railroads were all for it, as were Montana's farmers— better roads meant a quicker way to get their goods to market. It also would provide a better way for families to connect with their communities, churches and schools. Thanks to LAW and other like-minded organizations, the Good Roads Movement spread nationwide. Cyclists had their two-wheeled motives, but they also pointed out the need for better roads for the inevitable au- tomobile traffic that would eventually displace horse-drawn rigs. Back East, dozens of little auto companies were springing up, and cars were becoming a common sight in the bigger cities. By 1920 there were more than 1,000 auto manufacturers in the U.S. As with disco, Montana was slow to catch on to the trend. In 1904 there were exactly seven automobiles in the entire state. Five were in Butte, one in Sweetgrass County, and one in Big Timber. Henry Ford's Model T debuted in 1908, and by 1915 Ford was cranking out 500,000 Model T's a year, a car rolling off the assembly line every three minutes. Thanks to expansion of the Homestead Act in 1919, Mon- tana experienced a boom as farmers, ranchers and homestead- MONTANA WAS SLOW TO CATCH ON TO THE TREND. IN 1904 THERE WERE EXACTLY SEVEN AUTOMOBILES IN THE ENTIRE STATE. FIVE WERE IN BUTTE, ONE IN SWEETGRASS COUNTY, AND ONE IN BIG TIMBER.

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