Distinctly Montana Magazine

40 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 Then the burning need for more and better roads was, ahem, derailed as the railroads arrived. The iron horse brought sup- plies, equipment and people out West and carried goods back East to market, with speed and efficiency. Towns sprung up along the railroad lines, and long-distance travel shifted large- ly from stagecoaches and wagons to rail, quelling the need for more roads, except those that provided pathways for farmers and ranchers to get their products to the depots. How endless must Montana have seemed in the late 1800s when the distances between towns took forever to cover on the bone-rattling trails that formed a web of disconnected roads across the state. Most roads were privately owned. The few pub- lic roads paid for by county taxes were built and maintained by landowners who were allowed to work off their tax burden. Lack- ing skill and experience, these well-meaning but poorly trained Montanans built roads with no engineering, and little knowl- edge of design or construction beyond the ability to lean on a shovel. It was generally considered easy work, though, because when you don't know how to do something you tend to not work very hard at it. In a letter to Jake Parmley of South Dakota from a Montana landowner, this poem summed up the attitude of most taxpayers: Our life is tough and fearful Its toil was often tearful And often we grew faint beneath the load But there came a glad vacation And a sweet alleviation When we used to work our tax out on the road Shoddy construction wasn't the only impediment to decent roads. Dirt roads soaked up the spring rains and formed a heavy, HOW ENDLESS MUST MONTANA HAVE SEEMED IN THE LATE 1800S WHEN THE DISTANCES BETWEEN TOWNS TOOK FOREVER TO COVER ON THE BONE-RATTLING TRAILS THAT FORMED A WEB OF DISCONNECTED ROADS ACROSS THE STATE.

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