Distinctly Montana Magazine

88 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 4 article and photos by BRYAN SPELLMAN G E T T O K N O W G E T T O K N O W A C O U N T Y A C O U N T Y F E R G U S C O U N T Y F E R G U S C O U N T Y L OCATED AT THE GEOGRAPHICAL CEN- TER OF THE STATE OF MONTANA, Fer- gus County was formed on March 12, 1885, with land taken from Meagher and Chouteau Counties. James Fergus, a territorial delegate from Meagher County, proposed the new county, and it was named for him. Many history and genealogy websites tell the story of James Fergus, who the Montana Gen- Web site calls "The Grand Old Man of Montana." Lewistown, named for nearby Fort Lewis, became county seat. As county formation continued, parts of Fergus County were taken for Ju- dith Basin, Wheatland, Golden Valley and Petroleum Counties. Petroleum, split from the eastern part of Fergus in 1925, was the last Montana county created. The county seat and Fergus County's only city, Lewistown, got its start in 1874 when the U.S. Army chose the site for Fort Lewis. The fort was named for W.H. Lewis, an army major, and the town, in turn, was named for the fort. This was news to me as I had as- sumed that honor went to Meriwether Lewis who had such a ma- jor impact on the rest of the state. Within a few years of building of the fort, a group of Métis families settled in the area. Métis re- fers to a people of mixed blood, in this case French Canadian and Native American. Soon there were 150 Métis families in the area and their importance can be seen in the French street names and the annual Métis Celebration held every Labor Day Weekend. The city grew and was incorporated in 1899. The railroad arrived in 1903, bringing homesteaders to the area. The abundance of stone in the area attracted Croatian stonemasons who built many of the stone buildings that grace the city. Fergus County has forty-five listings on the National Register of Historic Places. Thirty-five are in Lewistown. These include historic homes, churches, the court- house and Carnegie Library, and five historic districts. The Lew- istown Area Chamber of Commerce has brochures available for self-guided walking tours through these districts. Lewistown is the only incorporated city in Fergus County, but there are four incorporated towns. Denton, in western Fergus County, is the largest with a 2020 population of 205. The town's post office got its start in 1888, and over time the town grew to include a bank, several churches, four large grain elevators and such municipal entities as a community center, a fire depart- ment, and a library. On December 1st, 2021, a wind-driven fire blew through the town, destroying the four elevators, the Cen- tral Montana Railroad's trestle, and some twenty-five structures, mostly homes on the south side of town. In the two and a half years since, much has been rebuilt. I spoke with Kellie Davis, the Denton town clerk, who told me that Dentonians may have been knocked down by the fire, but they are resilient. They're not going anywhere. LEWISTOWN

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