Distinctly Montana Magazine

89 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m Northeast of Denton lies Winifred (2020 population 172). Founded in 1913 as the terminus of a Chicago, Mil- waukee, St. Paul and Pacific branch line, the town grew as the railroad brought in settlers. Jim Arthur's book The History of Winifred has a collection of photographs showing life in the town in 1914. These include the building of the Stafford Store, still standing and on the National Register of Historic Places. Moore, roughly 16 miles west of Lewistown, sits near the junc- tion of US 191, US 87, and Montana 200. With a 2020 population of 194, the town is another that owes its existence to the railroad, in this case the Montana Central which came through in 1903. In 1904, the Judith Mercantile Company opened, followed shortly by the Moore Mercantile and the Kipe Hotel. The first hardware store opened in 1905 as did the Citizen's Bank. Dorman Jackson wrote up The History of Moore, and it as well as Jim Arthur's book about Winifred are available online through the Montana History Portal (mtmemory.org). Grass Range, east of Lewistown, is the oldest of these towns, and the only one that doesn't trace its history to the railroad. Founded in 1883, the town owes its existence to the grass that fed cattle in the area. The town began as a stage stop, and quickly grew into a trad- ing center for much of central Montana. The railroad (again the Milwaukee) arrived in 1913 but took up its tracks in 1973. The 2020 population was 110, exactly the same as in 2010. A booklet on the town's centen- nial is available through the Montana History Portal. In addition to these communities, Fergus County has many unincorporated and census-designated places. Specifically, there are 17 unincorporated communities and 12 census-desig- nated places, of which five are Hutterite colonies. When A.B. Guthrie's character Lat Evans reaches the Con- tinental Divide and looks eastward, he remarks that he now knows what "World Without End" really means. And anyone who has crossed the Divide and looked out over the Rocky Mountain Front and the beginning of the Great Plains would most likely agree. But then you get to Fergus County where five named mountain ranges break up the horizon. The Big Snowy and Little Snowy Mountains lie south of Lewistown and run in BEST ENGINEERING FIRM www.seaeng.com 50 YEARS OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors HELENA 3530 Centennial Drive Helena, MT 59601 (406) 442-8594 BOZEMAN 851 Bridger Drive Suite 1 Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 522-8594 BILLINGS 2223 Montana Ave. Suite 201 Billings, MT 59101 (406) 601-4055 GREAT FALLS 219 2nd Ave. S Suite 302 Great Falls, MT 59405 (406) 604-4644 CODY 1001 12th St. Cody, WY 82414 (307) 509-5541 BRIDGES SURVEYING SITE DEVELOPMENT/SUBDIVISIONS TRANSPORTATION STRUCTURAL MUNICIPAL 2023-24 of B E S T M O N TA N A A S V O T E D B Y R E A D E R S O F Y E A R S WO N W I N N E R ! Lewistown Courthouse

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