Distinctly Montana Magazine

44 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 - 2 5 N ESTLED NEAR THE BOTTOM OF A WIDENING VALLEY be- tween the Madison and Tobacco Root Mountain Ranges on the old Yellowstone Trail road is the community of Willow Creek, Montana. A majority of its residents live and work on the ranches and farms in the shadows of the mountain ranges. The bustle of city life hasn't yet knocked at the door of this com- munity. Harnessed to its past, Willow Creek's main purpose is denoted by its roads leading out of town through the pasture- land—to ranches and farms. For this reason, and others, Willow Creek has a distinct charm. The community was first settled in 1864 by five families from Missouri. Author Ruth Myers in Headwaters Heritage History (1983) wrote that the Willow Creek settlers had been "dissatisfied with conditions during the Civil War" and moved west to the Mon- tana Territory while others were "…hoping to find fortune in the gold fields." Self-sustainment was on the minds of the first settlers. Rev. L. B. and Mrs. Stateler arrived after those first families but during the same year, coming to Montana Territory via a wag- on train led by the famous Jim Bridger. Stateler came from the Methodist Church South denomination. He served the folks at Willow Creek by holding religious services in different homes. A chapel was built. To replace it, the present church building was completed in 1915 and is considered the oldest Methodist Church in Montana with continuous services. That first winter of 1864-1865 was brutal. An unidentified man struggling through a blizzard made it to the top of a hill between two cabins. There he died. When his body was found, he was buried at that site. The landowner, James Green, gave this patch of land to start the cemetery, fulfilling a community need. The Mount Green Cemetery is still being used today. A significant (if undramatic) event brought attention to the Willow Creek valley in 1867. Surveyors representing the Sur- veyor General of Montana decided that the initial point for sur- veying the entire state would be established on an unremarkable limestone hill two and a half miles southwest of where the town center is now. From that point the entirety of Montana would Willow Creek: by SUZANNE WARING Willow Creek: Willow Creek: Panorama of Willow Creek with the Tobacco Root Mountains in the background. Photo courtesy of LeRoy and Mary Miller. LeRoy says this is the view he sees when he steps out of his house each morning.

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