Distinctly Montana Magazine

66 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 6 Meredith brought with him Benjamin F. Marsh, a mathematics professor from Indiana, and Colonel Walter W. de Lacy, a drafts- man who had studied surveying at West Point Academy. The three of them set out in late July 1867 for Beaver Head Rock. When they arrived there, they found a serious problem for their intended survey. In a letter to the General Land Office, de Lacy explained that from the top of Beaver Head Rock, the group could see only rug- ged mountains in all four directions, conditions that would make conducting a survey difficult or impossible. They checked an- other vantage point, but reported similar problems with facing major mountain ranges. On their way to Beaver Head Rock, they had noted an area three miles south of the Jefferson River that they believed had good potential as an initial point. They traveled back to that area and climbed a hill some two hundred feet high. Convinced they had found the right location, they piled rocks into a monument marking the spot and recorded the latitude. In his report, de Lacy explained, "I would here remark that I have been in this Territory since 1859, when I came as Civil engineer with Lieutenant Mullan's Military Wagon Road Expedition, and that I have since visited and explored many parts of the territory from the Bitter Root to the Big Horn River, and I can conscien- tiously say that there is no other part of the territory where the same uninterrupted length of the Meridian and Base Line could have been secured." It was the ideal location from which to measure the vast land that twenty-two years later, in 1889, would become Montana, the Big Sky State. The confusion Vince and I had felt when we first hiked to that point now made absolute sense. t t t When I travel by air, I try to get a window seat. I enjoy reading and occasionally looking out to see the changing landscape. I've often opportunitybank.com Your local community bank. Opportunity awaits. Come for the expience. Leave feeling renewed. BEST SKINCARE TREATMENT IN MONTANA A New Gem in Westn Montana 299 Fairgro unds R o ad Suite 1 Hamilton Montana (406) 381-424 4 GemOf TheRockies.com 2026 o f BEST M O N TA N A A S V O T E D B Y R E A D E R S O F From restorŠive Halothapy to indulgent foot soaks and relaxing spa expiences, Gem of the Rockies is a little-known destinŠion worth discoving. Tucked in the heart of the Bittroot Valley, Gem of the Rockies Salt Room & Spa offs a luxurious retreŠ for those looking to relax and recharge.

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