Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 21 e patient ferry operator lets us cross over and back, just so we could say we did, and get pictures as well. en we're back on the highway to head downstream to the Virgelle Ferry, the last and perhaps most memorable crossing. "Probably one of the most beautiful places in the world here," our ferry operator Jimmy Griffin observes, as another setting sun paints the sky with amber rays. "e more I look upstream, the more I remember how pretty it is." e fading sunlight softly reflects on the quiet water, the river banks now just a darkened silhouette. e only sound is the muffled purr of the ferry engine, sounding like the outboard motor of a fish- ing boat on a deserted lake. e peaceful scene is a rare experience for urban dwellers. And just a stone's throw from the water is something even more unusual—the resurrected ghost town of Virgelle. Founded in the early 1900's, it's home to one of the most unique bed and breakfasts in the country, where you can spend the night in a real homesteader cabin. "People say, 'Who comes here? How do you sell any- thing?,'" says our host Don Sorenson. "Our location is probably our best asset." e grandson of Mon- tana homesteaders, So- rensen grew up on a farm six miles away. He became a pharmacist instead of a farmer, but had a lifelong interest in collecting and restoring antiques. "I started restoring things on the family farm when I got out of pharmacy school," he recounts. "My dad thought I was crazy." Don grew up visiting Virgelle, founded by Virgil Blankenbaker around 1910, during Mon- tana's homesteader boom. A sturdy bank opened for business in 1917, joining the general store as the two main structures in town. But by the 1920s, drought and economic depression had driven off most of the local homesteaders. e bank shut down in 1927. e post office closed in 1961. e general store was shuttered nine years later. And the railroad line was abandoned in the 1980s. All the while, Don's antique collection continued to grow. "I'd filled up the attic of the barn," he tells. "e general store was aban- M I S S O U R I R I V E R F E R R I E S A driver of a ferry talks about his job www.distinctlymontana.com/ferry182 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Crossing the placid Missouri at the Carter Ferry, northeast of Great Falls

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