Rosebud County - Transportation Around the Missouri

Background Info/ Historical Story:

“In 1909 the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad completed its line through Montana to Seattle. Its roadbed traveled along the north side of the Yellowstone River which gave Forsyth the advantage of having two transcontinental railroads. During the period from 1910 to 1920 the railroads, especially the Milwaukee, sponsored many promotional programs encouraging people from the east and midwest to come to Montana and take up homesteads. These promotions brought many new people into Rosebud County and, for those who settled on the land, Forsyth was "town", the center where they did their trading and transacted business. The droughts and financial crises of the twenties and thirties dashed much of the enthusiasm for these small homestead farms. Many of the people left the country disillusioned. Some stayed and moved to Forsyth and became some of the town's most substantial citizens. Forsyth weathered these vicissitudes and, although it lost population, it remained an enterprising and solid community. In 1923 the Northern Pacific Railroad moved its shops and round house, but its freight division point remained here. The building of a spur line and the opening of the large strip mining operation in the Colstrip area in 1923 helped the business community and foreshadowed the coal development now taking place.”- They Came and Stayed, Rosebud County Book

“In 1882 when the Northern Pacific Railroad Company decided to make Forsyth a division point for their line the town really began to grow. Families moved here to make their permanent homes and with the population growth it became necessary to plan for schools and government for the area.”- They Came and Stayed, Rosebud County Book

“The Milwaukee railroad laid rails across Rosebud County in 1908 and 09. Following the Yellowstone on

the north side from Forsyth, it went overland northwest to Sumatra, the outpost of Rosebud County on the north. Small railroad towns, Vananda and Ingomar, came into being, along with those courageous settlers who came to establish homesteads. The homesteading days lasted only briefly because the "north side" did not take kindly to the plow furrow. The dugouts used for housing in the almost treeless land were at first considered only temporary housing. Following harsh winters and hot summers those structures made of hard blue clay were frequently the permanent home as long as the homesteader remained. Ingomar, Vananda, and Sumatra had banks, newspapers, hotels, and schools, and lngomar also maintained the largest sheep-shearing barn which sheared more sheep than any other in the state, and perhaps the nation. Water was and is the most illusive commodity on the north side. Since their beginning the towns of lngomar and Vananda were supplied with house water via a tank car on the railroad. Only in the past few years has lngomar found a water well for household use.”- They Came and Stayed, Rosebud County Book

Collections Spotlight:

• Northern Pacific Railroad Poster
• Chicago, St. Paul, and Milwaukee Railway, “Montana: Along the New Line for the Pacific Coast,” promoting homesteading in Montana

Photos, Maps, etc:

• 1913, View of railroad tracks. Gravel pit, rolling stock, and bridge in background.
• 1920-08-29, Cold Spring Ranch fields with a Milwaukee train in the background
• 1905, Views of steel bridge on Yellowstone River decorated with American flags. Large crowd at side. Horses, wagons, and buggies in foreground. River visible.
• 1924-09-03, Railroad Yard and Roundhouse taken from west
• 1915-07-30, Train wreck between freight and passenger engines in the Forsyth Yard
• 1915-07-30, Young Walter Dean III (the photographer's son) stands with an unidentified man in front of the wreck
• Map of upper portion of Rosebud County, Montana promoting land sales.

Links to other helpful sources:

• Railroads Link Montana to the Nation, 1881-1915 Title & Description Collection Media/File Type URL/Location T
• Rosebud County Book