Centennial Series, Part II: County sees similar questions century later
“How should we use this land?”
It’s a question that comes up often among citizens, government officials and various groups and organizations. Back in 1909 when Lincoln County was formed, the same question existed. And for those who lived here, most seemed to be optimists.
The mining and logging industries already had a foothold in the county and hydropower was making strides. But believe it or not, agriculture had its supporters – despite a lack of rich topsoil and a climate that brings early frost.
“That’s kind of the way people viewed their land … cut the trees down and use it for agriculture,” said Jeff Gruber, a local historian who researched the time period as part of the county’s centennial activities. “That’s why the creation of the Forest Service was so controversial.”
The U.S. Forest Service had been established in 1905 to manage public lands in national forests and grasslands. The agency examined every section of land in Lincoln County and concluded that agriculture would never work.
In 1910, Louis W. Hill, president of the Great Northern Railway Co., penned a letter to Henry S. Graves, chief forester, about the question of opening up the agricultural land in Lincoln County. He had also written to Gifford Pinchot, who held the position of the Forest Service’s first chief from 1905-10.
“I explained to Mr. Pinchot that I should like to see conservation and forestry matters in the West put on a practical basis that settlers could accept and not put on lines that are seriously retarding the general development throughout the West,” wrote Hill, whose most notable accomplishment was the establishment of Glacier National Park.
At the time, many settlers had the thought of patterning themselves after fruit growers in the Bitterroot Valley. In 1909, apple orchards dominated the Bitterroot landscape and in fact, investment companies purchased homesteads, planted orchards and aggressively lured buyers in from the East.
The county appeared to have its movers and shakers and by 1910, Libby had concrete sidewalks, electric power and sewer/water systems.
“I think it was an optimistic bunch that lived here, excited about the opportunities,” Gruber said. “The formation of the county gave them another sense (of optimism) in a happening place.”
Libby was named county seat after an interesting battle with those who supported Eureka. Libby’s population had swelled after the opening of the Dawson Lumber Co.’s sawmill in 1906.
While homesteading brought in 300,000 people to Montana over the period of 1900-18, Lincoln County really wasn’t formed because of a significant influx of residents. What had been the western section of Flathead County broke off on its own primarily because of its remoteness and the long haul to Kalispell.
Towns on the Lincoln County landscape appeared and disappeared over the years. Libby, Eureka and Troy obviously survived the county’s first century but many others did not. One interesting case involved Jennings, a town that was located at the confluence of the Kootenai River and Fisher River.
“Jennings was there because there were gold fields up in Canada at Fort Steele and the railroad was down there,” Gruber said.
Gold was shipped from the Canadian site downriver to Jennings via steamboat – primarily during the spring high-water season. The gold was then loaded onto train cars for a journey on down the line.
“When the Great Northern in 1902 or 1903 changed the rail line to Eureka, there was no longer a need for Jennings,” Gruber said.
The community survived for a few more years but disappeared entirely following a catastrophic fire in 1914.