Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1921-10-13
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING FIRE AT
MONARCH WIPES OUT PRACTICALLY
WHOLE BLOCK IN BUSINESS CENTRE

established about 80 years ago by l..
f. Howes, who sold out about Is years
ago to A. NJ. Luther1 formerly Of Belt.
Mr.. Haney first went to Monarch
about 10 years ago, taking the position
of bookkeeper with Mr.. Luther. Later
he associated himself with ID. j. Con-
don, banker at Neihart, the firm pur-
the business, which has been
rapidly built up under Mr.. Haney's
management until il was recognized
as one of the largest and most pro
gressive mercantile establishments in
this section of the county The firm
will reopen for business at once by
utilizing either the old store building
or the warehouse, property which the
firm owns. Already plans are under
way for the erection of a fireproof
building on the site of the one de.
stroyed. which will be Of concrete and
modern in every way
While the OWNERS of the buildings
destroyed have not made any plans as
yet, il is thought that all the burned
structures will be replaced in. short
time. as the future of Monarch is Sc
cured by its location in the heart OF
one Of the best farming sections IN the
southern part Of Cascade county. It
is the natural trading point for the
Michigan settlement. good share Of
the -KibbeY country yzH4stA= tn Belt ARK
region, scope of country that has
never known an absolute crop failure.
1t is one of the most important hay
shipping points in the state and is also
the outlet for the rich Barker mining
district In the summer season it IS
the center of the enormous trade from
hundreds Of campers who erect their
tents or occupy scores Of cabins or
along the banks Of Belt
creek. which flows through the town.
The influx Of summer campers, which
is increasing each year, means great
deal to Monarch. both in business cir
cles and socially. The Y-G Bee Line
link of the National Park-to-Park
also runs directly through
the town.
Monarch is the oldest town in south
ern Cascade county, with the exception
Of the mining camps Of Neihart and
Barker. In 1889 the town sprung up
as the "end Of steel of the Neihart
branch Of the Great Northern. which
was built to that point and further
delayed for y year Or 80
during which period the little noun
tain town enjoyed "a great prosperity
as the railroad terminal for the boom
ng camps Of Barker and Neihart.
During this period il had all the acces-
sories Of the live towns Of those days.
gambling -salo0ns. and -. te'fssla'
ain dfstFset. winch divided TIE active
ties Of the town with many lines Of
legitimate business Even newspa-
seF y as started and found material Ia
interest its readers. In 1891 the rail
-oad was continued on to Meihart and
n 1892 a branch line was built to Bar
xer. leaving Monarch as merely a
junction point and an almost deserted
own. A few years later settlers on
he surrounding benchiands, discovered
hat crops could be grown without ir-
.igation, and gradually with appropri-
ltion of the public land by farmers
md the increasing, summer vacation
SITS. Monarch gradually became Of inT
,ortance again. peopled by live, pr6-
,ressive class Of citizens. who with the
ourage Of that class. will build a new
own, eventually looking upon their
resent misfortune as a blessing