The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-05-22
OF PASTOR RIGGlM
RECALLS LIFE WORK OF TWO
CIRCUIT RIDERS OF MONTANA

ganized in 1880 with Brother VAN
as his field assistant, and for seven
years they labored together in this
fashion.
Mr.. Riggin built the first Pro-
testant church in Butte, organizing
the Mountain View church with three
members, subsequently organizing
other churches in that city and as
sisted in the securing of sites and the
erection of church edifices at Vir-
ginia City, Sheridan, Whitehall,
Twin Bridges, Dillon, Salmon City,
Idaho, and Meadow Greek in the
Madison valley. With Van Orsdel
he also organized churches in the
Bitter Root valley as far up as Ham
ilton, as we'll as in Missoula, making
the trip to Missoula 400 miles by
horseback to hold services when the
church had but one member. Dur
ing those days it was nothing I'M
usual for either Riggin or Van Ors-
del to travel 200 to 800 miles on
horseback or by buggy to conduct a
funeral. There was scarcely a farm
house in the territory to which they
were not welcome and the early set
tiers co-operated with them most
fully in their work.
Rev. Riggin and Brother Van''
went into northern Montana in 1897
and 1888 when they took over the
work at Fort Benton and along the
Great Northern railway to Dakota.
Mr.. Riggin was the first residential
pastor at Great Falls, and raised the
funds for the erection of a building
upon a site donated by the townsite
company. He was again stationed at
Great Falls in 1894-1895 when he
organized the Warren Methodist
church on the west side.
During 1896 and 1897 Mr.. Riggin
was superintendent of the North
Montana mission, at which time he
introduced the deaconess work and
built the first Deaconess hospital in
Great Falls with funds borrowed
from L. H. Hamilton, of Great Falls.
The early ministry of these two
preachers has only been equaled in
the early period of. Methodism in
other localities. The success of their
early work together was the cause
of their remaining so long in the
west.
NIL. IllSSln I6IlIGu III 1917 WILLIE !
Brother Van" continued his labors
until the illness which preceded his
death at Great Falls, December 10,
1919. Those two preachers had seen
the work in Montana grow from four
five preachers to 100 or more, and
the small churches grow from few
in number to memberships of 1000
or more. They had organized the
church in Great Falls with two mem
bers, that in Billings with two mem
bers, while all the other great chur-
ches Of the present time were either
house appointments or little
village congregations.
Their early trips, while fraught
with more or less labor and discom-
fort, had their humorous sides.
These trips were usually taken on
horseback along the mountain trails
in isolated parts of the state. On
their first first trip to Salmon City,
Idaho, they stopped at the foot of the
divide between Idaho
and Montana at a wayside inn main
by a Mr.. Hamilton, a typical
Did timer. There were three in the
party, the third being Mr.. Lockridge,
l layman. Without informing the
%-nnkeeper who they were they OBJ
aimed accommodations and the fol-
morning asked the amount
their bill, whereupon the inn keep
said:
Gentlemen, I have been wonder
ng who you fellows might be. I am
impressed that you either are gamb-
or preachers. Nobody wears a
o'iled shirt in this locality except ]
hose two classes of men. Now, If
are gamblers I want the full {
'rice-I think about 2 apiece; but if {
'ou are preachers I'll take it out in ,
frayin'." |
He was told that they were preach
rs and If he would come in and get Y
Bible they would demonstrate. He :
ook down the old family Bible, Mr.. :
read the Scriptures and |
Brother Van" offered prayer. When d
e finished the innkeeper was con- c
inced and gave them a lifelong in I,
itation to make his place their home !
Thenever in that vicinity. Z
Rev. Mr.. Riggin was married in v
876 to the youngest daughter of v
Jordan, a member of the
lrst legislature of Montana. She :
ad crossed the plains from Iowa to a
alifornia when but two years old in u
4 emigrant wagon, returning on the Il
ack train to Montana during the q
Did excitement in this territory. She Il
as then but four years of age. She Z
of vast aid to Rev. Mr.. Riggin 4
his work among the early set y
ers. She died at Glasgow in June, n