Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-02-07

occupied by grounds about small
slaughtering houses, the city dump, and
land which had reverted to farming
tracts.
Coulson during the early months of
1882 enjoyed a feverish boom as the
slowly building railroad gradually ap-
preached. Two bridges, one across the
Big Horn river and the other. the Vel
lowstone crossing at Coulson, and the
heavy construction work at the Huntley
bluffs kept an immense army OF work
men in the locality for months. Soldiers
were stationed a short distance east OF
the town. The ferry was kept busy trans
porting visitors from railroad and amy
camps with much money to spend to
the little town.
To the few log and frame buildings
OF the original trading point of Coulson,
consisting OF two or three stores, black
smith shop and saloon. were added that
spring, hundreds of tents in which every
conceivable business from ~drugstores to
dancehalls were carried on
Herman Clark Guiding Spirit
Similar scenes were enacted a few
months later q mile or SO further west
as the tumultous town Of Billings sprang
out Of the dust. Herman Clark who was
the guiding spirit OF the toWnsite project,
came to Billings Inc made arrangements
for the sale of lots and for establishment
OF q general store. H. Clark & Co.. which
for four or five years sold goods OF every
description to miners and cattlemen
scattered over an area larger than sew
eral New England states.
On the day that the sale OF lots began,
the editor Of the Coulson Post records
that except for one homeless dog and
himself, the main street OF Coulson was
entirely deserted. A few weeks later,
George B. Hume. the secretary OF the
land company, reported that $500 peo-
pie had bought lots. Blocks OF lots had
been placed on sale in various eastern
cities and there was considerable com
| plant that the best locations had been
sold in St. Pau for speculative purposes
and that those who were on the scene to
buy nae very little choice. Prices Of lots
were comparatively low rs the papers In
a few months were Dragging that business
lots which were purchased at from $3.50
to $3.50 in the spring had risen In value
tenfold before the year was over.
At Coulson and Billings by the first Of
June, a thousand or more people were
living in tents where two months before
there had been only a building or two
Of the railroad. Nearly everyone was liv-
ing in tents although about so houses or
stores were under construction. A heavy
Windstorm laid every tent in the two
towns flat and damaged some Of the
IldStlly COllStI uCleQ DullulllSS.
Once Secretary Hume issued an order
for the removal of tents and shacks from
the middle of certain streets and advised
the blowing OF fire guards around build
ings as there was no fire protection. Lit
tie was paid to sanitation and
garbage was dumped in the streets, but
gradually these conditions of mushroom
growth were corrected.
The First Building
The first building erected in Billings
was a two story structure built on the
block now occupied by the Northern no
tel and used as headquarters for the
engineers. 1t was later moved after the
engineers were through with it and it be
came the first depot. The Windsor hotel
was built adjoining it and this after
wards was known as the Headquarters
hotel, the chief hOstelry of the city until
1t was burned in the nineties. The town.
site company built a depot near the pres
ent railroad station location which die
not prove satisfactory to the railroad
company n there was considerable con
t%roversy over the contract, the railroad
carrying the passengers OF to the head
quarters building. 1t was used for en-
tertainments for a while and was finally
bought by A. l.. Babcock n moved
across the tracks to the south and made
into a flour mill which finally burned
down.
The company the same spring began
the construction of the irrigation ditch,
at that time the largest irrigation project
ever undertaken in the state of Montana
and in many respects one of the best
and cheapest ever built. The water was