Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1941-11-15
Deer Lodge Was Once Part of Majestic
Empire; Stuart's Story of Its Birth i'm $50

Joseph La Barge OF st. Louis, who
had started an opposition fort at Fort
Benton, came over to Cottonwood and
was so much pleased with the place
/ that he talked Of removing his eStab-
1 lishment from Fort Benton and bring
/ ing 1t here. Thereupon the citizens OF
/ COTTONWOOD had town a mile square
laid out and named it La Barge City,
under which name it appears on many
maps of MontSna even to this day
/ The village Of American Fork. which
/ hung a horse thief in July, 1862, also
! figured for years on the maps as
Hangtown, although never known by
that name in its vicinity. Cottonwood
did not go into a decline as the sur
rounding villages had done but grad
ually increased in population and
wealth until 1868. when a disposition
being shown by many to ignore the
survey OF the town and build in the
streets and wherever else they chose.
James Stuart. IN connection with some
Of the principal citizens, organized a
townsite company for the purpose OF
having the place built In proper shape
and employed Col w. W. DeLacy to
re-survey and carefully plat it. re-
christening it by its present title Of
Deer Lodge.
Town Soon Declined
The county was created by the first
Montana legislature. Feb. ?, 1865, and
Gov. Sidney Edgerton shortly after
appointed George Searie. j. w. Burn
side and Joseph A. Clarke as the first
board Of county commissioners. The
county seat was then located at Silver
Bow City. which was then a thriving
little town outnumbering Deer Lodge
in population, but it soon began TO
decline, and Ophir. Snow Shoe. JEFF
ferson. Washington, Bear and Elk
gulches being found. the majority OF
the population shifted 10 the other end
of the county. and in 1866 the county
seat was removed to Deer Lodge City,
the tOwnsite company donating the
blocks where the courthouse and Jail
now stand. although they were not
erected until 1868. Occupying a noble
site and being well laid out. Deer
Lodge is the most beautiful town In
the territory, If not in the entire
Rocky mountains, and its citizens are
patriotic.
County Was An Empire
Prior to the last. session OF the legis-
lature. which ceded that part Of the
county east of the Rocky mountains
to Chouteau county, Deer Lodge was
truly a princely domain. It was about |
$50 miles long, from north to south. +,
and about rs miles wide. II extended |
from north latitude As degrees 40 min
utes to latitude 40 legrees and lies !
hot tho 1Tptf TTAff, r,aorfTfopc
west. It contained 1925 square miles !
or $3.50, 900 acres and was larger than
either Vermont, New Hampshire. Mas
sachusetts. Connecticut, Rhode Island.
Delaware, Maryland or New Jersey. It /
was also larger than the kingdom of /
Belgium, which has a population of I
4,350OOO; and larger than Hanover. 1
which has a population Of 1882 4O, /
and about five-Sixths as large as
Switzerland, which contains 2,372 900 I
souls, while Deer Lodge county has
about 1900 inhabitants. About one
fourth OF the county Is plains or I'M
dulating land, so called in contradis-
tinction to the mountains, and three
fourths are mountains, but there Is
very little worthless land, the only
part that could properly be called such
being that part of the mountains above
the timberline, all the rest being COW
cred with either timber or a rich
growth of nutritious grasses About
OF the county is timbered
land and three-forths are adapted TO
grazing.
About one-eighth Of the latter is
also good agricultural land, the soil
being of unsurpassed fertility Streams
are numerous. although owing TO the
great altitude none navigable. The
drainage is perfect-a stream running
through the center OF every valley,
into which flow numerous. ice-cold
creeks from the mountains on either
side. The valleys are long and narrow,
sloping from each side to the center,
and are equal in beauty to the Happy
valley described in Johnson's "Ras-
selas."
Enclosed by Rockies
The Rocky mountains bend around
and enclose the county on the south
east and northeast and except west
Of the Deer Lodge pass. where they
rise in broken, Jagged and almost in