Musselshell County, Montana 1921
While by no means one of the larger
of Montana's counties, Musselshell, with a land area of 2,903
miles is by no means one of the least important. One of the best
of the dry farming counties, it likewise presents conditions
markedly favorable to stock raising and its coal production, in
proportion to its size, is of a nature that gives it a certain
prestige among other mining districts. Lately, also, the county
has assumed additional importance because of the discovery of an
excellent grade of oil, an industry which promises to make
Musselshell County a point of much interest to operators and
investors in the near future.
Settlement of the Musselshell Country
The permanent settlement of this region began between 1880 and
1885, when a number of cattlemen located along the streams. Some
years before, horse-stealing had been carried on along the
Musselshell, and stock had ranged on the rich grazing land,
which was formerly an old-time haunt of the buffalo, but no one
ever attempted to get title to property. Later, when the sheep
and wool industry partially displaced cattle raising, land was
taken up along the streams in order to secure control of the
water rights and of the rich bottom lands which yielded
bountiful crops of blue joint and timothy hay. The value of the
bench lands for grain and other crops was then unknown. In 1908,
the Puget Sound and Billings and Northern Railroad were
completed through Musselshell Valley and the transition from a
cattle and grazing to a farming country began.
When the Northern Pacific Road first
started on its long way to the Pacific coast, great land grants
were made to the corporation by Congress. Since that time, each
odd-numbered section in the majority of townships in Musselshell
County has been owned by the Northern Pacific. By the summer of
1911 most of the government land had been taken up and developed
into farms, and to further develop the country the commercial
organizations of the various towns began to make insistent
demands upon the Northern Pacific for the opening of its lands.
Recognizing the justice and previous benefit of that policy, the
railway placed these odd-numbered sections on the market. These
lands were in all respects equal to those which had been
homesteaded and have produced banner crops of wheat, oats, rye,
barley, flax and vegetables. The movement of settlers to the
lands mentioned had its effect in bringing a demand for a new
county, which was accordingly organized from parts of Fergus,
Meagher and Yellowstone.
Agriculture and Live Stock Raising
Musselshell County was created March
1, 191 1, and was named after the river which traverses it from
east to west. It is located just south of the geographical
center of Montana, and is approximately sixty-five miles from
east to west, and forty-two miles from north to south. The
Musselshell River irrigates about 12,000 acres along its banks,
and is the principal source of water supply for the county,
although Willow Creek, Flatwillow Creek and Swimming Woman Creek
serve to irrigate several thousands of acres of farm lands lying
in the north end of the county. Water for domestic use is
obtained from the Musselshell for several towns along that
stream, while wells for domestic purposes furnish an ample
supply on farms, water being found at a depth of from twenty to
sixty feet in most sections of the county.
At the present time there are
probably about 15,000 acres under ditch and much of the
remainder of the county can be irrigated, but for the most part
agriculture is carried on by the dry farming or non-irrigated
method, and this has produced excellent results. The soil varies
in different parts of the county, along the river being a heavy
loam which produces high yields of all grains, corn, alfalfa and
garden truck, while on the benches a limestone gravel soil
predominates which is easily cultivated and is particularly
suited for wheat raising. In the extreme northern and southern
parts of the county and along the Bull Mountains, the land is
rolling and in some places mountainous, suited for grazing, and,
where open, produces good crops. All classes of soil in
Musselshell County are of good depth. The central portion of the
county is for the most part level, with frequent benches, which
are particularly suited for conserving moisture and usually
produce splendid wheat crops. The principal crops grown are
wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, flax, alfalfa, timothy, clover,
potatoes, beans and vegetables of all kinds. Much corn and
sunflowers are being planted for silage, and sweet clover is
also proving a splendid forage crop. Lands in Musselshell County
are reasonably priced and the county offers opportunities to
thrifty agriculturists who possess sufficient capital to
establish themselves. For raw agricultural lands, $15 to $30 per
acre is asked, and for improved land $20 to $75 per acre.
Irrigated land brings from $40 to $75 per acre, and grazing
land, which here is more or less rough and unsuited for
cultivation, sells at from $5 to $10 per acre. In all
communities, the price set on the various kinds of land depends
to a large extent upon how far they are situated from towns and
railroads, and what improvements have been made by their former
owners.
Aside from farming, the principal
industries of the residents of Musselshell County consist of
cattle, hog and sheep raising and coal mining. There is still
much room for development in the stock raising industry which
has not attained its highest state of perfection in this region,
but which has been followed with success by growers in several
sections. An excellent grade of semi-bituminous coal is obtained
in the Bull Mountain coal field, and the largest mine at Roundup
produces approximately 3,000 tons daily, while the coal
production of the five largest mines reaches 6,000 tons daily,
which is capable of increase to double that amount. An industry
which is now attracting much attention is oil development, three
wells sunk in 1919 and 1920 having produced oil of an excellent
quality and many more being drilled in various parts of the
county. Thus far, coal and petroleum have been the only minerals
found in appreciable quantities, although there is known to be a
deposit of sapphires in the county, several hundred specimens
having been gathered. Timber of good quality is found in
merchantable quantities in the Bull and Snowy mountains.
Lines of Transportation
Musselshell County lacks nothing in
the way of good transportation facilities. It is traversed from
east to west by the main line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railway, and from north to south by the Great Northern
Railway, running from Billings to Great Falls, and several state
and national highways intersect the county. The Custer
Battlefield Highway, extending from Omaha to Glacier Park,
crosses the county from south to north, passing through the
county seat of Roundup. The Montana Electric Trail follows the
line of the Milwaukee Railway from west to east across the
county, passing through Lavina, Roundup, Musselshell and
Melstone, and the Glacier Cutoff, starting at Custer on the
Yellowstone Trail, passes through Musselshell and Roundup and
northward to Glacier Park. As attractions to tourists, the
county offers several fine fishing streams within easy reach of
the larger communities and highways; in the Bull Mountains
beautiful scenery is to be found; on the beaches there are wide
stretches of agricultural land; in season there is to be secured
good hunting for duck, prairie chicken, sage hens, wild geese
and even deer; the oil fields can be seen in operation from the
Custer Battlefield Highway, an hour's trip from Roundup, and one
of the largest shaft coal mines west of the Mississippi River is
at the county seat.
The advantages offered in the way of
educational training in Musselshell County include 145
schoolhouses, served by 180 instructors. Of these, 125 are rural
schools, twelve are graded schools and eight are high schools.
Roundup
Roundup, the county seat of
Musselshell County, was founded in 1909, and is the largest coal
mining camp on the main line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railway between Miles City and Butte. It is the center of
distribution for twelve oil fields within forty miles of the
city, as well as the hub of a large farming and stock raising
district, and coal mines within four miles of the city have a
pay roll of $150,000 per month. This is a thriving and
progressive community which maintains four churches, and has
paved streets, a cluster street lighting system, modern electric
light, water and sewer systems and a new reservoir of 1,000,000
gallons capacity.
Musselshell, a community of 300
people, has farming and stock raising for its chief developers,
although there are a number of active coal mines in the
neighborhood. It is the oldest town in the county and is
pleasantly situated on the south bank of the Musselshell River
in the Bull Mountain coal field. To the south the land is
rolling prairie with many beautiful and fertile valleys. A
trading post, which planned to become a great commercial center,
was established on the north bank of the river, about opposite
the present town, in the year 1877. A store and post office were
opened on the town site of today. The old Fort Custer-Fort
Maginnis road crossed the river at that point and for a long
time the place was known simply as the Crossing. Melstone, with
a population of 400, is a railroad division point, and is the
nearest rail gateway to the Mosby oil fields, being likewise
conveniently situated in a community in which farming, stock
raising and coal mining are prosecuted. These communities all
offer inducements to those desiring to make a permanent home,
and opportunities are numerous. All maintain good school
systems, Roundup having a high school.
In 1907, the St. Paul Road was built
into Musselshell County and the event was followed by an even
greater growth than it had previously enjoyed. Its population in
1920 was 12,030.
Montana Counties 1921
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Montana AHGP

Source: Montana its Story and Biography,
by Tom Strout, Volume 1, The American Historical Society, 1921
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