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Gallatin Canyon Road
It was about 1898 that the first wagon road was
built up the Gallatin River as far as Taylor's Fork, the intention
being to connect with a National Park wagon road at Swan Lake Basin.
James M. Moore, a pioneer who celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday
anniversary in November 1932, says that in 1910 and 1911, he and a
nephew, William Moore, blazed the trail from Taylor's Fork to West
Yellowstone, building 53 bridges and culverts. In 1932, there is a
fine surfaced highway from Bozeman to West Yellowstone, and this
gateway to Yellowstone Park is said to have the finest scenery to be
found on any park entrance.
Bozeman Sanitarium
The Bozeman Sanitarium, established in 1894 by Dr.
H. W. Foster, was the first hospital established in Gallatin County.
It was taken over by Dr. J. F. Blair after the death of Dr. Foster,
and was later leased by Deaconesses of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, then purchased with the aid of local subscriptions. The
original hospital was transformed into a nurse's home and rooms for
the training school when the new and larger Deaconess Hospital was
built. There are now some smaller hospitals in other parts of
Gallatin County.
Lumber Business
George W. Flanders was among the first to start the
lumber business in Middle Creek Canyon, and J. J. Tomlinson and Z.
Sales on West Gallatin River. Other lumber mills developed, also for
some time tie camps flourished, and lumberyards are important
features of the business in Gallatin County in later years.
First Telegraph Line
The first telegraphic communication between Bozeman
and Helena was completed November 11, 1871, and a telegraph line
between Bozeman and Bismarck, Dakota, was completed March 20, 1880.
Telephones Installed
Telephones were installed in Bozeman in 1885 by the
Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Company, but were not adopted very
generally for a few years. Later, an independent company installed
what was known as the home telephone, the system being later
absorbed by the Bell Company, which sold in 1911 to the Mountain
States Telephone and Telegraph Company. Bozeman now has 2,358
telephones, and the company has exchanges in the other towns in the
county and a large number of telephones in rural homes of Gallatin
County. Long distance connection may be made not only throughout
Montana, but also with any part of the United States.
Sweet Pea Carnival
The Sweet Pea Carnival, sponsored largely by the
Bozeman Civic League, with the cooperation of the Gallatin Valley
Club was first held in 1906, and also with the cooperation of the
Bozeman Lodge of Elks in 1907, was an event in which people of the
community, as well as some from other parts of the valley, helped.
The state grand lodge of Elks being held in connection with the
carnival in August 1907, brought hundreds of people to the city, and
boosted Bozeman as the "Sweet Pea City," because of the
exceptionally fine blossoms grown here. The parade showed many
elaborately decorated rigs and floats. After a few years, the
carnival was given up.
Government Fish Hatchery
The
Bozeman Fish Technology Center, established in
1894, is located in Bridger Canyon, about four miles northeast of
Bozeman. It includes about 120 acres of ground, some land having
been turned over to the Gallatin National Forest a few years ago for
the location of the Bridger Ranger Station. The hatchery is supplied
with cold water from a spring-fed creek, and has a number of open
fish ponds in addition to the hatchery building. Fish have been
distributed from this hatchery, not only to many streams and ponds
in Montana, and to Glacier National Park, but also to other states,
including Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. |
