Custer County Cemetery in Miles City

Posted on September 7, 2026 by carrollvanwest

Located south of town on Montana Highway 59, the Custer County Cemetery dates to the first years of settlement in the 1880s.

However its current look of rows of trees and well manicured grounds dates to the mid-twentieth century and a rather unique New Deal project. In the summer of 1940 the Works Projects Administration gave the county $4,302 to “beautify and improve” the county cemetery.

WPA crews added stone retaining walls, new driveways, and a three-arch stone gateway to the property as part of its “public improvements.”

The family of Roy Montgomery who died 9 months old in 1895 purchased a metal Victorian designed grave marker.

Another Victorian style marker built from granite was placed to memorialize the Milligan family. Miles Howard Milligan (b. 1897) died in 1918. The Miles City Star of October 6, 1918 reported that Milligan died from the Spanish flu at the army training school at Boulder, Colorado. His funeral was a major community event, “with full military honors.” Later generations, including his wife Mary and son Miles, are also buried in this family plot.

Veteran graves may be found throughout the cemetery. For example, Joseph Taliaferro Brown (1849-1908) served in the Confederate Calvary from Mississippi under the command of Gen. Nathan B. Forrest during the Civil War then served in as a captain in the U.S. Calvary after the war. He came to Custer County in 1886 and established a cattle ranch along the Tongue River near Birney. A tall white obelisk marks his resting place.

Two other Civil War veterans buried at the cemetery fought for the United States during the Civil War and then served in the Sioux campaign of 1876. Lyman Smith (1846-1930) served in the 5th Wisconsin Infantry. In the summer of 1876 he was a civilian employee at the Tongue River cantonment, the precursor to Fort Keogh. At the cantonment and fort, Smith was “a wagon master, a hay cutter, and [had] various other occupations,” according to the Miles City Star, October 29, 1930.

Tom McFadden (1845-1896) served in the 2nd Kansas Cavalry and then as an “Indian scout” for Gen. Nelson Miles in 1896. He died at his powderville ranch after taking his own life once he had been kicked by a horse and knew he had no chance of surviving the accident. This story appeared in the Livingston Enterprise of September 5, 1896.

Most veteran graves are arranged in rows in a separate section of the cemetery, which is graced by the American flag. This section is a precursor to the much later Eastern Montana State Veterans Cemetery which is south of the Custer County Cemetery.

The cemetery is a beautiful spot and there are many stories within its boundaries. Older grave markers predominate but several more recently erected grave markers tell stories of the late 20th and 21st centuries.

I’m grateful that the WPA spent the money and time on this cemetery in 1940. New Deal agencies typically appropriated funds for other projects but this “public improvement” project certainly brings meaning and value to Miles City today.

Havre’s Historic Mount Hope Cemetery, Part 3

Posted on August 1, 2026 by carrollvanwest

In the fall of 2025, I paid my most recent visit to Mount Hope Cemetery, on the western side of Havre. Two posts in 2023 covered the basic history of what was the city’s first cemetery from the late 1880s. I will not repeat that information today.

My update centers on the western boundary of the cemetery where Japanese residents were buried in the first two decades of the 20th century. My earlier photos imdid not include details of several of these graves.

The single delineated family plot was that for the Hamaoka family. The father, marked as Y. Hamaoka, died in April 1913, a child died the next month. The wife/mother, listed as Mrs Y. Hamaoka, died two years later. My guess is that the wire fence and gate were placed around the graves in 1915.

Hamaoka was a clerk at the Oriental Trading Company in Havre. The Havre Promoter of May 2, 1913 noted that he and his wife had three children.

The next eight grave markers date from 1905-1909. They do not share a last name but may have been related or perhaps from the same city or village. Perhaps they were all associated with the Oriental Trading Company. A search in Havre newspapers through newspapers.com did not uncover any biographical information.

The Future for Bozeman’s modern landmark?

Posted on July 28, 2026 by carrollvanwest

Bozeman is one of those Montana towns where historic preservation has played a positive economic and cultural role in local development for two generations.

This it comes as a surprise when you hear that a public agency, in this case the federal General Services Administration, is considering letting the downtown landmark Federal Building pass from public hands.

The building dates to 1966, as is evident from its modern style, so 1960s. The firm of Hamill and Associates designed it in the New Formalist style made popular by architect E.D. Stone. It was built during a decade of growth, from a town of 13,000 in 1960 to a place of 18,000 by 1970. The new post office, and the agencies who were headquartered at the building, contributed significantly to the boom that occurred in Bozeman over the last third of the 20th century. In other words, important work took place here.

The city government has asked for the building to stay public, and be transferred to the city. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the city has amply demonstrated the ability and the commitment necessary for the preservation and use of National Register properties. So let’s hope that transfer takes place. Bozeman cannot afford to lose another modernist landmark.

Vandalia and Tampico revisited

Posted on July 3, 2026 by carrollvanwest

Montana Highway 246 is one of those “side” roads that few travel, unfortunately, because if you go that way from the west toward Glasgow it will take longer than US Highway 2. But the time is well worthwhile because once you cross the Milk River (by way of a modern concrete bridge) you step back to the turn of the 20th century.

Vandalia has history as a late 19th century trading post at the crossing of the Milk River. Then it became one of the early milk River ranches. Once the Great Northern Railroad built its initial route westward the tracks came this way, following the river.

The tracks brought the first generation of homesteaders who built the white-painted frame school in 1912. The school later became the post office, and served that role when I first visited Vandalia in 1984.

When I next visited almost 30 years later, the post office had closed and the school was in rough condition. Imagine my delight when I next stopped in the fall of 2025. The school was taking on new life. The roof had been prepared and replaced, and prep work was underway to give it a fresh coat of paint.

The story was not so bright for the old bar and store that was next door. The old gas pumps were still there but the porch roof was sagging and it looked forlorn.

Original route US Highway 2 heading east toward Tampico

The drive remains fun, especially the graveled original route of US Highway 2 with the occasional Burlington Santa Fe freight train roaring by. Imagine driving cross country on this route when large sections of it remained unpaved.

The next town to the east is Tampico, established around 1908. In 2013 the town was tiny but showed some life. Twelve years later, the abandonment was striking.

Most early 20th century railroad towns across the northern plains struggle one hundred years later but those off the major highways, like Vandalia and Tampico, could easily disappear.

Great Falls Resurgence

Posted on July 3, 2026 by carrollvanwest

Montana newspapers this week featured a story about economic resurgence in Great Falls, where the population has remained basically level in the 21st century while other Montana cities have grown by leaps and bounds. Readers of this blog recognize that I am a big booster of what heritage and historic preservation has meant to the city, and certainly that pride in history and culture you find anytime you visit Great Falls as I found during a fall 2025 visit.

The proliferation of colorful, descriptive murals enliven downtown commercial buildings, including the highway underpass at the restored Milwaukee Road passenger station. the topic has been historic—witness the penetrating graze of town founder, Paris Gibson, below.

Or if it is a more abstract design in the city’s commercial heart ( the reproduction city street lights add charm too).

Downtown recreation is another positive change, as the river trail between the tracks of the Great Northern Railway and the Missouri River continues to expand and improve.

One of the state’s best skateparks also adds significantly to recreation, and community building in Great Falls.

And speaking to community building the restoration and adaptive reuse of downtown buildings create nighttime gathering spots, giving residents plenty of reason to come downtown. The Celtic Cowboy, located in a circa 1890 livery building, has become a popular pub while the owe era of Smoked took a 1930s building and made it a must-stop place for Barbeque.

Even the iconic Sip-N-Dip lounge has announced a renovation and improvements to this mid-20th century landmark.

My stop in Great Falls last October centered around a check of the renovation of the National Register-listed Union Bethel AME Church. Like many others I supported its grant application and I was pleased to see work underway to ensure another 100 years for this landmark.

No doubt the protection of the city’s historic buildings and finding new community uses for them continues as an anchor for Great Falls, be it the Children’s Museum or the impressive History Museum and Archives. Both are located along the city’s historic railroad corridor.

Preserving and telling local stories but Great Falls is further enhanced by two major national institutions—the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail interpretive center and the Charles M. Russell Museum.

The Russell continues to expand, and amaze, as it evolves from a regional to truly national cultural center. The city too is trending in that direction, which means that next visit will certainly be sooner than later.

St Marie: Cold War Ghost Town

Posted on May 31, 2026 by carrollvanwest

My first visit to what became known as St Marie came in 1984 when local Glasgow residents associated with the Valley county museum took me to the closed Glasgow Air Force Base, about 15 miles north of town. From the late 1950s to the 1970s, the base was an important cog in the Cold War military capabilities of the United States when huge B-52 bombers ruled the sky. Then suddenly it was not so important and the Air Force left.

The locals in 1984 spoke of grand plans, of how the Air Force was in the process of selling the base, building by building. That part was true. They gave me a booklet that explained the past purpose of each building and the value of each building at that time.

In 1984 it seemed unlikely to me that a new use could be found because the base was so big—its population was once 50% of the entire county—and it was so isolated. If the Air Force didn’t have a use for it, who would?

When I returned in 1988, the transformation of the base into civilian control was underway. Locals excitedly informed me of the new comprehensive plan to turn the base into a retirement community named St Marie, targeting veterans. The old support facilities would be humming once again and a golf course would be central to everything.

I was urged to invest now—get one of the officers homes, or half of a duplex for remarkably little—$27,500 for a 1,500 sq ft unit.

Obviously I passed on the opportunity, as did so many others who visited the community in the making over the next years. But enough said yes to give St Marie a fighting chance for a future. The promise didn’t last long, as several recent research articles detail. When I next visited Glasgow 25 years later in 2013, the folks at the museum didn’t urge me to buy—they told me to go and see what was left.

Rot, decay, mold were everywhere—but just like so many Montana ghost towns there remained a core group of residents who kept their homes well and expressed pride in what had been accomplished.

While key community buildings such as the chapel and post office/community center were closed, the flags were still flying proudly at the town hall. Officials spoke of a turnaround in the making.

I returned in the fall of 2025–more than 40 years after my first visit—to find hopes mostly extinguished. The deterioration of the chapel, community center, and schools was shocking—little hope there.

There were no flags flying at the town hall but everywhere it seemed there were new signs and barriers of the Montana Aviation Research Co. This private company was now using the runaways and had converted several buildings for employees’ use.

The population had cratered since 2013 but of those approximately 300 people who still called St Marie home, you have to admire their commitment to the place. Numerous homes were well maintained even with the signs of abandonment everywhere.

What will be left when I next visit this modern-day ghost town of the northern plains?

Pekin Noddle Parlor: Sad news from Butte

Posted on April 24, 2026 by carrollvanwest

Today’s newspapers (April 24, 2026) bore the sad news that the Tam family has decided to close the iconic Pekin Noodle Parlor in Uptown Butte. For well over 100 years the family operated from this 2-story brick building at 117 South Main.

The building is nearby to another historic Chinese associated building on West Mercury, which is home to a museum about the Chinese in Butte and Montana.

The Montana Standard sees the restaurant’s closing as a developing story so perhaps we will soon know about the future of the historic building

Another win in Helena

Posted on April 15, 2026 by carrollvanwest

This year’s grants of the Foundation for Montana History are supporting many worthy projects across the state. One that I have been watching for some time, about 7 years, is the progress made in the restoration and reuse of the historic Baxendale School outside of Helena.

Built in the 1890s, it served as a one-room school in rural Lewis and Clark County until the mid-29th century. Luckily no one tore it down over the following decades. About 15 years ago Preserve Montana (then called the Montana Preservation Alliance) carried out a study of the state’s one room schools and convinced the National Trust for Historic Preservation to list Montana’s rural schools as one of the nation’s most threatened historic resources.

But Preserve Montana wanted to do more than advocate for preservation. I wanted to demonstrate how to give these buildings new lives. In 2019 it acquired the Baxendale School, moved it to the outskirts of Helena, and began to use it as a hands-on training center for the repair of older buildings.

I was able to see the progress up close in the fall of 2025, and came away impressed with the progress and plans for next steps.

The support from the Foundation for Montana History will help complete the exterior restoration. What a productive partnership between the Foundation and Preserve Montana!

Good news in Billings

Posted on April 12, 2026 by carrollvanwest

The Foundation for Montana History does many good things across the Treasure State. The Foundation announced its new round of grant awards and I was extremely happy to learn of the grant for a preservation study for the Westetn Heritage Center.

The WHC has been an outstanding regional museum for decades and my professional relationship with the museum is almost 45 years in duration.

The building was constructed at the turn of the century in honor of Parmly Billings, a pivotal figure in the city’s early development. He was the son of Frederick Billings, the city’s founder and namesake. Parmly’s brother, Frederick, Jr., donated funds for the building to be the Parmly Billings Memorial Library. Montana architect Charles S. Haire designed the library in a Richardsonian Romanesque style. Supervising the project were several leaders of Billings including Albert Babcock and I.D. O’Donnell, who had been a good friend of Parmly.

In the early 1990s visionary WHC director Lynda Bourque Moss reconnected the museum with the Billings heirs and they helped to fund a renovation that restored the original entrance and name and also reorganized the landscape so that a statue of Frederick Billings, which had stood alone in front of a city parking garage, could stand in front of the building.

The Billings statue at the city parking garage 1988

I was involved with the museum both for the research of my book Capitalism on the Frontier: The Transformation of Billings and the Yellowstone Valley (1993) and an award winning exhibit on the valley’s history that was created in 1990s.

Since then I have of course visited the museum on numerous occasions. In the new century, the museum accepted the donation of the J.K. Ralston studio to the east corner of the property.

Ralston cabin at Rocky Mountain College 1991

it has been over 30 years since the mid-1990s renovations and so it’s time for a new preservation assessment of this very significant building. Congrats to the Foundation for Montana History for making it happen!

Good news in Deer Lodge

Posted on February 13, 2026 by carrollvanwest

Encouraging news this week from Deer Lodge where a new effort is underway to potentially restore the historic Hotel Deer Lodge, according to a story in the Montana Standard.

The three-story brick hotel has been a landmark along the town’s Main Street for over 100 years, built in anticipation of decades of use in a town that both hosted the State Prison and the division yards of the Milwaukee Road. Unfortunately those days as an important Milwaukee division point disappeared by 1980, and the hotel struggled for business then closed.

The three images above are from 2012 when an interpretive mural at the hotel entrance signaled that perhaps the place could be reopened.

The next two images from 2023 show some restoration had been accomplished over the preceding ten years. But the building was far from been ready for any new use, especially in sections where the roof had failed.

The newspaper story emphasized that any restoration would not be cheap. The place had deteriorated too much in the last three decades. One estimate called for $15 million. but having seen the town bring back its historic Main Street movie theater after a disastrous fire ten years ago, I have hopes the hotel will attract the necessary investment.

	Montana Towns Sunk T… on Canton, a forgotten Missouri R…
	carrollvanwest on St Marie: Cold War Ghost …
	Tim Knoff on St Marie: Cold War Ghost …
	Janes on Great Falls Resurgence
	Judy Combo on A look at Butte’s c…

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