As I discuss in the About section, I began to consider a new Montana heritage inventory in 2007 after speaking to the governor’s task force on historic preservation. On my way to Helena from Billings, I stopped at my favorite Milwaukee Road towns, Harlowton. It wasn’t yet a ghost town but was clearly hurting, and the National Register-listed Graves Hotel was closed. In 1985 it was still vibrant and the last place we stayed in Montana before leaving for Tennessee.