As readers of the blog know, the Shields River Valley is one of my favorite places in Montana. A good place to start any exploration is the village Wilsall, which, from my perspective, is close to a lot of larger towns and population but, then, also thrives quite well in its own.

The town’s past lies with the cattle ranch of Will and Sally Jordan—thus the same Wilsall—and the building of a spur line by the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1909, and the homesteading boom in northern Park County. The historic grain elevator is one potent reminder of both the railroad and homesteading. The tracks ran to the west of the present US 89 highway.

By 1910, the place had a post office; a modern one stands along the highway while an older one is attached to the mercantile building.

Soon the town’s primary crossroads at Elliot and Clark streets was defined by an impressive classical style bank on the west side and a large brick mercantile store on the east side.

The Bank Bar in fact has recently been in the news because, guess what, national media has again “discovered” a great Montana eatery—

something that locals have known about for years. Maybe the review will get more people to slow down a bit and look around.

The stop is worth it, not just for a cold brew and perfect burger, but for the town’s Crazy Little Museum (also called the former Norwegian Embassy). It’s always refreshing when a place has a good perspective on itself and honors a person like Bob Tomasko who did a lot for the town before his death in 2012.

Historic community buildings survive such as the school from the 1910s, now boarded up.

And the town community hall, which remains in use even as the population has dwindled from 237 in 2000 to under 200 in 2020.

US Highway 89 is one of my favorite north-south routes in Montana stretching into Wyoming. I always look forward to my next visit to Wilsall.