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CARBON COUNTY, MONTANA

Places and Towns

 US GenWeb



Alpine
A summer home community along East Rosebud lake in the Beartooth Mountains south of Roscoe. There was a post office there 1914-53, except for the years 1943-45.


Bean
Located near Piney Creek in the Pryor Mountains. Postmaster/homesteader Jordon Bean operated a post office there 1894-1900.


Bearcreek
Located five miles east of Red Lodge, in the midst of a large coal mining district. The town was platted September 6, 1905 by Geo. T. Lamport and wife and Robert Leavens and wife. Bearcreek post office was established in May, 1906.1
Bearcreek is the site of the February 27, 1943 Smith Mine explosion in which 74 men were killed.


Belfry
A new town along the Clark's Fork river and the Yellowstone Park railway. Platted July 26, 1905, by F. A. Hall, president, Belfry Townsite Company.1
The town was named for Dr. William Belfry and was headquarters for the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad which serviced the coalmines at Bearcreek and Washoe.


Berwind
A coal mining operation located on a spur of the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad.


Blum
A station on the Northern Pacific Railroad located between Edgar and Rockvale.


Bowler
A village first settled in 1892, at the junction of the Burlington and Missouri River railroad and Sage creek, 40 miles east of Red Lodge and 18 miles southeast of Bridger, the banking point on the Northern Pacific railroad, and 48 miles southwest of Billings. Stage every other day to Bridger.1 There was a post office here 1894-1936.


Boyd
Located between Joliet and Roberts along highway 212. The town was named for John Boyd an early homesteader in the area. A post office was established here in 1909.


Bridger
Bridger is a flourishing village on the Northern Pacific railroad and Clark's Fork river, twenty five miles northeast of Red Lodge and 45 miles southwest of Billings. It was platted February 27, 1902, by A. H. Wethey. It is the center of a rich coal mining and stock raising district and near the town are found large stucco beds which have been worked for the past ten years almost continuously. The town has a bank, three hotels, school and opera house with a seating capacity of 300, a creamery with a capacity of 300 pounds per day, a good water system and an electric light plant. It has a population of about 300 and will soon vote on the question of incorporation. It has telephone connections with Red Lodge and Joliet and daily stages to Red Lodge, Joliet, Golden and Riverview. The only church organization is the Methodist Episcopal church which is largely attended.1 Jim Bridger blazed a trail to the Virginia City gold field which crossed the Clark's Fork river near here. The area was known as Bridger's Crossing and was later shorted to Bridger. The town was also called Georgetown or Stringtown at various times. A post office was established for Bridger in 1898.


Carbonado
Located between Joliet and Boyd, it was established as a coal mining town by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company in 1897. A post office was established in 1898. The mine shut down in 1901 and the post office was closed in 1902.


Castagne
Located near Red Lodge it was named for Frank Castange, the first Carbon County casualty of WW1. There was a post office here 1919 - 1935.


Chance
A post office and settlement 18 miles southeast of Red Lodge, the shipping point on the Northern Pacific railway, and 20 miles southwest of Bridger, the banking point. Stage and mail tri-weekly from Red Lodge.1 A stage stop on the old Meeteetse Trail to Wyoming, there was a post office here 1898 - 1921. The town was named for Nathan Chance an early settler.


Cherry Springs
A schoolhouse and voting place located between Roberts and Bridger.


Coalville
A coal mining camp, now incorporated into the town of Fromberg. There was a post office by that name 1907 - 1912.


Cummings
Located near Bowler, there was a post office here 1910 - 1911.


Dilworth
A stop on the old Meeteetese Trail, it was named for James Dilworth the first postmaster. The post office was established in 1884 and was closed in 1891.


Dryhead
Located in southeastern Carbon County it was named for the many dried buffalo skulls found in the area. A post office was established here in 1919.


East Bridger
This was a station stop and loading site on the Burlington railroad located across the Clark's Fork river from Bridger.


Edgar
A station on the Clark's Fork branch of the Northern Pacific railway, 31 miles southwest of Billings and six miles southwest of Silesia, the post office.1


Elk Basin
The site of the first oil well in Montana. The worker housing was later moved to a high bench in Wyoming to avoid hydrogen sulfide gas from the oil wells.


Ewing
A post office on the Big Horn River, 70 miles southeast of Red Lodge, 60 miles south of Billings, the banking point, and 30 miles southeast of Bowler, the shipping point, on the Burlington railroad.1 Located near present day Barry's Landing, it was the only crossing in Big Horn Canyon. There was a post office here 1898 - 1908 to serve the area homesteaders.


Fairbanks
There was a post office by this name June - August 1906, after its closure the mail was sent to Linley. Previous to this time the post office had been called Tony.


Fox
A siding on the Northern Pacific railroad six miles north of Red Lodge. It was named for J. M. Fox, the first manager of the Rocky Fork and Cooke City railroad.


Fromberg
A post office and the Northern Pacific railway station name for Gebo, 20 miles northeast of Red Lodge, seven miles north of Bridger, the banking point, and 38 miles southwest of Billings.1 The site of the winter camp of the OZ Cattle Company and location of the Gebo coal mine. The post office was established in 1903 with Abraham Pierson as postmaster.


Gebo
Gebo is a village on the Northern Pacific railroad and Clark's Fork river, the station name for which is Fromberg. It was first settled in 1897 and platted April 20, 1898, by Frederick H. Davis. It is twenty miles northeast of Red Lodge and seven miles north of Bridger, the banking point. It is located in the midst of a good coal mining district and a considerable amount of coal is shipped from this point every year.1 There was a post office by this name 1897 - 1907, after that time it was known as Coalville and later still became Fromberg.


Golden
A shipping point on the Montana, Wyoming and Southern railroad near the Gold Dome oilfield. There were post offices there 1898 -1912 and again 1916 -1919. It was located between Bridger and Belfry.


Hillsboro
Located near present day Barry's Landing, there was a post office here 1915 - 1945. G. William Barry was the postmaster.


Joliet
Joliet is the second town of importance in Carbon county, both in the matter of population and the volume of business transacted. It is situated in the midst of the largest and best agricultural district in the county, on the Rocky Fork and Cooke City branch of the Northern Pacific railroad, 26 miles north of Red Lodge and 17 miles northwest of Bridger. The town is about half a mile from the railroad and the station name is Wilsey. It contains a bank, flour mill, hotel, live weekly newspaper, the Joliet Journal, and other lines of business common to small towns. It has long distance connections with outside points and a rural free delivery service. Stage daily, except Sunday between Bridger and Gebo.
The population is about 300 and the question of incorporation is soon to be voted on by the residents of Joliet and present indications point to a large vote for the proposition.1
The post office was established in 1893 with Maud Smith as postmistress.

List of Joliet surnames.


Kiehl
This was a post office 1902 - 1903.


Linley
A country post office 17 miles west of Red Lodge.1
Located on West Red Lodge Creek, it had a post office 1902 - 1907. When the post office closed mail delivery was transferred to Luther.


Luther
The post office was established in 1907 and also served the nearby "twin city" of Linley.


Mason
A shipping point near Laurel named for S. D. Mason.


Montaqua
Located between Rockvale and Joliet. A stream of hot water was tapped here during an attempt to drill for oil. A mineral water spa was established and a pool and associated buildings were built. The aquifer was closed off by the 1959 earthquake.


Morris
A post office existed by this name 1901 - 1905. It was named for Robert O. Morris an early settler in the area. The name was later changed to Roscoe to avoid confusion during mail sorting with Norris, Montana.


Musgrave
Located two miles west of Wade. The post office existed 1916 - 1921 with Richard Musgrave as the first postmaster. After closure the mail was sent to Warren.


New Caledonia
A settlement of Scottish miners and families near Washoe.


Red Lodge
The first attempt to commercially develop the vast coal deposits at Red Lodge was the formation of the Rocky Fork Coal Company in 1887. The company was founded by Walter Cooper, Sam Hauser and Sam Word. In 1888, Babcock and Miles and J. D. Losekamp were the first merchants and the next year O. E. Millis and J. H. Conrad Co., opened mercantile establishments there. The Rocky Fork branch of the Northern Pacific Railroad was completed to Red Lodge in June 1889 and was followed by a large influx of settlers and workmen for the mines.
The town was platted in November, 1889 by John W. Buskett, secretary of the Rocky Fork Town and Electric Company.
Red Lodge, the capitol of Carbon county, with a population of over 3,000, is situated at the terminus of the Rocky Fork and Cooke City branch of the Northern Pacific Railroad, 44 miles from the main line and 45 miles from the Yellowstone National Park by trail over the Bear Tooth Mountains. The elevation above sea level is about 5,500 feet. Although located in a high altitude the climatic conditions are very uniform and the temperature rarely goes to extremes. Sufficient snow for sleighing purposes is a treat seldom experienced in winter and disagreeably hot weather in summer is almost unknown in this section.
The town has a good water works system owned by the city, an electric plant, two telephone exchanges, a fire department that would be the pride of any city of like size, three banking institutions, three hotels, and scores of handsome homes and business blocks. It is the center of the largest measure of semi-bituminous coal in the west, and also the center of a large agricultural, stock raising and wool growing area, and exports annually large consignments of hay, grain and vegetables. The variety of its resources, the beauty of its environs, the purity of its water supply, and the health producing qualities of its climate all combine to add to its attractiveness as a home and business location.1 The post office was established in 1884 with Ezra Benton as postmaster.


Riverview
A country post office on Clark's Fork river, 18 miles east of Red Lodge and 15 miles south of Bridger, the banking and shipping point. Mail tri-weekly from Bridger.1
Located along the Clark's Fork river near Belfry, it had a post office 1901 - 1906.


Roberts
A post office, the station name for which is Merritt, on the Northern Pacific railway and Rock Creek, 12 miles north of Red Lodge and 6 miles from Joliet, the banking point.1
The post office was established in 1896 with John Summay as postmaster.


Rockvale
A post office and flagstation on the Northern Pacific railway, settled in1893, 30 miles northeast of Red Lodge and 6 miles from Joliet, the banking point.1
Located between Silesia and Joliet, it was settled in 1893. There was a post office here 1894 - 1914 with Orren Clawson as postmaster.


Rocky Fork
This is the original name of the town of Red Lodge.


Roscoe
A country post office first settled in 1901 on the Big Rosebud river, 22 miles west of Red Lodge, the banking and shipping point on the Northern Pacific railroad. Stage and mail tri-weekly to Red Lodge.1 In 1905 the name of the town was changed from Morris to Roscoe to avoid confusion with Norris, Montana. Roscoe was the name of Mrs. Morrisses favorite horse.


Scribner
There was a post office here July - August 1911. This office was closed and the mail delivery was transferred to Warren.


Senia
A summer season dude camp twelve miles above Red Lodge. It was started by Al Croonquest in 1917.


Scotch Coulee
A settlement of Scottish immigrants located near Bearcreek.


Shriver
This was a post office located on Sage Creek 1915 - 1938.


Silesia
A post office and station on the Rocky Fork branch of the Northern Pacific railway, at the junction of the Clark's Fork branch, 35 miles northeast of Red Lodge and 19 miles northeast of Bridger, the banking point.1
The post office was established here in 1900 with Charles Buzzetti as postmaster.


Stringtown
Around 1898 there was a settlement near Bearcreek with this name. Prior to adopting the name of Bridger that area was also known as Stringtown.


Tony
A country post office 12 miles west of Red Lodge, the banking point. Mail tri-weekly from Red Lodge.1 A post office on West Red Lodge Creek 1902 - 1906.


Tyndell
A stock loading station on the Burlington railroad near Bridger.


Wade
A store along the Burlington railroad between Bridger and Warren.


Warren
There was a post office here from 1911 - 1953. The location is along the Burlington railroad between Bridger and Frannie Wyoming.


Washoe
The town served the Washoe Coal Company, a subsidiary of Anaconda Copper Mining Company. The post office was established 1907. It is located between Red Lodge and Bearcreek.


Absarokee
A post office on Stillwater creek, 35 miles northwest of Red Lodge and 13 miles southwest of Columbus, the nearest banking and shipping point on the Northern Pacific railroad.


Dean
A country post office 35 miles northwest of Red Lodge, the banking point, and 30 miles southwest of Columbus, the shipping point on the Northern Pacific railway. Mail and stage daily from Columbus.


Fishtail
A country post office on the Rosebud creek, 35 miles northwest of Red Lodge and 20 miles southwest of Columbus on the Northern Pacific railway, the shipping and banking point. It has a stage to Absarokee and Columbus.


(NOTE: Absarokee, Dean and Fishtail are now in Stillwater county, which was formed in 1913 from portions of Carbon, Sweet Grass and Yellowstone counties.)



1 Appended from; History Of The Yellowstone Valley Montana, Western Historical Publishing Company, Spokane Washington. Circa 1907.


Submtted by Mike Hoines.


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Last modified Tuesday, 24 January 2009.