The Lunch Box Journals

Note: I have upgraded to Windows 10 and am having trouble figuring out how to keep the blog format the same regardless of whether you are viewing it on a laptop or notebook. If the pictures are not in the correct order with the text you might have to use the “zoom” feature to reduce the text enough to let the pictures line up. Or, if you’re into an adventure, just try and figure it out!!!

“The Ramparts of God” Part of the joy in being retired is freedom of time and as the temperature began to approach the 100’s in Billings I decided to leave town and spend three weeks exploring the Rocky Mountains of northwestern Montana. The plan is to head northwest from Billings to Glacier National Park, cross over into the Flathead Valley, explore the forests of the northwest corner of Montana, then turn east and tour central Montana before returning south to Billings. Augie the doggie and I packed up and hit the road. Come along! (Remember, the plan has changed due to weather and forest fires. Now we’re heading down I-90 to home.)

Missoula, MT to Deer Lodge, MT (via I-90)

Leaving Missoula and heading east on I-90 the interstate parallels the Clark Fork River through the river canyon as we slowly climb towards the Continental Divide. The canyon is quite narrow just east of Missoula with the river in the crease between the grassy hill in the foreground and the forested mountain in the background.

The canyon widens a bit as the freeway and road continue to follow the north bank of the meandering river through mountains that increasingly become more interspersed with grassy meadows and more open hill sides.

To get a good image of western Montana, visualize a wide belt made of braids of leather. You know how the braids tend to stretch out over time so that the belt weave is tight at both ends but loose in the middle? That’s how the Rocky Mountains trail down the western third of the state. Crossing the central west means traversing a series of wide open valleys divided by narrow mountain ranges before the mountain ranges come back together in a tighter braid near Yellowstone National Park. Our next destination, Deer Lodge, sets in the middle of one of these wide open valleys, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The Clark Fork is much smaller as we continue our gentle ascent towards its’ source and here we see the river looking southeast towards the Deer Lodge Valley with Continental Divide looming further to the east.

These wide open valleys, protected by the mountains from the sub-freezing winds of winter, proved to be a fruitful place for cattle to flourish. During the last half of the 1800’s the prairie to the east was open range so the cattle barons sheltered their herds during winter in the valleys of western Montana and during the spring and summer months drove their herds east over the mountains and out into the plains to forage at will. Johnny Grant came to the Deer Lodge Valley in the 1850’s and in 1859 drove 400 cattle from Deer Lodge to Sacramento to feed the hungry men of the California Gold Rush. At roughly the same time the vast mineral riches of Montana (most within a hundred mile radius of Deer Lodge) were being discovered and thousands flocked to the area. In 1862 Johnny Grant built a 4,000 square feet building that established a trading post on the first floor and living quarters on the second floor. In 1866 a German immigrant (originally a butcher), Conrad Kohrs, purchased the house and land as became the “Cattle King” of Montana. At one time his herds roamed a range of nearly ten million acres along the eastern front of the Rockies and by the 1880’s he was shipping over 10,000 head of cattle annually to the stockyards of Chicago. This legacy is incredibly preserved in a National Historic Monument at the edge of Deer Lodge, the Grant-Kohrs Ranch.

Grant-Kohrs Ranch

The centerpiece of the ranch is the main house, which consists of two parts. The white wooden structure is the original 4,000 square foot 1862 trading post/house built by Johnny Grant. The brick addition, built in 1890 by Kohrs, is an additional 5,000 square feet.

The view west off the back porch looks down across the Clark Fork River and up to the Flint Creek Mountains. To the left is the view southwest, the building was originally the blacksmith’s operation (later part of it was converted to a garage), to the right is the view across the meadows to the mountains.

This was a working ranch up until the late 1970’s. The grandson of Kohrs, Conrad Warren, took over the ranch in 1932 after years of dwindling activity and brought the ranch back to life as a viable operation. Modern operations were directed from a small house built in 1934 for he and his new wife just east of the original homestead, which was still occupied by his grandmother at the time. After his grandmother’s death, Conrad Warren did not move into the big house, but remained in the 1934 house and preserved the original furnishings of the old house as part of his family’s legacy.

As is usual with successful ranching operations, the out-buildings were also maintained and valued (and used) through his years of stewardship. Some of them include the bunkhouse row (1907), the ice house (built in 1880 and turned into tack room for horse gear once electricity brought refrigeration to the ranch in 1935), and the buggy shed (1883).

The National Park Service still maintains this as an example of a working ranch, complete with horses and cattle. Most of the cattle are out to pasture this time of year, but the facilities show signs of use and care.

Just beyond the entrance to the ranch sits the small town of Deer Lodge, current population around 3,000 people. The county seat of Powell County, Deer Lodge, was not only the center of the Grant-Kohrs ranching operation, but also the site of the Montana State Prison (established 1870) and the Montana State Mental Hospital in nearby Warm Springs. The town boomed with the coming of the railroad in 1883 and the railroad remained an important employer until it left town in the 1970’s. Today Deer Lodge is a small town noted for various museums and the Grant-Kohrs Ranch, with the stability in local employment primarily due to the prison. There is a small Main Street commercial area (about three blocks), most go to Butte 30 miles to the southeast for shopping.

The 1919 City Hall and the Kohrs Public Library add a classical touch to the architecture of central Deer Lodge.

The prosperous merchants of the early 1900’s displayed their wealth by building large houses along a couple of blocks of Milwaukie and Missouri Avenues just off Main Street to the east.

Just three blocks south from the center of town on Main Street sits the historical Montana State Prison. This facility, well-known for its’ harsh environment, was actually in use until 1979 when a new prison was built outside of town. It is now a major tourist attraction and towers over the surrounding city center.

Historical Montana State Prison

The prison was established in 1870 but the permanent facility (all built using prison labor) was constructed in stages as needs grew. The outside wall was around the approximately three acre site was completed in 1894. There was only one vehicle entrance into the prison, the “Sally Port”, built in the model of a medieval castle. The vehicle entered through the outside door, which was closed behind them. It was then searched and only after that was the door to the interior of the prison opened.

As you walk through the visitor’s entrance into the interior of the prison essentially the view in front of you is split into two parts. To the right is the 1930’s administration building (white) and 1912 original cell block, to the left is perhaps the strangest part of this entire experience, the Clark Theater, and the exercise yard.

Ever being thrifty, there are also some large cement slabs remaining that were the foundations of a couple of metal buildings (classroom and gym from the 1960’s) that were dismantled and moved to the new prison site in 1979 to be used there. The brick tower to the rear of the 1912 cell block was called Siberia East and used to isolate the most troublesome prisoners. The cells are very small, essentially the size of two twin beds (with a built-in cement bed taking up half the floor space. There was no toilet or water in the cell. Outside of the cells on the main floor is a small shower and a toilet.

The main part housed most of the prisoners in four tiers of cells. When built in 1912 this was one of the most modern prison facilities in the nation with running water, a toilet, and adequate ventilation in every cell in the main block. It was so good, in fact, that the state of Montana felt no need to significantly upgrade the facility until the move to a new prison in 1979…., make of that what you will!!!

Sitting in the southwest corner of the yard is the strangest building in the entire complex, the Clark Theater. In 1919 W.A. Clark, the Montana Copper King, donated the money to build a 600 seat Renaissance theater for the inmates. The theater hosted boxing fights, movies, church services and even traveling theater productions, both for the inmates and then, in the evenings after the inmates were all locked in, for the enjoyment of the local community! The theater burned in an arson fire in 1975 while the facility was still in use as a prison, the arsonist was never identified.

And, if it doesn’t get any stranger, the same visitor center attached to the prison also is the entrance to an amazing car collection. You enter the door and to the right is the prison, to the left is the car collection (same fee gets you entrance to both!). Can’t tell you how this juxtaposition occurred, it just is!

Auto Museum

The car museum is a series of large rooms crammed with restored automobiles. It’s really an amazing collection and worth the stop for any car buff.