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Montana Trivia & Tidbits - Page 7

Looking for Montana trivia? Try our list Montana little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

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Consisting of more than 2,000 acres within the Flathead Indian Reservation, the Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, south of Ronan (pop. 1,812), is known for its year-round birdwatching opportunities. Glacier-formed "potholes" there often contain water all year, providing wetlands for waterfowl such as ducks, geese and grebes. Great blue herons, hawks, owls, ring-necked pheasants and double-crested cormorants also call the refuge home.
first appeared: 1/29/2006
After Pete Zortman, the founder of Zortman, near Malta (pop. 2,120), died penniless in 1933, his body was placed in an unmarked pauper’s grave in Big Timber (pop. 1,650). Last summer, some 72 years later, local residents researched and found the grave, and transferred his remains to a marked grave in Zortman’s cemetery to honor him as the town’s namesake.
first appeared: 1/15/2006
Powell "Pike" Landusky, who gave a town near Zortman his name, had a reputation as a mean fighter. It’s reported that after he was shot and killed during an argument with Kid Curry in one of the town’s saloons in 1894, Landusky was buried 6 feet deeper than usual, with rocks piled up on his grave, to ensure that he couldn’t get out.
first appeared: 1/15/2006
Sluice Boxes State Park, near Belt (pop. 633), evokes the late 1800s, when the area was home to precious metal prospectors and miners. The railroad followed, transporting silver and lead ore, and although the trains were gone by the mid-20th century, their route remains. Bridge supports, a railroad tunnel and a ghost town remain in the park, although hiking and fishing are today’s major activities.
first appeared: 1/1/2006
Since 1951, the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts has built an international reputation on a former brick factory site in Helena (pop. 25,780). Archie Bray ran the Western Clay Manufacturing Co. after his father’s death in 1931 but dreamed of a center for ceramic artists. Today, the factory site includes working and gallery areas, with more than 1,000 ceramics pieces in its collection.
first appeared: 12/18/2005
Kate Davis established the nonprofit Raptors of the Rockies organization in 1988 to rehabilitate injured birds of prey. Today, the ranch, near Florence (pop. 901), is the permanent home to about 20 birds, including Alice, a Cooper’s hawk; Buster, a northern saw-whet owl; and Max, a golden eagle. Davis uses the birds in educational programs.
first appeared: 12/4/2005
South of Gardiner (pop. 851), the 45th Parallel Bridge over the Gardner River in Yellowstone National Park is named for the 45th parallel of latitude, which the Montana-Wyoming border roughly follows. This imaginary line circles the globe halfway between the equator and the North Pole.
first appeared: 11/20/2005
Dog sled racer Doug Swingley, from Lincoln (pop. 1,100), has won the 1,049-mile Iditarod race across Alaska four times—in 1995 (when he was the first non-Alaskan to win the race), 1999, 2000 and 2001. During his first race, in 1992, he earned ninth place, along with the Rookie of the Year award. During this year’s race, he came in 14th, with a finish time of 10 days, 2 hours, 59 minutes and 3 seconds.
first appeared: 11/6/2005
Students at the University of Montana-Western in Dillon (pop. 3,752) can earn an associate’s degree in natural horsemanship, thanks to the university’s partnership with nearby La Cense Montana Ranch. The 88,000-acre ranch specializes in training quarter horses with natural horsemanship methods—sometimes known as horse whispering—based on the horse’s own personality and communication style.
first appeared: 10/23/2005
The 500-acre Lifeline Farm, near Victor (pop. 859) in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana, raises Brown Swiss cows using organic feed and produces organic cheese from their milk. Made by hand and in small batches, varieties include Montana Jack and Montazarella, in addition to mild and sharp cheddars.
first appeared: 10/23/2005
Levi Leipheimer, a Butte (pop. 33,892) native and cyclist who turned pro in 1997, won the U.S. National Time Trial Championship in 1999 and placed eighth in his first Tour de France in 2002. The 31-year-old finished sixth in this year’s Tour de France.
first appeared: 10/9/2005
Near West Yellowstone (pop. 1,177), a visitors center and interpretive exhibit sit on the site of the 1959 earthquake that struck the Madison Valley. Measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, the Hebgen Lake earthquake caused half of a 7,600-foot mountain to crash down onto the valley floor in a massive landslide that dammed the Madison River, created Earthquake Lake and killed more than two dozen people.
first appeared: 10/9/2005
The Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings has a large collection of the works of cowboy, artist and writer Will James, who was born Ernest Dufault in Canada in 1892 and lived near Billings between 1926 and 1942. Best known for his novel Smoky, The Cowhorse, which won the Newbery Medal for children’s literature in 1927, James wrote and illustrated 24 books, which in turn produced several movies.
first appeared: 9/25/2005
The 18-hole golf course at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort near Butte (pop. 33,892) boasts a "mile-high, mile-long" fifth hole—its green sits at a mile above sea level, while its tee box is 649 yards away from the green. The par-72, 6,741-yard course also features a three-tiered, 10,000-square-foot putting green at the third hole.
first appeared: 9/18/2005
Families and community organizations spend months getting their seed art entries ready for the Richland County Fair in Sidney (pop. 4,774) each summer. Created by gluing seeds, pinecones, wool and other natural materials in place, the intricate designs feature agricultural themes.
first appeared: 9/11/2005
In southwestern Montana, Beaverhead Rock, a formation that looks like the head of a swimming beaver, gave its name to a state park, a river and a county. Dillon (pop 3,752), the seat of Beaverhead County, is about 15 miles south of the formation.
first appeared: 9/11/2005
One of the nation’s largest frontier military posts, Fort Assiniboine was established in 1879 near Havre (pop. 9,621). Army Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing served there as a first lieutenant in 1896 in command of one of the 10th Cavalry’s troops of the black Buffalo Soldiers. The fort now is part of the Northern Agricultural Research Center.
first appeared: 8/28/2005
Three weeks after the Sept. 13, 1877, Canyon Creek Battle, waged by Nez Perce Indians and the U.S. Army, Chief Joseph, leader of 700 non-treaty Nez Perce Indians, delivered his memorable surrender speech: "From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever." Non-treaty Indians were those who refused to move to reservation lands. Nez Perce tribal members hold a pipe ceremony at the battle site, near Laurel (pop. 6,255), each September to honor all those who died in the battle.
first appeared: 8/28/2005
Ritch Rand started Rand’s Custom Hats more than 30 years ago in Billings (pop. 89,847). The company creates hats by hand, rolling the felt and giving it a final horsehair brushing, and uses 19th-century French machines—the "conformeur," to measure a customer’s head and produce a template, and the "fomateur," to help shape the hat’s crown.
first appeared: 8/14/2005
The suitcase-carrying ghost of madam Elinor Knott is reported to walk the halls of the Dumas Hotel building, which housed a brothel between 1890 and 1982 in Butte (pop. 33,892). Knott was found dead there in 1955, after she packed her belongings and then waited for the man she loved to meet her, on their way to a new life.
first appeared: 7/31/2005
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