Category: History

West Valley Pioneer: Arthur Milton Hodgson

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by Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com

Arthur Milton Hodgson (1859 – 1931) was born in Livingston County, Illinois on August 30, 1859 to Zimri and Martha Hodgson, who were successful farmers. Zimri Hodgson was a well-known breeder and raiser of pure-bred livestock. Arthur Hodgson was raised on the family farm and received his education in the local schools. For many years he remained associated with his father in business but finally engaged in farming and stock raising at Forrest, Illinois and later at Healey, Illinois. From boyhood on he had always been interested in the breeding of livestock, particularly the improvement of the breed and the maintenance of as high a standard as possible.  Arthur arrived in Montana in 1904 and immediately came to the Flathead Valley, where he was successful in his chosen vocation.  

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West Valley Pioneer: F.X. Grosswiler

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by Jeanine Buetttner
nammy@montanasky.com

The following is the text of an interview with Mabel Grosswiler (Mrs. Carl Grosswiler) published in the Daily Inter Lake in November, 1949.

In 1875 an immigrant boy from Switzerland landed in New York to join his brother. Their father had accidentally drowned when they were very young, and the widowed mother never saw her boys again after they came to America. Frank Xavier Grosswiler was just 18 years old when he came to America.

Paul, F.X., George, August, and Carl
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Ashley Creek Ditch Revisited

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org
Jeanine and Kevin Butler
nammy@montanasky.com
Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Editor’s Note: This is a followup story to The Ashley Creek Ditch, originally published here in February 2023. That article tells the story of the establishment of the irrigation ditch and its importance to valley farmers and families in the early 1900s.

The original Ashley Creek Ditch is no longer in existence as a contiguous waterway. Most of the ditch has been plowed under, paved, built on, or otherwise reclaimed from its original purpose. But there are a couple of remnants of the waterway still around. Pat Jaquith (with permission of the current property owners) was able to locate some sections and take a few photos. We are not disclosing the exact location of the ditch as parts of it are on private property.

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Stories from Spring Creek Cemetery

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by Karen Leigh (watercolors)
karenleigh174@gmail.com
and Linda De Kort (story)
fldekort@gmail.com

Spring Creek Cemetery is a beacon for artists. Its intriguing history and serene surroundings invite contemplation and artistic expression. During the COVID pandemic, local artist Karen Leigh found solace in sketching and painting at the cemetery. She has generously shared her sketches with West Valley Naturalists and they are presented below. Karen says there are stories to be told by each one of the markers and inscriptions. It’s inspiring to remember those who rest here and reflect on their lives of yore.

West Valley Pioneer: Myron Miles Nicholson

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by Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com

Myron Miles Nicholson
Emma Osborn Nicholson

Myron Nicholson was born in Port Byron, Illinois on July 29, 1873. Mr. Nicholson spent his early years farming in Illinois. On November 25, 1900 he married Miss Emma Osborn. That same year he moved to Chicago and engaged in the manufacture of brooms.  He then entered the Moody Bible Institute and became a Baptist minister. He served the church at Hubbard, Minnesota in 1903 and at Sherburn, Minnesota from 1904 until 1909 when he moved to Belt, Montana. A year later he moved to the Flathead and bought a farm five miles northwest of Kalispell. He retired from farming in 1937 and moved to Kalispell. He was a deacon of the local Baptist church and substituted as minister on many occasions.  

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West Valley Pioneer: James O’Boyle

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by Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com

James O’Boyle was born to Charles and Margaret O’Boyle on March 15, 1848. His father was employed by the Earl of Antrim, Hugh Seymour McDonnell (1812-1844) at the Earl’s estate in Deerpark Glenarm, County Antrim, Ireland. In 1868, at the age of 21, James set sail for New York and finding his way to Missouri for a few years. A forty-two day trip up the Missouri River brought him to Fort Benton, Montana Territory.

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Indigenous Place Names

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

If an enterprise or place name here in the valley doesn’t begin with “Glacier,” there’s a good chance that it begins with “Flathead.” We live in Flathead County, in the Flathead Valley drained by the Flathead River. There’s Flathead Valley Community College, Flathead High School, Flathead National Forest, Flathead Lake, the Flathead Beacon…

But where exactly does that name come from, and what does it mean? There’s a clue in the Flathead County Seal, but there is much more to the story.

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NMFA Firefighting Images

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by Skip Via and Barbara Boorman
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Editor’s note: Images provided by Barbara Boorman as an accompaniment to her article about fighting wildfires. Captions are transcribed from the reverse side of the photo. To read Barbara and Pat’s history of firefighting in the Flathead Valley, click here.

Lillian Neas Boorman and Bertha Boorman on tower of Blacktail Lookout, Sec. 18 T 26N. R 21 W. 7/30/1935
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Fighting Wildfires in Northern Montana 1911-1960s

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by Pat Jaquith and Barbara Boorman
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Editor’s note: Captions on these images are transcribed from the reverse side of the photo. For more images from Barbara’s collection, click here.

In 1910, there were disastrous fires in northern Idaho and northwestern Montana when
hundreds of thousands of acres of timberlands were destroyed; many lives were lost, and much
property outside of the forests was destroyed.

In May, 1911, many timberland owners and other owners of other property in northwestern
Montana met and organized the Northern Montana Fire Association (NMFA), a non-profit organization for protecting life and property in the region. A.E. (Albert) Boorman became the Chief Fire Warden and secretary/treasurer of the organization.

The boundaries of the area covered by the NMFA were from Whitefish south to Nirada (north of Hot Springs) and from Kalispell west to Lost Prairie, McGregor Lake, and Flathead Mine. In 1921, the NMFA charged $0.015 per acre to anyone – forest owner, rancher, homesteader – who appreciated the availability of a firefighting crew in the area should the need arise. As A.E. Boorman said in a Daily Interlake interview in 1921, the organization charged just enough to cover costs “and no more.”

A. E. Boorman, Blacktail Lookout. Probably July 10, 1934.
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Schools of West Valley

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By Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com

West Valley School was opened in 1961. But what was schooling in the valley like before that?

Stillwater School

Stillwater School first opened on January 21, 1899. The first building was a small log cabin on the Henry Bird place on the corner of Clark Drive and Stillwater Road. All eight grades were taught here with just one teacher.

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The Ashley Creek Ditch

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by Jeanine and Kevin Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com
and Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Editor’s Note (November 2024): For some images of a few remaining vestiges of the Ashley Creek Ditch, head over to Ashley Creek Ditch Revisited on this web site.

Editor’s Note (March 2024): In her research, Jeanine came across some interesting information related to the Ashely Creek Ditch. In the 1910 census for the area around the Grosswiler farm on Farm to Market, there was a boarding house with 20 men living in it.  And all but two–the cooks in the house–were working on a canal ditch. Almost all of them were immigrants from England,  Russia and Germany and in their 50’s, except for one who was in his 20’s. I would say these were the guys that built the Ashley ditch.

The Ashley Creek Ditch was an irrigation system developed in the early 1900s to supply water from Ashley Creek to farms in the west valley area of the Flathead. The Ditch was not a county or state project; rather, it was paid for and maintained by the families that used the water. It’s no longer there, having been dismantled in the late 1970s due to changing agricultural practices and the increasing availability of tapping directly into the aquifers for irrigation. But its story is a prime example of the ingenuity and work ethic that early settlers in the area shared.

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West Valley Pioneer: Edmond Levi Kelley

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by Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com

Edmond Kelley was born in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, on April 18, 1860 and was educated and lived in Pennsylvania until coming to Montana in 1885, first locating in Butte and then moving to the Flathead Valley in 1887. He spent his first night in Somers. He was told that the valley farther up had some value as a range for cattle but of no value for farming. The next day he walked to the site that would later become Demersville.

Edmond Levi Kelley
Mary King Kelley
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West Valley Pioneers: Frank and Ida Stiles

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by Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com

My great grandparents Frank and Ida Stiles moved to Kalispell in 1901, from Corona, South Dakota where Frank was a farmer, school teacher and a member of the House of Representatives. They packed everything they owned including farm machinery into a boxcar and made their way to the Flathead Valley, bringing with them their four children, my grandfather T. Milton being the youngest.  

Frank and Ida Stiles
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West Valley Pioneer: Walter Jaquette

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by Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com

Walter Parke Jaquette was one of the Flathead’s early pioneers. He was born October 16, 1863 in Oxford, Pennsylvania to Peter and Eleanor Jaquette.

Walter was from a very prominent Pennsylvania family. His great great grandfather Maj. Peter Jaquette served under Washington during the Revolutionary war. His great grandfather Capt. Peter Jaquette organized and furnished a great extent of company horses for the military. His father Peter L. Jaquette was a veteran of the Civil War and was at the White House when President Lincoln was assassinated.

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