6. Descriptions of the Collections


exploitation of fur-bearing animals. As the fur trade languished in the 1840s, Jesuit priests in the
Bitterroot Valley launched Montana farming and a new era began.

During the early 1860s, the gold rush and other mining enterprises drew thousands of fortune-seekers to
Montana. The increased population and resulting need for food launched agricultural enterprises as
farmers quickly took up residence in response to the demand. In the mountain valleys of southwestern
Montana, livestock herds, dry land and small-scale irrigated farming became well-established. If farmers
protected their crops from late spring and early fall frost, they were successful in harvesting grain,
vegetables, and some fruits. Small farms dotted the Jefferson, Ruby, Madison, Bitterroot, Deer Lodge,
Prickly Pear and other valleys along the Continental Divide. The broad and beautiful Gallatin Valley
surpassed all others in the Montana Territory in productivity and housed three flour mills by 1867.

As the population slowly moved from the southeastern areas of Montana, so did agriculture. Farming
developed along the rich river bottoms, while the marginal plains and bench lands were dedicated to cattle
and sheep grazing. The livestock industry had moved beyond the Rocky Mountains into the north-
central part of Montana by the mid-1870s. The greater abundance of grass lured these stockmen from
Montana's southwest to its eastern plains. The first Montana agriculture newspaper, Rocky Mountain
Husbandman, follows this same movement; first published in the southeast Montana town of Virginia
City, it later moved to White Sulphur Springs in central Montana. During the 1870s and early 1880s
stockmen from the south, mainly Texas, entered the eastern plains of Montana. All across the plains,
cattle and sheep ranches thrived on the free grass in the public domain. During the last decades of the
nineteenth century, the open range dominated Montana. The image of the cowboy and the values of
freedom to roam, fierce independence, and living for the moment had its roots in this era and are
documented in the literature of the day.

The literature also documents the political and social issues surrounding agriculture. Beginning in the
early 1870s, Montana ranchers tried, without success, to create a territory-wide organization to pursue
their interests. To deal with Indian theft of cattle, northern ranchers formed the Shonkin Association in
1881, the territory's first effective cattleman's association. It was followed by the Eastern Montana
Livestock Association in 1883 and the two merged in 1885 to form the Montana Stockgrowers
Association. The Association wielded economic and political power in stiff competition with large
mining interests. During the 1885 legislative session, cattlemen were successful in establishing the all-
important Board of Stock Commissioners, which would conduct brand inspections at marketing points
and supervise the range industry. Montana sheepmen also organized speaking out as a political force
and demanding--among other programs--a protective tariff on wool.

While prior to 1880 most Montana ranches were family-owned, after 1880 most of the livestock
enterprises were large, corporate ranches both west and east of the Continental Divide. In 1881, two
books appeared that brought attention to eastern Montana rangelands: James Brisbin's The Beef Bonanza:
or How to get rich on the plains and Robert Strahorn's Montana and Yellowstone National Park. Inspired
by books, pamphlets and articles, investors joined Montana's livestock industry from all parts of the world
but especially Texas, England, and Scotland. Foreign capital continued to support the sheep and cattle
industries until Congress passed a law in 1887 denying foreign investors the right to own property in U.S.
territories.

Open range declined after the hard winter of 1886/87 while the acreage devoted to hay crops nearly
tripled in the 1890s. Even so, large, unfenced ranches persisted-thriving in the Milk River Valley and
other choice northern areas. Sheep weathered winter better than cattle giving cattlemen an incentive to
diversify. In 1890, Montana ranked sixth in sheep production in the U.S. and by 1900 had climbed to
first. However, the literature of the day documents that the conflict with homesteaders over choice
grasslands was coming--eventually it would put an end to the open range.