28. Powell County

Deer Lodge County (30) was one of the original counties created by the Montana Territory in 1864.  The county seat was at Deer Lodge, a town that had also been known as Spanish Fork, Cottonwood, LaBarge City and Idaho City.  In 1901, the Montana Legislature split off the northern section of the county to form Powell County, with Deer Lodge (the city) as seat.  Powell County covers 2,333 square miles, stretching over 100 miles from north to south.  The 2010 U.S. Census counted 7,027 residents, down 2.1% from the 2000 count which, at 7,180 was the highest ever recorded in the county.  The county takes its name from Mount Powell which was named for one of the first settlers in the county, John W. Powell. Granville Stuart said Powell was in this region as early as 1856 and located a ranch at the foot of the mountain in 1864.

Powell County's history is full of Montana firsts.  Meriwether Lewis, on his return from the coast, traveled across what is now Powell County in 1806. The first gold strike in Montana occurred at Gold Creek in 1852.  The Mullan Road, connecting Fort Benton to Fort Walla Walla crossed the county in 1860, using much the same route as Lewis's 1806 adventure.  Montana Territory authorized the building of a prison in Deer Lodge in 1870.   In 1878 the Presbyterian Church built Montana College in Deer Lodge, the first institution of higher education in the territory.  The Northern Pacific Railroad drove their "golden spike" near Gold Creek in 1883.  The NP was the first transcontinental railroad built in the northern half of the country. 

The Powell County Court House, Deer Lodge, Montana

Deer Lodge is the only incorporated city in the county.  The town was incorporated in 1864 and was named seat of the newly created Deer Lodge County in 1867.  When in the 1890s, nearby Anaconda lost the battle to become state capitol, it took on as a consolation prize the role of county seat.  Upon the creation of Powell County in 1901, the new county's seat returned to Deer Lodge.  Today Deer Lodge is a city of 3,111 residents according to the 2010 U.S. Census.  In addition to its role as County Seat, Deer Lodge remains home to the Montana State Prison, now housed in a modern facility on the flanks of Mount Powell west of town.  The original Territorial Prison still stands in the middle of town, now housing several different historic displays including the Old Montana Prison, the Montana Auto Museum, Yesterdays Playthings, Frontier Montana and the Powell County Museum, all run under the auspices of the Powell County Museum.  Included as part of the Museum's collection are a number of Milwaukee Railroad items, including Little Joe, an electric locomotive so named because it was originally intended for use on Joseph Stalin's railroads in the Soviet Union.  

Little Joe, Old Prison Museum Complex, Deer Lodge, Montana

Just north of town lies the Grant Kohrs Ranch, a National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service.  The park today covers 1,600 acres, but in its heyday, the ranch was headquarters for a ten million acre spread.  Visitors to the park can see some eighty historic structures, including the historic ranch house, the bunkhouse, the blacksmith shop, horse barns, and cattle sheds.  To this day the Grant Kohrs Ranch is a working cattle ranch, the only National Historic Site still functioning as such.  Novelist Patricia Nell Warren grew up on the ranch and set her novel The Fancy Dancer in Deer Lodge (renamed Cottonwood in the novel).

The far northern end of the county is a mountainous region and home to much of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, the fifth largest wilderness area in the contiguous forty-eight states.  South of the mountains, the Ovando Valley along the Blackfoot River is home to many cattle ranches and is a sportsman's paradise with first class hunting and fishing available.  Brown's Lake, east of Ovando, finds its water disputed between the fishermen and the windsurfers who come to take advantage of the constant afternoon winds that blow across the water.  The lake has arguably the best windsurfing in western Montana.  Driving south on Montana 141, you'll pass near Helmville, home of what may be the best small town rodeo in the country.  Held every Labor Day weekend, the rodeo attracts visitors from all over.  The official Montana State Travel website refers to it as "the biggest little rodeo in Montana."

Powell County Farm.  Little Blackfoot River Canyon near Avon, Montana

Continuing south on Montana 141, you'll pass the Nevada Creek Reservoir and arrive in Avon, another small Powell County town, and home to the Avon Family Cafe.   I find it somewhat amusing that the Yahoo Travel site for the cafe lists it as a pizza restaurant.  I've had many a great breakfast there, and will often stop for lunch, but never once have I had a pizza there.  I don't recall even seeing pizza on the menu.  The homemade pies, however, are well worth a stop if you're driving by on your way between Helena and Missoula.  U.S. Highway 12 passes right in front of the restaurant, following the routes of Meriwether Lewis in 1806 and the Mullan Road of 1860, both mentioned above.  This is the canyon of the Little Blackfoot River, a scenic valley with high rock formations lining the sides of the canyon and lush farmlands along the canyon floor.

 Thirteen miles west of Avon, U.S. Highway 12 meets Interstate 90 at Garrison.  Garrison is also where the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway's northern terminus joins the Burlington Northern Railroad's tracks operated under lease by Montana Rail Link.  The railroad has always played an important role in Powell County, from 1882 on.  In that year, the Utah Northern built a line from Butte to the mouth of the Little Blackfoot (now known as Garrison).  As noted above, the Northern Pacific completed the first northern transcontinental railroad by driving the "golden spike" at Gold Creek in 1883.  The Milwaukee Road (Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific) came through in the first decade of the 1900s, and Deer Lodge was a division headquarters for that line.  Unfortunately, the Milwaukee closed all Montana operations in 1980, and nothing has taken its place as far as employment in Powell County is concerned.  Agriculture accounts for 23% of the county's industrial base, at least as far as male employment is concerned, with Public Administration following at 16%.  Public Administration accounts for 19% of female employment, for in addition to the Powell County offices and the state prison, Montana's Department of Justice Vehicle Licensing Bureau has its headquarters in Deer Lodge.  

The Montana Territorial Prison, Deer Lodge, Montana

Powell County's website can be found at:  http://www.powellcountymt.gov/

The Powell County Chamber of Commerce has an informative site at:  http://www.powellcountymontana.com/

Photo Information:  (All photographs were taken with a Nikon D80 DSLR and a Nikkor 16-85 mm wide angle/tele/zoom lens unless otherwise noted.   Clicking on any photograph will open a full-sized image in a new window.)

Powell County Sign:  Taken 3/24/2010 on Interstate 90 at the Granite/Powell County Line.  Focal length 85 mm.  ISO 125, f /11.0, 1/250 second.

Powell County Court House:  Taken 10/3/2009 in Deer Lodge, Montana.  Focal length 16 mm.  ISO 125, f /16.0, 1/45 second.

Little Joe Locomotive:  Taken 4/1/2010 in Deer Lodge, Montana.  Focal length 22 mm.  ISO 100, f /27.0, 1/8 second.

Powell County Farm (Little Blackfoot Valley):  Taken 7/1/2011 along US Highway 12, Powell County, Montana.  Focal length 70 mm. ISO 125, f /8.0, 1/60 second.

The Montana Territorial Prison:  Taken 4/1/2010 in Deer Lodge, Montana.  Focal length 62 mm.  ISO 100, f /38.0, 1/6 second.