31. Teton County

Created in 1893, just four years into Montana’s statehood, Teton County took land from Missoula County (4) in the west and Chouteau County (19) in the east.  From the start, the county seat has been the town of Choteau.  (Note that in early day Montana, both the town of Choteau and the county of the same name were spelled without the “u.”  Choteau County became Chouteau County only in 1903.  Both are named for the French-American trapper and explorer, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., whose family helped found the city of St. Louis, Missouri and who were instrumental in helping Lewis and Clark set off on their Corps of Discovery Expedition. )  Originally Teton County stretched from its present southern boundary all the way to the Canadian border and included much of what is now Glacier National Park.  The creation of Toole County (21) in 1914 and then Pondera (26) and Glacier (38) Counties in 1919 reduced Teton County to its present size.  The loss of so much territory also meant a 38.5% reduction in population from the 1910 U.S. Census, and since 1920, the county’s population has remained relatively stable around 6,000 with a high of 7,295 recorded in the 1960 census.  The 2010 census counted 6,073 residents of whom 1,684 lived in Choteau. 

 The Teton County Courthouse, Choteau, Montana

The first European settlers in the Choteau area were Jesuit priests who built a mission there in 1859.  The mission lasted less than a year as the local natives were not at all receptive to the Jesuits' message.  In fact, they were downright hostile.  In 1868, the U.S. Government established an Agency for the Blackfeet Nation approximately three miles north of present day Choteau.  This remained operational for eleven years, and in 1875, a post office was built using the name Old Agency.  This is considered the predecessor of the town of Choteau, as the name was officially changed in 1882.  A.B. Guthrie, the man who gave Montana the nickname Big Sky Country, and author of numerous books about early Montana, owned a ranch just outside of Choteau.  If you stand in the hills of the Rocky Mountain Front (that place where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains), you can easily see how Guthrie came up  with his titles, especially The Big Sky and These Thousand Hills.  Another famous resident, if only part-time, is TV host David Letterman, who bought a vacation ranch and married his wife at the Teton County Courthouse on March 19, 2009.  There are five other small towns within the county’s borders:  Bynum, Dutton, Fairfield, Pendroy and Power.  

The Rocky Mountain Front as seen from near Bynum, Montana 

None of these towns are very large.  Bynum, for example, had 47 residents in 2012.  But Bynum is home to the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center, a non-profit educational institute that opened in 1995.  Part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail, it is home to the first baby dinosaur bones collected in North America, a find made by Jack Horner at nearby Egg Mountain.  This discovery changed the way science viewed the ancient lizards, as it was the first example found that indicated dinosaurs actually acted like parents.  Horner, by the way, is not only one of the pre-eminent paleontologists of our era and Curator of Paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University, but he was the technical advisor for the Jurassic Park movies.  The Center is open seven days a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and has an irregular schedule during the rest of the year.  The Old Trail Museum in Choteau is also on the Montana Dinosaur Trail.

This is agricultural country, to be sure.  Fairfield, the second largest community in the county with a 2010 population of 708, is the "Malting Barley Capital of the World."  Montana is the fourth largest U.S. producer of barley, and a lot of it is grown around Fairfield, where nearly 140,000 acres are planted in barley.  Anheuser-Busch's Agricultural Resources is a major player in the local economy.  Fairfield is also home to Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area, where some 300,000 snow geese visit every year.  Birders travel from all over to catch sight of these and other birds landing at Freezout.

 

Pelicans at Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area 

The post office for Dutton (2010 population 310) was established in 1909.  A year later, the Choteau newspaper, the Choteau Acantha, had this to say about the new town:

The town of Dutton that lies directly east of Choteau in the eastern part of the county is one of the wonders of wonderful Montana. One year ago Dutton was nothing more than a whistling station on the G.N. while today it is a bustling little city of wide awake people. It is the outgrowth of the conditions that are produced by a fertile soil and the finest climate imaginable. Dutton is not an accident, but is on the map for the reason that it is needed.  It is the supply point for a large section of country extending for miles on either side. While there is not a depot as yet the G.N. stops their trains and receive freight and passengers. Since the opening of spring the receipts of freight have been large, especially building material. We are informed by N. Whitacre, the first lumber dealer in Dutton, that there has been over 50 cars received by the merchants and that he is now unloading his 32nd car. When you stop to think of this you will perceive that it figures up to a tidy sum. All of this goes to help build up the country and Teton Co. Dutton has three general stores, one hardware, one hotel, two rooming houses, one butcher shop, a real estate office, a racket store, two barber shops, four lumber yards. 

Dutton is the only town in Teton County on an Interstate Highway, I-15, which connects Los Angeles to the Canadian border. And no, I have no idea what a "racket store" is, but you have to love the enthusiasm of early day, small town newspapers.

The Rocky Mountain Front with Freezout Lake in the middle ground

The remaining two towns, Pendroy and Power are little more than wide spots in the road today.  Pendroy, north of Choteau, was the terminus for the Great Northern Railway's branch line that served Teton County, and Power, in the southeastern corner of the county, is right in the heart of Montana's Golden Triangle, an area known for its hard winter wheat.

Teton County's website can be found here.

Choteau's website is here.