Would it surprise you to learn that the principal industry in Wheatland County is agriculture, and that wheat itself is an important crop, with over 37,000 acres of land devoted to raising that particular grain? Located just south of the geographic center of Montana, Wheatland County was created on February 22, 1917 with land taken from Meagher County (# 47) which lies to the west and Sweet Grass County (# 40) which lies to the south. Almost square in shape, the county covers 1,428 square miles and as of the 2013 Census estimate, 2,134 people called it home. In 1920, by comparison, the U.S. Census counted 5,619 people living within the county, a number that has never been equaled since. In fact, each successive enumeration has shown fewer people living in the county than the preceding count, with the single exception of the 2000 Census which showed an increase of 0.6% over the 1990 Census.
The Wheatland County Court House
Harlowton, Montana
September 8th, 2007
At the crossroads of US Highway 12 and US Highway 191, Harlowton is the only city in the county, and serves as the County Seat. From its origin in 1900 as a stop on the Montana Railroad, up until 1974 when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific (The Milwaukee Road) ceased operations, Harlo (as it's affectionately known) was a rail town. It was even named for the President and founder of the Montana Railroad, Richard A. Harlow. Harlow's original idea was to connect the Northern Pacific line at Lombard (Broadwater County, # 43) to the mining camps in the Castle Mountains of Meagher County (# 47), but by the time the track was laid, the mines were all but played out. Harlow decided to continue the line to Lewistown in Fergus County (#8) and followed the Musselshell River to a point where the track turned north. At that "turning point" the town he named for himself was born.
In 1908, the Montana Railroad became part of the western expansion of the Milwaukee Road. Eventually, the Milwaukee reached Seattle, Bellingham, Washington, and even the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington State. By 1914 the difficulties of running steam engines through the mountains of western Montana led to the decision to electrify the line--at least from Harlowton on to Avery, Idaho. Harlo was the switching point where the new electric locomotives were put on the west bound trains and taken off those east bound. It's much too much of a simplification to say that the Arab Oil Embargo of the early 1970s did in the Milwaukee. The railroad had plenty of problems of its own causing. But the sad fact is that the company made the decision to end electrified rail service in 1974, and then had to deal with the increased cost of diesel fuel, not to mention the cost of replacing all their electric stock. By 1980, all Milwaukee operations west of Miles City, Montana ceased. Today it is remembered in Montana by its beautiful stations, and by displays in Harlowton and Deer Lodge of the last of the electric locomotives.
Welcome to Harlowton
Electric Locomotive on display at the Welcome Park
September 8th, 2007
Harlo's business district was destroyed by a fire in 1907. Twenty-four buildings, including the only hotel in town, were lost. Local businessman A.C. Graves built a new hotel, but located it on the bluff above the railway station, and built it from locally quarried sandstone. The Graves Hotel opened in 1909 with forty-five rooms, a restaurant and lobby, and a veranda on the second floor. The loss of the Milwaukee cost Harlowton dearly, and the Graves Hotel felt that loss as well. The largest privately owned building in the community, it stood sentinel on its hilltop, There are reports that the hotel is haunted, but new owners are determined to restore the place, including its restaurant and coffee shop, and they look to reopen the hotel as a bed and breakfast. They have put together a very colorful (in every sense of the word) website which includes a page of beautiful photographs of the Wheatland County landscape.
The Graves Hotel
Harlowton, Montana
July 30th, 2011
The Harlowton Women's Club has put together a county history which is included in the online Montana Memory Project. Yesteryears and Pioneers contains over four hundred pages of Wheatland County memories, including stories of ten different communities, most of which today are mere memories themselves. Apparently the oldest community in the county is Shawmut, located on U.S. Highway 12 in the southeastern corner of the county. The post office in Shawmut dates from 1885 according to US Post Office records, and was run by a Mr. Francis Shaw, originally from Boston, Massachusetts. The Shawmut Peninsula is where Boston's first streets were laid, and the name figures prominently in Boston history. Shawmut, Montana, on the other hand, isn't even an incorporated town, and in 2010, the Census counted 42 people as residents. Yesteryears and Pioneers, however, gives quite a history for this community which at one point boasted a hotel, a school, a bank, several shops, saloons (of course, this is Montana), a barber shop, restaurant, etc. Today, Shawmut is probably best known as the community nearest to Deadman's Basin, a 1900 acre reservoir that draws fishermen from all over central Montana.
At the northern end of the county, along U.S. Highway 191, lies the town of Judith Gap. Located at the low point between the Big Snowy Mountains and the Little Belt Mountains, the area has been traveled for centuries as the pass permitted movement between the southern part of the state and the central section. With 126 residents as of the 2010 Census, Judith Gap is more than just a wide spot on the road. The community itself grew with the coming of the railroad. Seven saloons, a hotel, a bank, and all the various shops supported a community of 1,000 people. The Great Northern Railway built a roundhouse and repair shop in the town, employing 250 folk in the early part of the twentieth century. Grain elevators became the dominant buildings on the skyline as the area shipped wheat to market. Surprisingly, the town had Montana's first cheese factory--not that it lasted very long, and also a cigar factory.
The Musselshell River
Two Dot, Montana
July 30th, 2011
Perhaps the most iconic of Montana's towns is located on the western end of the county, near the Meagher County line. Two Dot got its name from the cattle brand used by the rancher who donated the land for the town. The first post master was commissioned in 1900, and the town grew up around the railyard. But make no mistake, Two Dot was and is a cattle town. And just in case you're working on it, number 96 on the Great Falls Tribune's "A Montana Bucket List" is "Stop for a burger at the Two Dot Bar."
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