54. Mineral County

As might be expected in a county named Mineral, mining has a rich history in this small county on the Montana/Idaho state line.  On August 7, 1914, a portion of Missoula County (# 4) straddling the Clark Fork and St. Regis river canyons in the Bitterroot Mountains became the new Mineral County, with Superior, the largest town being named County Seat. The Milwaukee Road played an important part in the history of the county, both for the good and the bad.  When the railroad first came through these canyons, Alberton at the eastern end of the county became a division point on the line, and the town was even named for the President of the railroad, Albert J. Earling. (Note that Roberta Carkeek Cheney, in her Names on the Face of Montana, claims the town was named for a family of early settlers, the Alberts.)  Further west, a guest at the Superior Hotel in Superior asked permission and placed the first ever Gideon Bibles in the rooms of the hotel.  I have read that he was passing through town on a passenger train, but I can't confirm that.  Haugan, in the county's West End, was a railroad town, as was Taft, "The wickedest city in America."  Today, Haugan is little more than the 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar, and Taft is just an exit from Interstate 90.  The Milwaukee Road ceased operations in the west in 1979, and most of the railbed ended up in the hands of private individuals.  In western Mineral County, the roadbed is used as a hiking/biking trail, and the wonderful series of tunnels and trestles from the Montana line west into Idaho has been turned into the Route of the Hiawatha Trail, a bike ride I highly recommend.

To the best of my knowledge, Lewis and Clark never made it to what is now Mineral County, but Lieutenant John Mullan did.  Given the task of connecting the head of river transportation on the Missouri at Fort Benton to the administrative capital of Washington Territory at Fort Walla Walla, John Mullan reached this area in the 1850s.  In 1859, he returned with a crew of military and civilian laborers to build the 640 mile road that to this day bears his name.  The Mineral County Museum in Superior has a significant display honoring Mullan and his work, and as History Link, the People's History Library says, "It is a tribute to his skill and vision that freeway I-90 follows his route almost to the foot through its most rugged stretches."

The Mineral County Court House

Superior, Montana

October 17th, 2009

The lure of gold brought miners to the mountainsides of the area in the 1860s, and in 1869, one settler called his home Superior City, after his hometown in Wisconsin.  The Post Office was established in 1871, and the rest is history.  Today the town straddles the Clark Fork River, with the old Mullan Road to the north and Interstate 90 and the Burlington Northern Railroad to the south, both running parallel to the river.  The town hosts the county fair and rodeo every August and is home to the only hospital in the county, the Mineral Community Hospital.  The old school house is a fixture on River Street, the main commercial street in town, and while it no longer serves as a school, it does provide a type of community center for the town and is home, every June, to the Old Schoolhouse Rocks Car Show, one of western Montana's larger car shows.

Alberton is the only town east of Superior, and sits right at the Missoula County (# 4) line.  Ten of the county's sixteen locations on the National Register of Historic Places are in or near Alberton, including the Alberton School built in 1919 and still in service, the Alberton United Methodist Church, the Milwaukee Railroad Depot, and several homes.  The Natural Pier Bridge across the Clark Fork River is also on the National Register.  Wikipedia says this about the bridge:  "Built in 1917 by the Lord Construction Company of Missoula, Montana, it is one of only a few remaining bridges of its type [a steel Warren through truss bridge] in the state, and of those it is the only one that incorporates a natural feature in its design."   Of course what I find most interesting about Alberton is the Montana Valley Book Store, an emporium claiming over 100,000 used books, and a place I never tire of visiting.  It's "open 9-7 everyday all year."

The Natural Pier Bridge

Alberton, Montana

January 3rd, 2010

A bit west of the mid point on I-90's traverse of the county, the Clark Fork River makes an abrupt turn to the northeast, and flows into Sanders County (# 35) where it turns west again to flow out of Montana and into Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho's northern panhandle.  At the first bend, the St. Regis River, which has been draining Mineral County's West End flows into the Clark Fork.  The town that grew up at this confluence is St. Regis, named by Father DeSmet for the Jesuit Saint, Regis de Borgia (one of those Borgias).  Well, actually, there was never a St. Regis de Borgia, at least according to the web site devoted stamps and postmarks honoring St. Francis Borgia, the third General Superior of the Jesuits.  Father DeSmet apparently conflated St. John Francis Regis, S.J., and St. Francis (de) Borgia, S.J., one of the great grandchildren of Pope Alexander VI, and grand nephew of Lucretia Borgia.  The things you learn.  Apparently, while the Pope may be infallible, at least speaking ex cathedra, Father DeSmet wasn't.  As the first Montana town of any size that you encounter driving east on I-90, St. Regis has developed quite a shopping center for restaurants, tourist souvenirs, and antiques.

Abandoned Mine Sheds

Sloway Region (between Superior and St. Regis), Montana

March 19th, 2015

From Henderson west you are in what Mineral County calls the West End.  Henderson had a post office from 1904 until 1930, when mail was sent to De Borgia, the next "town" west.  I believe De Borgia still has a post office.  Its zip code is 59830.  But the De Borgia school, another building on the National Register, has been closed as a school since 1958.  Today it serves as a community center for the West End.  A couple of miles west of De Borgia is Haugan, another place named for a Milwaukee Road officer.  Calling it a town would be pushing things, but it is home to Lincoln's 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar, a place well worth a visit if you need tourist kitch, a bowl of soup, or a look at more silver dollars than you have probably ever seen in one place.  Oh hell, if you've ever seen 50,000 silver dollars anywhere else, I'd be surprised.  Next door to the bar is the Savenac Historic Nursery, at one time one of the USDA's largest tree nurseries, supplying over 12 million seedlings annually for the Forest Service.

Savenac Historic Nursery

Haugan, Montana

April 7th, 2015

Traveling another six miles west will bring you to Saltese, population sixteen.  Named for a Nez Percé chief who lived in the area, Saltese was a mining town and rest stop for people on the Mullan Road.  From here on, it's all uphill traveling west.  Cheney says that the town kept its jail open for weary hobos.  Unfortunately, the Old Montana Bar and Grill, the largest building in Saltese, is currently closed.  And five miles west of Saltese, you'll see Exit 5, Taft Area.  Don Spritzer, in his Roadside History of Montana, refers to Taft as the Wickedest City in America.  Built by the Milwaukee Road when they were blasting tunnels through the mountains, Taft sported a good number of saloons and bawdy houses, none of which survived the 1910 fires that devastated western Montana and northern Idaho.  The Taft Hotel stayed open for tourists on U.S. Highway 10, but was torn down when Interstate 90 replaced the original highway through this area.  Finally Exit 0 will take you to the Lookout Pass Ski Area on the Montana/Idaho border.  In the summer, you can buy your tickets to the Hiawatha Trail at the ski resort.  In short, there's a lot to see and do in Mineral County.