Past and present come to life at Jefferson Valley Museum

They came from Canada, New Zealand, Washington, Idaho, Florida, Tennessee and many towns within the Great State of Montana to learn the stories of this historic area and to catch up on the “good ole days.” It was Whitehall’s Frontier Days Celebration of 2019 and, once again, the crowds came to cheer the alumni parading down the street, to marvel at the old cars in the Rod Run, to attend the Fine Arts Show, to take part in the Ranchers Roundup and to take a Historic Tour of the area around Whitehall.

Took a moment to take one of those Historic Tours to learn more of the stories that helped to found this valley in the Piedmont and Renova area with a brief tour of the historic Fish Creek Cemetery. Arlene Weber, one of the Museum’s volunteers, was the knowledgeable tour guide. These tours are presented to benefit the Whitehall Public Transportation system.

The folks on the tour were new to the area and wanted to learn more and old residents that wanted to revisit those homesteads and even royalty on occasion – Maryann Carey the State Garden Club Member of the Year was on this particular tour. We took the road that was built in 1908 when Piedmont was to become a town. This small town was started by the Milwaukee railroad coming through the area. The substation that was built to help power the electrified trains was torn down in 1978.

Arlene spoke of the high winds noted in the area that have blown houses off their foundations and destroyed schools. In 1887 there was a cloudburst that washed out all the roads. An Alkali Swamp is noted in the area; but on the positive side it was noted in 1908 in the local newspaper that “with alkali in your eyes you can’t see the mosquitoes!” As we journeyed on, Weber spoke of the first Railroad terminal in 1897 at Renova near the town called Gaylord which was later renamed Parrott. She spoke of the “Poverty Socials” in Pleasant Valley where the participants dressed in their finery and paid a fine for doing so. The tour participants learned of the Tuttle, Wellcome, Jordan and Beall families that helped to settle the area.

Soon the bus returned to the Museum where the riders were greeted by fellow classmates of the classes of 1959, 1964 and 1969. They had come to swap stories, catch up and laugh at the past events. The Museum hummed with the sound of many visitors who were waiting for the next bus tour or just came to see the many artifacts contained within the walls of this historic building. From the Military Room to the kitchen to the music room and on to the stained glass room with its many wedding and prom dresses they roamed with the Museum Tour Guides. They then wandered out to the Jardine Building to the Cowboy Room and a visit to the old sleighs, wagons and vehicles that roamed the streets of Whitehall. Members of the First Baptist Church of Orlando, Florida, who were in the area with the Expedition Church in Livingston performing service projects in many of the local towns, came to find out more of this intriguing area of Montana. They had volunteered to clean up the park in Whitehall in time for the Festival. A new acquaintance from New Zealand spoke of her love of this northwestern part of the States and shared stories of the events in that country others had experienced.

It was a busy day at the J.V. Museum and the volunteers were elated to be able to share the historic tales contained within those walls.