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128-520: The foundation of the roadway dates back to the 1870s when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad acquired the right-of-way of the stream bed to lay down tracks. The "Short Line," as it was called, was one of the main interurban routes that served Saint Paul and its railroad suburbs on its way to Minneapolis at the turn of the 20th century. With the advent of the TCRT streetcar system in

256-425: A keystone species and the primary protein source that Native people had survived on for many centuries, were being destroyed. Experts estimate that around 13 million bison roamed Montana in 1870. In 1875, General Philip Sheridan pleaded to a joint session of Congress to authorize the slaughtering of bison herds to deprive Native people of their source of food. By 1884, commercial hunting had brought bison to

384-533: A subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( reporting mark CPKC ), on January 1, 1986. Much of its historical trackage remains in use by other railroads. The company brand is commemorated by buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis and preserved locomotives such as Milwaukee Road 261 which operates excursion trains. The railroad that became the Milwaukee Road began as

512-545: A completed battleship being named for it. Alaska and Hawaii have both had nuclear submarines named after them. Montana is the only state in the union without a modern naval ship named in its honor. However, in August 2007, Senator Jon Tester asked that a submarine be christened USS Montana . Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced on September 3, 2015, that Virginia Class attack submarine SSN-794 will become

640-513: A derisive manner at homesteaders, who were perceived as being "greenhorns", "new at his business", or "unprepared". However, most of these new settlers had farming experience, though many did not. Honyocker, scissorbill, nester ... He was the Joad of a [half] century ago, swarming into a hostile land: duped when he started, robbed when he arrived; hopeful, courageous, ambitious: he sought independence or adventure, comfort and security ... The honyocker

768-559: A district court judge from Forsyth was impeached . Burnings of German-language books and several near-hangings occurred. The prohibition on speaking German remained in effect into the early 1920s. Complicating the wartime struggles, the 1918 influenza epidemic claimed the lives of more than 5,000 Montanans. The suppression of civil liberties that occurred led some historians to dub this period "Montana's Agony". An economic depression began in Montana after World War I and lasted through

896-662: A joint U.S.-Canadian commando-style force that trained at Fort William Henry Harrison for experience in mountainous and winter conditions before deployment. Air bases were built in Great Falls, Lewistown, Cut Bank, and Glasgow , some of which were used as staging areas to prepare planes to be sent to allied forces in the Soviet Union . During the war, about 30 Japanese Fu-Go balloon bombs were documented to have landed in Montana, though no casualties nor major forest fires were attributed to them. In 1940, Jeannette Rankin

1024-692: A major open-range cattle operation in Fergus County in 1879. The Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Deer Lodge is maintained today as a link to the ranching style of the late 19th century. Operated by the National Park Service , it is a 1,900-acre (7.7 km ) working ranch. Tracks of the Northern Pacific Railroad (NPR) reached Montana from the west in 1882 and from the east in 1883. However,

1152-548: A merger with a larger system, not a slightly smaller one, could save the railroad. Almost immediately, the railroad filed unsuccessfully with the ICC to be included in the Union Pacific merger with the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad . By the mid-1970s, deferred maintenance on Milwaukee Road's physical plant, which had been increasing throughout the 1960s as it attempted to improve its financial appearance for merger,

1280-598: A per capita basis. Montana's Remount station in Miles City provided 10,000 cavalry horses for the war, more than any other Army post in the country. The war created a boom for Montana mining, lumber, and farming interests, as demand for war materials and food increased. In June 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917 , which was extended by the Sedition Act of 1918 . In February 1918,

1408-545: A protected bicycle and pedestrian trail. 44°56′24″N 93°9′8″W  /  44.94000°N 93.15222°W  / 44.94000; -93.15222 Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (A CMStP&P ), better known as the Milwaukee Road ( reporting mark MILW ), was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of

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1536-642: A railroad trestle, considered a lynching . Little's murder and the strikes that followed resulted in the National Guard being sent to Butte to restore order. Overall, anti-German and antilabor sentiment increased and created a movement that led to the passage of the Montana Sedition Act the following February. In addition, the Council of Defense was made a state agency with the power to prosecute and punish individuals deemed in violation of

1664-608: A ready source of copper in Anaconda, Montana . Between 1914 and 1916, the Milwaukee Road implemented a 3,000 volt direct current (DC) overhead system between Harlowton, Montana , and Avery, Idaho , a distance of 438 miles (705 km). Pleased with the result, the Milwaukee electrified its route in Washington between Othello and Tacoma , a further 207 miles (333 km), between 1917 and 1920. This section traversed

1792-660: Is Montana was St. Mary's , established in 1841 near present-day Stevensville . In 1847, Fort Benton was built as the uppermost fur-trading post on the Missouri River. In the 1850s, settlers began moving into the Beaverhead and Big Hole valleys from the Oregon Trail and into the Clark's Fork valley. The first gold discovered in Montana was at Gold Creek near present-day Garrison in 1852. The Gold rush in

1920-713: Is one of few geographic areas in the world whose rivers form parts of three major watersheds (i.e. where two continental divides intersect). Its rivers feed the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico , and Hudson Bay . The watersheds divide at Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park. If Hudson Bay is considered part of the Arctic Ocean, Triple Divide Peak is the only place on Earth with drainage to three different oceans. All waters in Montana west of

2048-791: Is the largest continuous land mass over 10,000 feet (3,000 m) high in the continental United States. It contains the state's highest point, Granite Peak , 12,799 feet (3,901 m) high. North of these ranges are the Big Belt Mountains , Bridger Mountains , Tobacco Roots , and several island ranges, including the Crazy Mountains and Little Belt Mountains . Between many mountain ranges are several rich river valleys. The Big Hole , Bitterroot , Gallatin , Flathead , and Paradise Valleys have extensive agricultural resources and multiple opportunities for tourism and recreation. East and north of this transition zone are

2176-522: Is to the west and southwest, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia , Alberta , and Saskatchewan are to the north, making it the only state to border three Canadian provinces. With an area of 147,040 square miles (380,800 km ), Montana is slightly larger than Japan or Germany . It is the fourth-largest state in the United States after Alaska , Texas , and California , and

2304-759: The Blackfeet . Indigenous peoples in the region were also decimated by diseases introduced by fur traders to which they had no immunity. The trading post Fort Raymond (1807–1811) was constructed in Crow Indian country in 1807. Until the Oregon Treaty of 1846, land west of the continental divide was disputed between the British and U.S. governments and was known as the Oregon Country . The first permanent settlement by Euro-Americans in what today

2432-581: The Fred Robinson Bridge at the western boundary of Fort Peck Reservoir was designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1976. The Missouri enters North Dakota near Fort Union , having drained more than half the land area of Montana (82,000 square miles (210,000 km )). Nearly one-third of the Missouri River in Montana lies behind 10 dams: Toston , Canyon Ferry , Hauser , Holter , Black Eagle , Rainbow , Cochrane , Ryan , Morony , and Fort Peck. Other major Montana tributaries of

2560-572: The Gallatin Gateway Inn in Montana, southwest of Bozeman , via a spur from Three Forks . The reorganized company scarcely had a chance for success before the Great Depression hit. Despite innovations such as the famous Hiawatha high-speed trains that exceeded 100 mph (160 km/h), the railroad again filed for bankruptcy in 1935. The Milwaukee Road operated under trusteeship until December 1, 1945. During WWII

2688-1030: The Garnet Range , the Sapphire Mountains , and the Flint Creek Range . The divide's northern section, where the mountains rapidly give way to prairie, is part of the Rocky Mountain Front . The front is most pronounced in the Lewis Range , located primarily in Glacier National Park . Due to the configuration of mountain ranges in Glacier National Park, the Northern Divide (which begins in Alaska's Seward Peninsula ) crosses this region and turns east in Montana at Triple Divide Peak . It causes

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2816-440: The Great Depression until the beginning of World War II . This caused great hardship for farmers, ranchers, and miners. By the time the U.S. entered World War II on December 8, 1941, many Montanans had enlisted in the military to escape the poor national economy of the previous decade. Another 40,000-plus Montanans entered the armed forces in the first year following the declaration of war, and more than 57,000 joined up before

2944-670: The Great Northern Railroad (GNR) reached eastern Montana in 1887 and when they reached the northern Rocky Mountains in 1890, the GNR became a significant promoter of tourism to Glacier National Park region. The transcontinental GNR was completed on January 6, 1893, at Scenic, Washington and is known as the Hi Line , being the northernmost transcontinental rail line in the United States. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D.C. November 7, 1889 To Hon. Joseph K. Toole, Governor of

3072-608: The Great Sioux War of 1876 . The transcontinental NPR was completed on September 8, 1883, at Gold Creek . In 1881, the Utah and Northern Railway , a branch line of the Union Pacific , completed a narrow-gauge line from northern Utah to Butte. A number of smaller spur lines operated in Montana from 1881 into the 20th century, including the Oregon Short Line , Montana Railroad , and Milwaukee Road . Tracks of

3200-727: The Marias Massacre (1870), Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876), Battle of the Big Hole (1877), and Battle of Bear Paw (1877). The last recorded conflict in Montana between the U.S. Army and Native Americans occurred in 1887 during the Battle of Crow Agency in the Big Horn country. Native survivors who had signed treaties were generally required to move onto reservations . Simultaneously with these conflicts, bison ,

3328-530: The Merriam Park neighborhood, coupled with the stunted construction of I-35E due to opposition from the Summit Hill neighborhood, kept the vision from being a reality. A connection was made at grade with Selby Avenue, but the connection with I-35E was not made at this time, forcing southbound travelers to exit on Jefferson Avenue when the road first opened in 1965. For most of its life, Ayd Mill Road

3456-640: The Milwaukee District North Line and Milwaukee District West Line . Canadian Pacific dispatches Metra trains while running freight trains on both of these lines via trackage rights. Montana Montana ( / m ɒ n ˈ t æ n ə / mon- TAN -ə ) is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States . It borders Idaho to the west, North Dakota to

3584-779: The Milwaukee District West and Milwaukee District North Lines respectively, were turned over to the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Rail Corporation, a forerunner of commuter rail agency Metra ). Still in reorganization, the Milwaukee Road attracted interest from three potential buyers: the Grand Trunk Corporation , the Chicago and North Western Railway , and the Soo Line Railroad . The Interstate Commerce Commission approved

3712-714: The Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad in Wisconsin , whose goal was to link the developing Lake Michigan port City of Milwaukee with the Mississippi River . The company incorporated in 1847, but changed its name to the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad in 1850 before construction began. Its first line, 5 miles (8.0 km) long, opened between Milwaukee and Wauwatosa , on November 20, 1850. Extensions followed to Waukesha in February 1851, Madison , and finally

3840-479: The Oregon Territory (1848–1859), Washington Territory (1853–1863), Idaho Territory (1863–1864), and Dakota Territory (1861–1864). Montana Territory became a territory of the United States on May   26, 1864. The first territorial capital was located at Bannack . Sidney Edgerton served as the first territorial governor. The capital moved to Virginia City in 1865 and to Helena in 1875. In 1870,

3968-702: The Pacific to remain competitive with other railroads. A survey in 1901 estimated costs to build to the Pacific Northwest as $ 45 million ($ 1.32 billion in 2023 dollars). In 1905, the board approved the Pacific Extension, now estimated at $ 60 million ($ 1.58 billion in 2023 dollars). The contract for the western part of the route was awarded to Horace Chapin Henry of Seattle . The subsidiary Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sound Railway Company

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4096-535: The Rand McNally Building in Chicago, America's first all-steel framed skyscraper, in 1889 and 1890, with the car and locomotive shops staying in Milwaukee. The company's general offices were later located in Chicago's Railway Exchange building (built 1904) until 1924, at which time they moved to Chicago Union Station . In the 1890s, the company's directors felt they had to extend the railroad to

4224-705: The Reclamation Act was passed, allowing irrigation projects to be built in Montana's eastern river valleys. In 1909, Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act that expanded the amount of free land from 160 to 320 acres (0.6 to 1.3 km ) per family and in 1912 reduced the time to "prove up" on a claim to three years. In 1916, the Stock-Raising Homestead Act allowed homesteads of 640 acres in areas unsuitable for irrigation. This combination of advertising and changes in

4352-509: The Rockies and the Cascades , required major civil engineering works and additional locomotive power. The completion of 2,300 miles (3,700 km) of railroad through some of the most varied topography in the nation in only three years was a major feat. Original company maps denote five mountain crossings: Belts, Rockies, Bitterroots , Saddles , and Cascades. These are slight misnomers as

4480-652: The Waterton River , Belly , and Saint Mary rivers to flow north into Alberta , Canada. There they join the Saskatchewan River , which ultimately empties into Hudson Bay . East of the divide, several roughly parallel ranges cover the state's southern part, including the Gravelly Range , Madison Range , Gallatin Range , Absaroka Mountains , and Beartooth Mountains . The Beartooth Plateau

4608-460: The "Hill Lines" was approved at around the same time, and the merged Burlington Northern came into being. The formation of Burlington Northern in 1970 from the merger of Northern Pacific , Great Northern , Burlington Route , and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway on March 3 created a stronger competitor on most Milwaukee Road routes. To boost competition, the ICC gave the Milwaukee Road

4736-670: The 1910s, the line was redundant and was converted to heavy rail by the CMSPP, though it still carried passenger trains between the Saint Paul Union Depot and the Milwaukee Road Depot in neighboring Minneapolis . In the 1960s, the city of Saint Paul began construction on the Short Line Road, envisioning a below-grade, limited access direct link between I-35E and I-94. However, local opposition in

4864-434: The Act. The council also passed rules limiting public gatherings and prohibiting the speaking of German in public. In the wake of the legislative action in 1918, emotions rose. U.S. Attorney Burton K. Wheeler and several district court judges who hesitated to prosecute or convict people brought up on charges were strongly criticized. Wheeler was brought before the Council of Defense, though he avoided formal proceedings, and

4992-453: The Belt mountains and Bitterroots are part of the Rockies. The route did not cross over the Little Belts or Big Belts , but over the Lenep-Loweth Ridge between the Castle Mountains and the Crazy Mountains . Some historians question the choice of route, since it bypassed some population centers and passed through areas with limited local traffic potential. Much of the line paralleled the Northern Pacific Railway . Trains magazine called

5120-481: The CMSt.P&P sponsored one of the Army's MRS units the 757th Railroad Shop Battalion. The Milwaukee Road enjoyed temporary success after World War II . Out of bankruptcy and with the wartime ban on new passenger service lifted, the company upgraded its trains. The Olympian Hiawatha began running between Chicago and the Puget Sound over the Pacific Extension in 1947, and the Twin Cities Hiawatha received new equipment in 1948. Dieselisation accelerated and

5248-473: The Canadian National Railway. Regional passenger trains that the Milwaukee Road operated from Chicago up to Amtrak 's assumption of passenger operations in 1971 included the Twin Cities Hiawatha serving Minneapolis, the Sioux serving Madison, Wisconsin , the Milwaukee Express serving Milwaukee, and the Varsity serving Madison. Amtrak still operates several services on the Milwaukee Road's Twin Cities mainline. Daily long distance service to and from

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5376-447: The Cascades through the 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 -mile (3.6 km) Snoqualmie Tunnel , just south of Snoqualmie Pass and over 400 feet (120 m) lower in elevation. The single-track tunnel's east portal at Hyak included an adjacent company-owned ski area (1937−1950). Together, the 645 miles (1,038 km) of main-line electrification represented the largest such project in the world up to that time, and would not be exceeded in

5504-423: The Columbia. East of the divide the Missouri River , which is formed by the confluence of the Jefferson , Madison , and Gallatin Rivers near Three Forks , flows due north through the west-central part of the state to Great Falls . From this point, it then flows generally east through fairly flat agricultural land and the Missouri Breaks to Fort Peck reservoir . The stretch of river between Fort Benton and

5632-480: The Great Falls land office alone had more than a thousand homestead filings per month, and at the peak of 1917–1918 it had 14,000 new homesteads each year. Significant drops occurred following the drought in 1919. As World War I broke out, Jeannette Rankin , representative of Montana and the first woman in the United States to be a member of Congress, voted against the United States' declaration of war. Her actions were widely criticized in Montana, where support for

5760-405: The Homestead Act drew tens of thousands of homesteaders, lured by free land, with World War I bringing particularly high wheat prices. In addition, Montana was going through a temporary period of higher-than-average precipitation. Homesteaders arriving in this period were known as "honyockers", or "scissorbills". The word honyocker possibly derived from the ethnic slur hunyak and was applied in

5888-407: The John Wayne Pioneer Trail) in Washington, Milwaukee Road Rail Trail in Idaho, Route of the Hiawatha Trail in Idaho and Montana, Route of the Olympian in Montana, Midtown Greenway in Minnesota, Bugline Trail in Wisconsin, and Milwaukee Road Transportation Trailway in Indiana all run on sections of the right-of-way among others. Today, both the Milwaukee Road and Soo Line Railroad trackage make up

6016-440: The Midwest US routes of the CPKC . Following the 1984 abandonment of the Pacific Extension, Tacoma Rail purchased all of Milwaukee's lines south of Tacoma. Starting in 1990, the Chehalis–Centralia Railroad began operating over the section from Centralia to Curtis. In 2010 the line was sold to the Port of Chehalis and in 2019, The railroad purchased the line from Chehalis to Ruth. In 2021 the section from Highway 6 West to Curtis

6144-451: The Midwest and western United States. Montana did not see a large influx of immigrants from this act because 160 acres were usually insufficient to support a family in the arid territory. The first homestead claim under the act in Montana was made by David Carpenter near Helena in 1868. The first claim by a woman was made near Warm Springs Creek by Gwenllian Evans, the daughter of Deer Lodge Montana pioneer, Morgan Evans. By 1880, farms were in

6272-443: The Milwaukee Road after the Soo Line sale was its holding company, the Milwaukee Land Company, reverted to Chicago Milwaukee Corporation ownership (CMC). Without the railroad, CMC's primary function became disposal or redevelopment of Milwaukee Road real estate not sold to the Soo Line, which stretched from Bedford, Indiana, to Washington state. The larger properties were developed into big-box retail or industrial sites. The CMC itself

6400-415: The Milwaukee Road also operated an extensive commuter rail service in the Chicago area. One branch served the northern suburbs and extended into the outer suburbs of Milwaukee, while another branch served the western suburbs. These services passed to the Regional Transportation Authority in 1982 after the Milwaukee Road's bankruptcy. They are still operated today by Metra , Chicago's commuter rail agency, as

6528-451: The Milwaukee Road exercised its right under the Burlington Northern merger to petition for inclusion based on its weak financial condition. The ICC denied it on March 2, 1977. Between 1974 and 1977, the Milwaukee Road lost $ 100 million, and the company filed for its third bankruptcy in 42 years on December 19, 1977. Judge Thomas R. McMillen presided over the bankruptcy until the Milwaukee Road's sale in 1985. The railroad's primary problem

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6656-517: The Milwaukee Road for its "City" streamliners in 1955. The Milwaukee Road's Pioneer Limited was one of the first named trains and its colorful Hiawatha trains were among the nation's finest streamliners. The post-World War II Hiawatha trains remain a high-water mark for passenger train industrial design. Starting in November 1955, the Milwaukee Road assumed joint operation of the Union Pacific's City of Los Angeles , City of Portland , City of Denver , and Challenger trains as well as

6784-422: The Milwaukee Road held a staggering advantage over BN, carrying nearly 80% of the originating traffic along with 50% of the total container traffic leaving the Puget Sound (prior to severe service declines after roughly 1974). In 1970, the president of Chicago and North Western offered to sell the railroad to the Milwaukee Road outright. President William John Quinn refused, stating that it now believed only

6912-619: The Milwaukee Road's transcontinental service to the West Coast. While the Burlington Northern merger generated more traffic on this route, it was only enough to wear out the deteriorating track, not enough to pay for rebuilding. This forced trains to slow at many locations due to bad track. A final attempt to devise a plan to rehabilitate the Pacific Extension under the Milwaukee Road Restructuring Act failed. Operations ended west of Miles City, Montana , on February 29, 1980. The new, smaller railroad began earning small profits in 1982 (that same year, its two commuter rail lines, collectively known as

7040-418: The Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien in 1857. As a result of the financial panic of 1857, the M&M went into receivership in 1859, and was purchased by the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad in 1861. In 1867, Alexander Mitchell combined the M&PdC with the Milwaukee and St. Paul (formerly the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Company ) under the name Milwaukee and St. Paul . Critical to

7168-423: The Montana Sedition Act. The Montanans who opposed U.S. entry into the war included immigrant groups of German and Irish heritage, as well as pacifist Anabaptist people such as the Hutterites and Mennonites , many of whom were also of Germanic heritage. In turn, pro-War groups formed, such as the Montana Council of Defense, created by Governor Samuel V. Stewart and local "loyalty committees". War sentiment

7296-508: The Montana legislature had passed the Montana Sedition Act, which was a model for the federal version. In combination, these laws criminalized criticism of the U.S. government, military, or symbols through speech or other means. The Montana Act led to the arrest of more than 200 individuals and the conviction of 78, mostly of German or Austrian descent. More than 40 spent time in prison. In May 2006, then-Governor Brian Schweitzer posthumously issued full pardons for all those convicted of violating

7424-475: The Montana prairie for three years, did little to irrigate the land and then abandoned it without paying the final fees. Some farmers came with the arrival of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railroads throughout the 1880s and 1890s, though in relatively small numbers. In the early 1900s, James J. Hill of the Great Northern began to promote settlement in the Montana prairie to fill his trains with settlers and goods. Other railroads followed suit. In 1902,

7552-444: The Pacific Northwest is provided by the Empire Builder along the Chicago-St. Paul route after the train was rerouted by Amtrak on the first day of operations on May 1, 1971. Amtrak also operates corridor services as the Hiawatha along the Chicago-Milwaukee section of the route. In 2024, Amtrak began service for the Borealis , supplementing the Empire Builder with an extra daily round trip from Chicago to St. Paul. For years,

7680-468: The Saint Paul City Council approved mill and overlaying the road in its current configuration for $ 3.5 million. Mayor Melvin Carter requested turning two lanes into a greenway but that plan would have cost $ 9.8 million due to drainage problems. The corridor is built on a buried stream which causes drainage and pavement preservation challenges. The council ultimately approved a $ 7.5 million construction project that reduced lanes from four to three and added

7808-439: The Shining Mountains", and " The Last Best Place ". Its economy is primarily based on agriculture , including ranching and cereal grain farming. Other significant economic resources include oil , gas , coal , mining , and lumber . The health care, service, defense, and government sectors are also significant to the state's economy. Montana's fastest-growing sector is tourism, with 12.6 million tourists (as of 2019) visiting

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7936-631: The State of Montana: The president signed and issued the proclamation declaring Montana a state of the union at 10:40 o'clock this morning. Under Territorial Governor Thomas Meagher , Montanans held a constitutional convention in 1866 in a failed bid for statehood. A second constitutional convention held in Helena in 1884 produced a constitution ratified 3:1 by Montana citizens in November 1884. For political reasons, Congress did not approve Montana statehood until February 1889 and President Grover Cleveland signed an omnibus bill granting statehood to Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington once

8064-405: The U.S. were sent to Montana during the war as smokejumpers and for other forest fire-fighting duties. In 1942, the U.S. Army established Camp Rimini near Helena for the purpose of training sled dogs in winter weather. During World War II, the planned battleship USS Montana was named in honor of the state but it was never completed. Montana is the only one of the first 48 states lacking

8192-434: The UP/ Southern Pacific City of San Francisco . After assuming operation of the UP's services, the Milwaukee Road gradually dropped its orange and maroon paint scheme in favor of UP's Armour yellow, grey, and red, finding the latter easier to keep clean. The Milwaukee Road's streamlined passenger services were unique in that most of its equipment was built by the railroad at its Milwaukee Menomonee Valley shops, including

8320-508: The US until the Pennsylvania Railroad 's efforts in the 1930s. The two separate electrified districts were never unified, as the 216-mile (348 km) Idaho Division (Avery to Othello) was comparatively flat down the St. Joe River to St. Maries and through eastern Washington , and posed few challenges for steam operation. Electrification cost $ 27 million, but resulted in savings of over $ 1 million per year from improved operational efficiency. The Chicago, Milwaukee, and Puget Sound Railway

8448-425: The United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced financial difficulty through the 1970s and 1980s, including bankruptcy in 1977 (though it filed for bankruptcy twice in 1925 and 1935, respectively). In 1980, it abandoned its Pacific Extension, which included track in the states of Montana , Idaho , and Washington . The remaining system was merged into the Soo Line Railroad ( reporting mark SOO ),

8576-589: The appropriate state constitutions were crafted. In July 1889, Montanans convened their third constitutional convention and produced a constitution accepted by the people and the federal government. On November 8, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed Montana the union's 41st state. The first state governor was Joseph K. Toole . In the 1880s, Helena (the state capital) had more millionaires per capita than any other United States city. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided free land to settlers who could claim and "prove-up" 160 acres (0.65 km ) of federal land in

8704-417: The building of the extension, primarily a long-haul route, "egregious" and a "disaster". George H. Drury listed the Pacific Extension as one of several "wrong decisions" made by the Milwaukee Road's management which contributed to the company's eventual failure. Beginning in 1909, several smaller railroads were acquired and expanded to form branch lines along the Pacific Extension. Operating conditions in

8832-414: The city of Helena now stands, Confederate Gulch , Silver Bow, Emigrant Gulch, and Cooke City . Gold output between 1862 and 1876 reached $ 144 million, after which silver became even more important. The largest mining operations were at Butte, with important silver deposits and expansive copper deposits. Before the creation of Montana Territory (1864–1889), areas within present-day Montana were part of

8960-439: The creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872. As settlers began populating Montana from the 1850s through the 1870s, disputes with Native Americans ensued, primarily over land ownership and control. In 1855, Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens negotiated the Hellgate Treaty between the United States government and the Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and Kootenai people of western Montana, which established boundaries for

9088-441: The decades following the Lewis and Clark Expedition , European, Canadian and American traders operated a fur trade , trading with indigenous peoples in both western and eastern portions of the area. Though the increased interaction between fur traders and indigenous peoples frequently proved to be a profitable partnership, conflicts broke out when indigenous interests were threatened, such as the conflict between American trappers and

9216-422: The development and financing of the railroad was the acquisition of significant land grants. Prominent individual investors in the line included Alexander Mitchell, Russell Sage , Jeremiah Milbank , and William Rockefeller . In 1874, the name was changed to Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul after constructing an extension to Chicago in 1872. The company absorbed the Chicago and Pacific Railroad Company in 1879,

9344-779: The divide flow into the Columbia River . The Clark Fork of the Columbia (not to be confused with the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River) rises near Butte and flows northwest to Missoula , where it is joined by the Blackfoot River and Bitterroot River . Farther downstream, it is joined by the Flathead River before entering Idaho near Lake Pend Oreille . The Pend Oreille River forms

9472-433: The east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta , British Columbia , and Saskatchewan to the north. It is the fourth-largest state by area , but the eighth-least populous state and the third-least densely populated state . Its capital is Helena , while the most populous city is Billings . The western half of the state contains numerous mountain ranges, while

9600-575: The eastern half is characterized by western prairie terrain and badlands , with smaller mountain ranges found throughout the state. Most of Montana first came under American sovereignty with the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803 and was explored by the Lewis and Clark Expedition shortly thereafter. Fur trappers followed and were the main economic activity in the area until gold was discovered in 1852. The ensuing gold rush, along with

9728-429: The end of private intercity passenger operations in 1971. The Milwaukee prided itself on its passenger operations, providing the nation with some of its most innovative and colorful trains. The railroad's home-built equipment was among some of the best passenger equipment ever run on any American railroad. The Milwaukee's reputation for high-quality service was the principal reason that Union Pacific shifted its service to

9856-486: The environment. Weather and agricultural conditions are much harsher and drier west of the 100th meridian. Then, the droughts of 1917–1921 proved devastating. Many people left, and half the banks in the state went bankrupt as a result of providing mortgages that could not be repaid. As a result, farm sizes increased while the number of farms decreased. By 1910, homesteaders filed claims on over five million acres, and by 1923, over 93 million acres were farmed. In 1910,

9984-656: The expansive and sparsely populated Northern Plains , with tableland prairies, smaller island mountain ranges, and badlands . The isolated island ranges east of the Divide include the Bear Paw Mountains, Bull Mountains , Castle Mountains , Crazy Mountains , Highwood Mountains , Judith Mountains , Little Belt Mountains , Little Rocky Mountains , the Pryor Mountains , Little Snowy Mountains , Big Snowy Mountains , Sweet Grass Hills , and—in

10112-455: The four generations of Hiawatha equipment introduced in 1933–34, 1935, 1937–38, and 1947–48. Most striking were the " Beaver Tail " observation cars of the 1930s and the " Skytop Lounge " observation cars by industrial designer Brooks Stevens in the 1940s. Extended "Skytop Lounge" cars were also ordered from Pullman for Olympian Hiawatha service in 1951. The Olympian Hiawatha set, as well as some full-length " Super Domes " were later sold to

10240-509: The hole", referring directly to the Minuteman missiles in Montana. Montana eventually became home to the largest ICBM field in the U.S. covering 23,500 square miles (61,000 km ). Montana is one of the eight Mountain States , located in the north of the region known as the Western United States . It borders North Dakota and South Dakota to the east. Wyoming is to the south, Idaho

10368-613: The land that is now Montana. Historic tribes encountered by Europeans and settlers from the United States included the Crow in the south-central area, the Cheyenne and Lakota in the southeast, the Blackfeet , Assiniboine , and Gros Ventres in the central and north-central area, and the Kootenai and Salish the ( Séliš or “Flathead” ) in the west. The ( Ql̓ispé or Pend d'Oreilles ) and Kalispel tribes lived near Flathead Lake and

10496-469: The largest landlocked state. The state's topography is roughly defined by the Continental Divide , which splits much of the state into distinct eastern and western regions. Most of Montana's hundred or more named mountain ranges are in the state's western half, most of which is geologically and geographically part of the northern Rocky Mountains . The Absaroka and Beartooth ranges in

10624-833: The longest continuous ranges in the Rocky Mountain chain from Alaska to Mexico —along with smaller ranges, including the Coeur d'Alene Mountains and the Cabinet Mountains , divide the state from Idaho. The southern third of the Bitterroot range blends into the Continental Divide. Other major mountain ranges west of the divide include the Cabinet Mountains , the Anaconda Range , the Missions ,

10752-588: The middle of the Environmental Impact Statement, Mayor Randy Kelly opened the Ayd Mill to I-35E ramps as a temporary test in 2002, and those ramps have remained open ever since. The Saint Paul City Council twice passed resolutions in support of reducing lanes to a two-lane parkway (once in 2000, and again in 2009). The adjacent track is still used today by Canadian Pacific and Amtrak 's Empire Builder runs on these rails. In 2019

10880-492: The more verdant valleys of central and western Montana, but few were on the eastern plains. The Desert Land Act of 1877 was passed to allow settlement of arid lands in the west and allotted 640 acres (2.6 km ) to settlers for a fee of $ .25 per acre and a promise to irrigate the land. After three years, a fee of one dollar per acre would be paid and the settler would own the land. This act brought mostly cattle and sheep ranchers into Montana, many of whom grazed their herds on

11008-800: The most scenic badlands regions in the state. The Hell Creek Formation in Northeast Montana is a major source of dinosaur fossils . Paleontologist Jack Horner of the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman brought this formation to the world's attention with several major finds. Montana has thousands of named rivers and creeks, 450 miles (720 km) of which are known for "blue-ribbon" trout fishing. Montana's water resources provide for recreation, hydropower , crop and forage irrigation, mining, and water for human consumption. Montana

11136-454: The mountain regions of the Pacific Extension proved difficult. Winter temperatures of −40 °F (−40 °C) in Montana made it challenging for steam locomotives to generate sufficient steam. The line snaked through mountainous areas, resulting in "long steep grades and sharp curves". Electrification provided an answer, especially with abundant hydroelectric power in the mountains, and

11264-502: The name. Cox complained that the name was a misnomer given that most of the territory was not mountainous, and thought a Native American name would be more appropriate than a Spanish one. Other names, such as Shoshone , were suggested, but the Committee on Territories decided that they had discretion to choose the name, so the original name of Montana was adopted. For thousands of years, various indigenous peoples have inhabited

11392-687: The newly formed Metal Mine Workers' Union, opposed the war on grounds it mostly profited large lumber and mining interests. In the wake of ramped-up mine production and the Speculator Mine disaster in June 1917, Industrial Workers of the World organizer Frank Little arrived in Butte to organize miners. He gave some speeches with inflammatory antiwar rhetoric. On August 1, 1917, he was dragged from his boarding house by masked vigilantes , and hanged from

11520-866: The non-Indian population of the Montana Territory was 20,595. The Montana Historical Society , founded on February   2, 1865, in Virginia City, is the oldest such institution west of the Mississippi (excluding Louisiana). In 1869 and 1870 respectively, the Cook–Folsom–Peterson and the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expeditions were launched from Helena into the Upper Yellowstone region. The extraordinary discoveries and reports from these expeditions led to

11648-540: The offers by both Soo Line and C&NW. Ultimately, Judge McMillen approved the former's offer on February 19, 1985. The Soo reorganized the property as The Milwaukee Road, Inc. , prior to merging the Milwaukee into the company itself effective January 1, 1986. The Soo Line would be acquired by Canadian Pacific in 1990 with the latter consolidating with the Kansas City Southern Railway 33 years later. The successor-in-interest to what remained of

11776-600: The old cars rather than buying new ones. This contributed to car shortages that turned away business. The Milwaukee Road chose at this time to end its mainline electrification. Its electric locomotive fleet was reaching the end of its service life, and newer diesel locomotives such as the EMD SD40-2 and the GE Universal Series were more than capable of handling the route. The final electric freight arrived at Deer Lodge, Montana on June 15, 1974. In 1976,

11904-609: The outflow of Lake Pend Oreille. The Pend Oreille River joined the Columbia River, which flows to the Pacific Ocean—making the 579-mile (932 km) long Clark Fork/Pend Oreille (considered a single river system) the longest river in the Rocky Mountains. The Clark Fork discharges the greatest volume of water of any river exiting the state. The Kootenai River in northwest Montana is another major tributary of

12032-503: The passage of the Homestead Acts in 1862, brought large numbers of American settlers to Montana. Rapid population growth and development culminated in statehood on November 8, 1889. Mining, particularly around Butte and Helena , would remain the state's main economic engine through the mid-20th century. Montana has no official nickname but several unofficial ones, most notably "Big Sky Country", "The Treasure State", "Land of

12160-525: The public right-of-way. Other options included replacing the entire stretch of road with a park. In the end, the city decided the best option was a rebuilt roadway that extended north along the railroad to St. Anthony Avenue, where a connection to I-94 was possible. Though renewed neighborhood protest has blocked this measure, the road has been blacktopped and striped, and the I-35E ramps were reopened after signals were put on Ayd Mill's entrance ramps. While in

12288-675: The railroad played a major role in sparking tensions with Native American tribes in the 1870s. Jay Cooke , the NPR president, launched major surveys into the Yellowstone valley in 1871, 1872, and 1873, which were challenged forcefully by the Sioux under chief Sitting Bull . These clashes, in part, contributed to the Panic of 1873 , a financial crisis that delayed the construction of the railroad into Montana. Surveys in 1874, 1875, and 1876 helped spark

12416-745: The railroad that built the Bloomingdale Line (now The 606) and what became the Milwaukee District / West Line as part of the 36-mile Elgin Subdivision from Halsted Street in Chicago to the suburb of Elgin, Illinois . In 1890, the company purchased the Milwaukee and Northern Railroad; by now, the railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota , Iowa , South Dakota , and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan . The corporate headquarters were moved from Milwaukee to

12544-424: The region commenced in earnest starting in 1862. A series of major mineral discoveries in the western part of the state found gold, silver, copper, lead, and coal (and later oil) which attracted tens of thousands of miners to the area. The richest of all gold placer diggings was discovered at Alder Gulch, where the town of Virginia City was established. Other rich placer deposits were found at Last Chance Gulch, where

12672-599: The region during the Oligocene 33 to 23 million years ago. Tablelands are often topped with argillite gravel and weathered quartzite, occasionally underlain by shale. The glaciated plains are generally covered in clay, gravel, sand, and silt left by the proglacial Lake Great Falls or by moraines or gravel-covered former lake basins left by the Wisconsin glaciation 85,000 to 11,000 years ago. Farther east, areas such as Makoshika State Park near Glendive and Medicine Rocks State Park near Ekalaka contain some of

12800-510: The right to connect with new railroads in the West over Burlington Northern tracks. Traffic on its Pacific Extension increased substantially to more than four trains a day each way as it began interchanging cars with Southern Pacific at Portland, Oregon and Canadian railroads at Sumas, Washington . The railroad's foothold on transcontinental traffic leaving the Port of Seattle increased such that

12928-542: The second commissioned warship to bear the name. In the post-World War II Cold War era, Montana became host to U.S. Air Force Military Air Transport Service (1947) for airlift training in C-54 Skymasters and eventually, in 1953 Strategic Air Command air and missile forces were based at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. The base also hosted the 29th Fighter Interceptor Squadron , Air Defense Command from 1953 to 1968. In December 1959, Malmstrom AFB

13056-565: The sedimentary rock. The underlying surface consists of sandstone and shale . Surface soils in the area are highly diverse, and greatly affected by the local geology, whether glaciated plain, intermountain basin, mountain foothills, or tableland. Foothill regions are often covered in weathered stone or broken slate , or consist of uncovered bare rock (usually igneous, quartzite , sandstone, or shale). The soil of intermountain basins usually consists of clay , gravel , sand , silt , and volcanic ash , much of it laid down by lakes which covered

13184-636: The state each year. The name Montana comes from the Spanish word montaña , which in turn comes from the Latin word montanea , meaning "mountain" or more broadly "mountainous country". Montaña del Norte ('Northern Mountain') was the name given by early Spanish explorers to the entire mountainous region of the west. The name Montana was added in 1863 to a bill by the United States House Committee on Territories (chaired at

13312-542: The state's south-central part are technically part of the Central Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountain Front is a significant feature in the state's north-central portion, and isolated island ranges that interrupt the prairie landscape common in the central and eastern parts of the state. About 60 percent of the state is prairie, part of the northern Great Plains . The Bitterroot Mountains —one of

13440-693: The state's southeastern corner near Ekalaka —the Long Pines . Many of these isolated eastern ranges were created about 120 to 66 million years ago when magma welling up from the interior cracked and bowed the earth's surface here. The area east of the divide in the state's north-central portion is known for the Missouri Breaks and other significant rock formations . Three buttes south of Great Falls are major landmarks: Cascade, Crown, Square, Shaw, and Buttes. Known as laccoliths , they formed when igneous rock protruded through cracks in

13568-472: The time by James Ashley of Ohio ) for the territory that would become Idaho Territory . The name was changed by representatives Henry Wilson (Massachusetts) and Benjamin F. Harding (Oregon), who complained that Montana had "no meaning". When Ashley presented a bill to establish a temporary government in 1864 for a new territory to be carved out of Idaho, he again chose Montana Territory . This time, representative Samuel Cox , also of Ohio, objected to

13696-537: The transcontinental routes to the Pacific was tough. The premier transcontinental streamliner, the Olympian Hiawatha , despite innovative scenic observation cars, was mothballed in 1961, becoming the first visible casualty. The resignation of President John P. Kiley in 1957 and his replacement with the fairly inexperienced William John Quinn was a pivotal moment. From that point onward, the road's management

13824-650: The tribal nations. The treaty was ratified in 1859. While the treaty established what later became the Flathead Indian Reservation , trouble with interpreters and confusion over the terms of the treaty led Whites to believe the Bitterroot Valley was opened to settlement, but the tribal nations disputed those provisions. The Salish remained in the Bitterroot Valley until 1891. The first U.S. Army post established in Montana

13952-606: The verge of extinction; only about 325 bison remained in the entire United States. Cattle ranching has been central to Montana's history and economy since Johnny Grant began wintering cattle in the Deer Lodge Valley in the 1850s and traded cattle fattened in fertile Montana valleys with emigrants on the Oregon Trail. Nelson Story brought the first Texas Longhorn cattle into the territory in 1866. Granville Stuart , Samuel Hauser , and Andrew J. Davis started

14080-438: The war and patriotism was strong. In 1917–1918, due to a miscalculation of Montana's population, about 40,000 Montanans, 10% of the state's population, volunteered or were drafted into the armed forces. This represented a manpower contribution to the war that was 25% higher than any other state on a per capita basis. Around 1,500 Montanans died as a result of the war and 2,437 were wounded, also higher than any other state on

14208-577: The war ended. These numbers constituted about ten percent of the state's population, and Montana again contributed one of the highest numbers of soldiers per capita of any state. Many Native Americans were among those who served, including soldiers from the Crow Nation who became Code Talkers . At least 1,500 Montanans died in the war. Montana also was the training ground for the First Special Service Force or "Devil's Brigade",

14336-658: The western mountains, respectively. A part of southeastern Montana was used as a corridor between the Crows and the related Hidatsas in North Dakota. As part of the Missouri River watershed, all of the land in Montana east of the Continental Divide was part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, except for a tiny portion in the northeast that is part of the Hudson Bay drainage . Subsequent to and particularly in

14464-542: Was Camp Cooke in 1866, on the Missouri River, to protect steamboat traffic to Fort Benton. More than a dozen additional military outposts were established in the state. Pressure over land ownership and control increased due to discoveries of gold in various parts of Montana and surrounding states. Major battles occurred in Montana during Red Cloud's War , the Great Sioux War of 1876 , and the Nez Perce War and in conflicts with Piegan Blackfeet . The most notable were

14592-417: Was absorbed by the parent company on January 1, 1913. The Pacific Extension, including subsequent electrification, cost the Milwaukee Road $ 257 million, over four times the original estimate of $ 60 million. To meet this cost, the Milwaukee Road sold bonds, which began coming due in the 1920s. Traffic never met projections, and by the early 1920s, the Milwaukee Road was in serious financial condition. This state

14720-507: Was again elected to Congress. In 1941, as she had in 1917, she voted against the United States' declaration of war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Hers was the only vote against the war, and in the wake of public outcry over her vote, Rankin required police protection for a time. Other pacifists tended to be those from "peace churches" who generally opposed war. Many individuals claiming conscientious objector status from throughout

14848-432: Was beginning to cause problems. The railroad's financial problems were exacerbated by their practice of improving its earnings during that period by selling off its wholly owned cars to financial institutions and leasing them back. The lease charges became greater, and more cars needed to be sold to pay the lease payments. The railroad's fleet of cars was becoming older because more money was being spent on finance payments for

14976-452: Was beset with legal and financial woes, filing for bankruptcy (under numerous versions of CMC/Heartland Partners), as a result of environmental cleanup costs and liabilities at former Milwaukee Road sites. CMC Heartland, and its various reincarnations, were dissolved in a final liquidation process that came to a close in 2010. Much of the abandoned Milwaukee PCE line has become rail trails . The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail (formerly

15104-462: Was chartered in 1905 to build from the Missouri River to Seattle and Tacoma. Construction began in 1906 and was completed three years later. The route chosen was 18 miles (29 km) shorter than the next shortest competitor's, as well as better grades than some, but it was an expensive route, since Milwaukee Road received few land grants and had to buy most of the land or acquire smaller railroads. The two main mountain ranges that had to be crossed,

15232-408: Was complete by 1957. In 1955, the Milwaukee Road took over from the Chicago and North Western 's handling of Union Pacific 's streamliner trains between Chicago and Omaha . The whole railroad industry found itself in decline in the late 1950s and the 1960s, but the Milwaukee Road was hit particularly hard. The Midwest was overbuilt with a plethora of competing railroads, while the competition on

15360-399: Was complicated by labor issues. The Anaconda Copper Company , which was at its historic peak of copper production, was an extremely powerful force in Montana, but it also faced criticism and opposition from socialist newspapers and unions struggling to make gains for their members. In Butte, a multiethnic community with a significant European immigrant population, labor unions, particularly

15488-527: Was considered, but not pursued. In 1980 the secondary line between Marquette, Iowa and Rapid City, South Dakota on its section between Mitchell and Kadoka was embargoed and then acquired by the South Dakota Department of Transportation . Between 1977 and 1984, route distance was reduced to a quarter from its peak and a third from its total in 1977, shrinking to 3,023 miles (4,865 km). The most extensive abandonment eliminated

15616-559: Was exacerbated by the railroad's purchase of several heavily indebted railroads in Indiana . The company declared bankruptcy in 1925 and reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1928. In 1929, its total mileage stood at 11,248 miles (18,102 km). In 1927, the railroad launched its second edition of the Olympian as a premier luxury limited passenger train and opened its first railroad-owned tourist hotel,

15744-617: Was farmer, spinster, deep-sea diver; fiddler, physician, bartender, cook. He lived in Minnesota or Wisconsin, Massachusetts or Maine. There the news sought him out—Jim Hill's news of free land in the Treasure State ... However, farmers faced a number of problems. Massive debt was one. Also, most settlers were from wetter regions, unprepared for the dry climate, lack of trees, and scarce water resources. In addition, small homesteads of fewer than 320 acres (130 ha) were unsuited to

15872-572: Was fixated on merger with another railroad as the solution to the Milwaukee's problems. Railroad mergers had to be approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission , and in 1969 the ICC effectively blocked the merger with the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) that the Milwaukee Road had counted on and had been planning for since 1964. The ICC asked for terms that the C&;NW was not willing to agree to. The merger of

16000-676: Was leased. Milwaukee Road Historical Association now owns the Milwaukee Road trademarks/copyrights, except for the AAR reporting marks (MILW) used by the Soo Line Railroad (which does business in the American Midwest as the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway). The Milwaukee Road aggressively marketed passenger service through much of its history, maintaining a high quality of service until

16128-548: Was selected as the home of the new Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missile . The first operational missiles were in place and ready in early 1962. In late 1962, missiles assigned to the 341st Strategic Missile Wing played a major role in the Cuban Missile Crisis . When the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, President John F. Kennedy said the Soviets backed down because they knew he had an "ace in

16256-405: Was that it possessed too much physical plant for the revenue it generated. In 1977, it owned 10,074 miles (16,213 km) of track, and 36% of that mileage produced a mere 14% of the company's yearly revenue. The approach taken by the bankruptcy trustees was to sell or abandon unprofitable or marginally profitable lines, leaving a much smaller railroad which could be profitable. Outright liquidation

16384-567: Was un-striped, and very little traffic was seen on it. In the summer of 1992, the Saint Paul public works department temporarily linked Ayd Mill Road to I-35E to help mitigate traffic congestion during the completion of the interstate in the downtown area, after which the link was barricaded. In the late 1990s the city again revisited the prospect of the I-35E-to-I-94 connection as part of an environmental study as one of many options for

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