Wilsall- the Last Best Place
The original stewards of the beautiful Shields Valley were the Crow People. They lived nestled between the Bridger and Crazy Mountains, living quite happily on trout, buffalo, roots, berries, and all the land had to offer.
In 1807 William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, came over what would be the Bozeman pass and followed the Yellowstone eastward toward the Missouri River. They named the first large tributary spilling into the Yellowstone “Shields” after the company’s blacksmith, John Shields.
Close on the heels of the expedition came brazen trappers and fur traders like the famed Jim Bridger. Not long after came railroad surveyors and hundreds of hopeful pioneers vying for land, water, and mineral rights.
In all the uproar a story came about, telling of the “Crazy Woman.” It is still speculated as to whether she was was a pioneer or Native American woman. Both versions end with the poor woman abandoned in the wake of tragic loss, and driven completely out of her whits.
In the late 1870’s, the US Government moved the “Crow Agency” from Fort Parker to Absarokee and the Crow People were forced to abandon an important piece of their homeland.
In the early 1900’s the Norther Pacific built a spur line to Wilsall to move people and goods to the growing population in the valley.
The new community’s name, Wilsall, came from a prominent citizen and local landowner, Mr. Jordan. He named the town after both his son and daughter: William and Sally.
The community thickened into a bustling little town by the 1960’s. The original Wilsall Water District was created to support the expanding needs of the people, delivering water to homes, school, churches, and many businesses; such as restaurants, gas stations, grocery and hardware stores, a creamery, grain elevator, and bank-turned-bar. At one point there was even an operational jail to restrain ornery citizens.
The beautiful Shields Valley is still supported mainly by agribusiness, but as mega-farms and new technology limit the profitability of “smaller” traditional family farms, the communities that rely on their business begin to dwindle as well.
We thank all of our clients for their business! Together we can work to keep this area from another heartbreaking exodus of her people, and keep Wilsall from becoming just another ghost town in Montana.