Eastern Montana: Images of Recent Man's Habitation

Scattered across the prairies and breaks of eastern Montana are the relics of European peoples relatively recent occupation. To me, these artifacts provide a great opportunity to document the history of the area through digital photo images. Much of what you see in the following photos are "artifacts" that are mostly less than 100 years old, and in many instances no more than about 50. But whatever the age, they document the progression of habitation by man as he eked out a living on these relatively dry and sometimes severe landscapes.

The family ranch buildings we visit each year sit unobtrusively in a draw fed by a spring that once provided sustenance and a natural campsite for Native Americans. Even in times of severe drought, the clean, pure waters have continued to flow. These days, the spring provides water for several families, livestock, and gardens and landscaping. And the draw - or "coulee"as these landscape features are sometimes referred to in Montana - along with its cottonwood, boxelder, and ash trees provides relief and protection from summer suns and winter blizzards. The homesteaders of the early part of the 20th century lived in much more austere dwellings. This home - below - on the ranch was occupied by a family of 6 until the mid 1900's. Old barns frequently continue to house remnants of important transportation means of the past - horses. And many ranchers still depend on these animals for certain needs of modern day ranching. Of course, farm machinery and vehicles have also changed markedly with the times. And what was once accomplished with wagons is now the venue of continuing improvements in petroleum propelled vehicles. This old GMC pickup was once the vehicle of choice to transport my wife to the local one room school house she attended through early grade school in the 1950's. Uh oh! Am I in trouble with her because some of you are now mentally calculating her age?? When I first viewed some of these relics in 1969, they were not all that old. In the dry climate of these northern Great Plains regions, many or most of the relics pictured here will likely still be around late into this 21st Century. At least I hope they are so that future generations of the family will be able to explore some aspects of the history of the ranch - by just walking over the hill!