Finding History Driving the Backroads of Eastern Montana.
If you’re traveling on Interstate 94 going east through Montana, right before you cross over to North Dakota you will see the sign for Wibaux Montana. This quaint little town nestled in the rolling hills of the beautiful short-grass prairie has a population of just under 600 people. The area has a rich history. As pioneers moved west to live out their dreams, settlements sprung up. The vastness of the grass-covered landscape was a strong draw to cattlemen and sheep herders alike. Montana is known for extreme temperature changes as those who settled in this area quickly found out. The summers are hot and the winters are bitterly cold. Learning to survive plus caring for livestock, and the land was hard back-breaking often heartbreaking work. Why then would anyone want to endure the hardships associated with this lifestyle? Think of a time when you were faced with challenges that seemed impossible, maybe not sure of how to get through but you kept going even though it might have taken a long time to get through the challenges, once through instead of losing yourself you found more of yourself and were stronger.
The settlers found strength through sweat and tears. Often times the hardest experiences bring out the best in us. They had the opportunity to own land creating their own destiny. There are stories of immigrants leaving comfortable homes and going across the ocean with their wives and when asked why? They picked up a handful of soil and let it slide out as they explained before we didn’t own this much land now we own acres. So people came west for ranching, farming, sheep herding, or to own businesses and provide services In these remote areas, they learned the rewards of hard work, helping others, and forming communities working together. Far from a utopia. In moments when they delivered a newborn or stood at sunset after a long hard day breathing in the clean cleansing air and looking over rolling hills that seem to go on forever, there is a healing sense of belonging that touches the soul.
So if you are ever on Interstate 94 close to the North Dakota-Montana border and have time take a back road off the interstate. You will be surrounded by history and the landscape once part of the wild west, an area that President Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed as well.
