Editing Bearcreek, Montana (section)

==History==
Bearcreek owes its existence to area [[coal mining]] that began in the 1890s to supply coal for the [[Northern Pacific Railway]] and the [[Anaconda Copper|Anaconda Company]]. The Bearcreek Post Office was established on November 22, 1905, with Sarah Criger as the town's first postmaster.<ref name="names">{{cite book|last1=Carkeek Cheney|first1=Roberta|title=Names on the Face of Montana|date=1983|publisher=Mountain Press Publishing Company|location=Missoula, Montana|isbn=0-87842-150-5|page=5}}</ref> The town was platted and incorporated after the arrival of the [[List of Montana railroads|Montana, Wyoming & Southern Railroad]] in 1906.

The town of Bearcreek was named for Bear Creek, which runs through the middle of town. Bearcreek came into existence due to coal mines and grew rapidly following the building of a short line railroad connecting the Bearcreek mines to the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1906. Between 1906 and 1953, the mines at Bearcreek produced large volumes of coal, which was a higher grade than other regional sources, from the extensive underground coal mining deposits.  The mines were located along the creek and also in the surrounding coulees.  The development of the coal mines after 1906 drew miners to the area.  They came from other parts of America, and from Serbia, Montenegro, Germany, Scotland and Italy.  The recent immigrants built separate ethnic-based communities in the steep coulees that run down into Bearcreek, with names like [[Washoe, Montana|Washoe]], New Caledonia, Chickentown, Scotch Coulee, International, and Stringtown.  At one time in the 1920s and 1930s the population of Bearcreek combined with the other surrounding small communities was close to 3,000 persons.  Bearcreek and the surrounding communities had seven mercantiles, a bank, two hotels, two billiard halls, a brickyard, numerous saloons, and Bearcreek sported concrete sidewalks and their own water system.  Allegedly, the town had no churches. The economy of Bear Creek was based on coal. The [[Smith Mine disaster|Smith Mine Disaster]] in 1943, followed by the decline in demand for coal in the late 1940s and 1950s caused the closure of the connecting railroad in 1953 and subsequently most of the coal mines, and the population declined steadily to less than 100 persons. Many buildings in Bearcreek and the surrounding communities were moved to other towns or demolished, and only a few structures remain.

The town is home to the [[Bear Creek Saloon and Steakhouse|Bearcreek Saloon]] which hosts fundraising pig races throughout the year. In addition, Bearcreek plays host every autumn to Montana [[Falconry|Falconer]] Symposium, the state's largest gathering of [[falcon]] trainers and birds of prey enthusiasts.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Featured in the Star Trek television series ''[[Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (season 1)|Strange New Worlds]]'' Episode 1 of Season 1 as the home of [[Christopher Pike (Star Trek)|Captain Christopher Pike]].

===The Montana Wyoming and Southern Railroad===
The Montana, Wyoming and Southern (or MW&S) was an independent privately owned short rail spur built in 1906 from the main [[Northern Pacific Railroad]] (NP) line at [[Bridger, Montana]] through [[Belfry, Montana|Belfry]] and on to the mines in and around Bearcreek.

===Attraction of American and foreign born workers===
After the MW&S railroad was built, Bearcreek expanded rapidly as coal production increased.  American and foreign-born workers moved there, drawn by the expanding coal mining activity and the promise of steady work. By 1917, the mines around Bearcreek were employing 1,200 men. As the miners came they settled in small communities built in the small steep coulees running down into Bear Creek.  At its peak, Bearcreek and the surrounding communities of [[Washoe, Montana|Washoe]], New Caledonia, Chickentown, Scotch Coulee, International, and Stringtown, had a population of about 3,000 people, most of whom worked in the coal mines.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

From 1906 onward, Bearcreek attracted a large contingent of Serbian/Slavic immigrants from Serbia and Montenegro.  The many Serb families brought their culture and their customs to Bearcreek.  With its diverse ethnic composition, Bearcreek traditionally celebrated Christmas twice, on December 25 and January 6, the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] holiday.<ref>[http://mtplacenames.org/ Montana Place Names Companion Website]. Aarstad, Rich, Ellie Arguimbau, Ellen Baumler, Charlene Porsild, and Brian Shovers. Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman. Montana Historical Society Press.</ref>

===Smith Mine Disaster===
On February 27, 1943, the [[Smith Mine disaster|Smith Mine #3]] exploded in the worst coal [[mining accident]] in the history of [[Montana]].  Of the 77 men who had gone underground at the start of the shift, only 3 survived.  The bodies were all recovered. Thirty had died instantly.  Forty four of the miners survived the initial blast, but were trapped underground in isolated parts of the mine, dying from initial injuries or from suffocation from methane and carbon monoxide poisoning.  Some left farewell notes to their families.  The Smith Mine never reopened and this disaster dealt a severe blow to the community.

===Events after the Smith Mine Disaster===
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, there was a marked trend away from coal consumption in the American economy, due to utilization of [[natural gas]] or fuel oil for heating and the increasing use of [[diesel fuel|diesel]] to power locomotives.  Bearcreek's coal production went into a steady decline.

After the abrupt closure of the Smith Mine, and as the demand for coal declined so did the financial health of the Montana, Wyoming and Southern, which had always been precarious.  The railroad ceased to operate in 1953.  When the railroad ceased to function so did most of mining activity in and around Bearcreek, since the railroad was the only efficient way for mines to ship their coal to market.  Some mines struggled on, but the last mine closed in the 1970s.   After the closure of the railroad followed by most of the mines the town's population rapidly dwindled, eventually declining to under 100 people.  The rails and ties were removed from the railroad bed and over time the many empty miners houses that once filled the coulees along Bear Creek were sold and moved, or they simply sat vacant and deteriorated until they were torn down.

Today, the many surrounding communities that made up Bearceek are almost completely gone, with only a few houses marking Washoe, currently the largest of them.<ref name="baker1">{{cite book |last=Baker |first=Don |title=Ghost Towns of the Montana Prairie |publisher=Fred Pruett Books |location=Golden, Colorado |year=1997 |pages=20–21 |isbn=0-87108-050-8}}</ref>  In the last decades there is some growth of the tiny remaining community of Bearcreek thanks to its proximity to [[Red Lodge, Montana|Red Lodge]] which has developed an economy to serve tourists who come to ski, or to use summer cabins, or to pass through to Yellowstone Park.<ref>Aarstad, Rich, Ellie Arguimbau, Ellen Baumler, Charlene Porsild, and Brian Shovers. [http://mhs.mt.gov/pub/press/reference.asp#PlaceNames Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008060633/http://mhs.mt.gov/pub/press/reference.asp#PlaceNames |date=October 8, 2009 }}. Montana Historical Society Press.</ref>