Editing Harlowton, Montana (section)

==History==
[[File:Harlowton_Montana_Monument2.png|thumb|Welcome Monument -- Electric Switch Engine E57B]]

The Upper Musselshell River Valley is named for the [[Musselshell River]], which got its name from the large number of freshwater [[mussel]]s found in its river bed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A history of the Upper Musselshell Valley of Montana|last=Stearns|first=Harold Joseph|publisher=Times-Clarion|year=1966|location=Harlowton, Montana|pages=1–6|via=OCLC 3498146}}</ref>  In the fall and winter weather, the [[bison]] would migrate to the lower altitudes along the Musselshell River.  Early plains hunters, taking advantage of the large bison population, frequented this area.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Yesteryears and Pioneers - Wheatland County|last=Harlowton Woman's Club|publisher=Western Printing & Lithography|year=1972|location=Billings, Montana|pages=286, 287, 325, 326|via=OCLC 641756}}</ref> Some of the tribes that traveled through the area were the [[Crow Nation|Crow]], [[Blackfoot Confederacy|Blackfeet]], [[Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation|Flathead]], [[Gros Ventre]], [[Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana|Northern Cheyenne]], [[Nez Perce people|Nez Perce]], [[Shoshone]]s, [[Sioux]], and [[Assiniboine]].<ref name=":0" />

Harlowton lies within the Montana High Plains that form a part of the Northwestern Plains.<ref name=":1" />  The area is most known archeologically for the line of demarcation which was mutually established between the Crow and Blackfeet tribes that passed through the area.<ref name=":0" /> This fifty-mile rock line fence crossed east to west from the [[Big Snowy Mountains]] to the [[Crazy Mountains]].<ref name=":0" />  The rock line hunting boundary was the cause of several battles in the area.<ref name=":0" />

Within Wheatland County, site surveys have recorded and assigned archaeological site numbers to Sentinel Rock, the Fish Creek [[Pictograph]], Owl Canyon Pictograph, Winnecook [[Petroglyph]], Fortification site, and to several [[buffalo jumps]] in the area.<ref name=":1" />  The Big Snowy, Little Belt, [[Castle Mountains (Montana)|Castle]] and Crazy Mountains have produced five [[Wigwam|wickiup]] (conical timbered lodges) sites and several pictograph sites.<ref name=":1" />

On May 7, 1868, a [http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Treaties/TreatyWithTheCrow1868.html treaty] with the [[Crow Nation]] and the United States Government opened the Musselshell River Valley to settlement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://indianlaw.mt.gov/Portals/127/crow/treaties/1868_treaty.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221231822/http://indianlaw.mt.gov/Portals/127/crow/treaties/1868_treaty.pdf |archive-date=2016-12-21 |url-status=live|title=CROW INDIANS. MAY - indianlaw.mt.gov}}</ref>

The first sheep operation on the Upper Musselshell was started by P.J. Moore in 1878.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Origin and History of Harlowton Montana|publisher=Times Clarion|year=1989|location=Harlowton, Montana|pages=17|via=OCLC 43022384}}</ref>  The first large cattle operation in the area was the Chicago Montana Livestock Company in 1882, with S.S. Hobson as part owner and manager.<ref name=":2" />

On June 17, 1907, a fire destroyed 24 buildings on the north side of Harlowton's Main Street.<ref name=":4" />  The town was rebuilt, though most of the construction took place on Central Avenue to correspond with the Milwaukee Railroad plot.<ref name=":4" />

The first town election was held on June 6, 1908.  Mr. A. T. Anderson was elected mayor.<ref name=":4" />

The grand opening of the Graves Hotel was on June 19, 1909, with a banquet and dance.<ref name=":4" />  Andrew Chris Graves was the principal owner.<ref name=":3" />  The [[Graves Hotel]] was added to the National register of historic places on August 6, 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/80002434.pdf|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form}}</ref>

On February 22, the 1917 legislature passed an act which created Wheatland County from [[Meagher County, Montana|Meagher]] and [[Sweet Grass County, Montana|Sweet Grass]] Counties. The act took effect on April 1, 1917.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/MT_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Montana Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|last=Long|first=John H.|website=Montana: Individual County Chronologies}}</ref>  W

Wheatland was the first county in the US to go over its goal in the [[World War I]] Liberty Bond drive of 1918.<ref name=":3" /> County became the 41st county in Montana, and Harlowton became the county seat.<ref name=":4" />  For this effort, a ship, the {{USS|Wheatland|AKA-85}}, was named after the county.<ref name=":4" />

The [[163rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|163rd Infantry Regiment]] is a regiment of the [[Montana National Guard]] based in Harlowton. It went overseas with the [[41st Infantry Division (United States)|41st Infantry Division]] in [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=From Poplar to Papua - Montana's 163rd Infantry Regiment in World War II|last=Kidston|first=Martin J.|publisher=FARCOUNTRY PRESS|year=2004|isbn=978-1-56037-314-8|location=Helena, Montana}}</ref>

The Jawbone Creek Country Club is listed in the [[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of World Records]] for being the only golf course with a cemetery in it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://centralmontana.com/listings/2121.htm|title=Jawbone Creek Country Club|website=Central Montana}}</ref>

===Merino===
[[File:CentralAveHarlowton.jpg|thumb|alt=Standing in the middle of the main street in the business district of Harlowton, with buildings on either side.|Looking down Central Ave]]
The town of Merino was officially established in 1881.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Origin and History of Harlowton Montana|publisher=Times Clarion|year=1989|location=Harlowton, Montana|pages=9, 18, 28, 29, 30|via=OCLC 43022384}}</ref> The name Merino came from the breed of sheep ([[Merino]]) that were run in the area by Charles Severance at the time.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Yesteryears & Pioneers|last=Harlowton Woman's Club|publisher=Western Printing & Lithography|year=1972|location=Billings, Montana|pages=102, 221, 295, 296, 302, 341, 343, 351|via=OCLC 641756}}</ref>  The trading post owned by John and Archie McEachnie housed the post office, store and saloon.<ref name=":4" /> The first railroad into the area was the [[Montana Railroad]] (nicknamed the “[https://www.montanaliving.com/blogs/people/116368005-iron-persistence-history-of-montanas-jawbone-railroad Jawbone Railroad]”) in 1899.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Montana Railroad Company: better known as The Jawbone Railroad|last=Wilkerson|first=W H|publisher=Times Clarion|year=1994|location=Harlowton, Montana|via=OCLC 45687540}}</ref>  The Montana Railroad terminal was located one mile northwest of Merino, so it was decided to relocate the town site.<ref name=":3" />  On June 10, 1900 Richard Harlow, father of the Montana Railroad, and Arthur Lombard, surveyor and promoter of the Montana Railroad, auctioned off lots of the new town site.<ref name=":4" />

The name Merino was changed to Harlowton on November 9, 1900.<ref name=":3" />  The first building to be erected in the new town site was a barber shop, owned by Thomas Hanzlik.<ref name=":4" />

===Big Nose George robbery===
In 1878, JV Salazar (Mexican John) was robbed of his horses, grub, and guns near the present site of Harlowton by the noted horse thief [[Big Nose George|George Parrott (Big Nose George)]].<ref name=":2" /> At the time of the Salazar robbery, George Parrott was known to be camping on the Musselshell River with Andrew Garcia, where he was holding a bunch of stolen horses on his way to Canada.<ref name=":2" /> Big Nose George was later lynched at [[Rawlins, Wyoming]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/big-nose-george-grisly-frontier-tale|title=Big Nose George: A Grisly Frontier Tale {{!}} WyoHistory.org}}</ref>

[[File:DJI 0844 in Town.jpg|thumb|alt=Drone photo, looking west towards the mountains, with the buildings of Harlowton in the foreground.|Looking west in Harlowton, Montana]]

===Milwaukee Road===
In 1906, the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad]] ("Milwaukee Road") started building west with its route coming though Harlowton.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Lines West Memories|last=Wilkerson|first=W H|publisher=Times Clarion|year=1992|location=Harlowton, Montana|via=OCLC 45687490}}</ref>  On December 5, 1907, work was started on the Milwaukee Railroad [[Railway roundhouse|Roundhouse]] in Harlowton.<ref name=":3" />  The first passenger train from the east rolled into Harlowton on March 9, 1908, with freight trains to follow.<ref name=":5" />  In 1915 the [http://harlowtonmuseum.org/Exhibits/Railroad/MilwaukeeRoad.aspx Milwaukee Railroad was electrified from Harlowton to Avery, Idaho] — over 450 mountainous miles.<ref name=":3" />  Harlowton became the eastern terminus of electric operations and was known as “the place where electricity replaces steam.”<ref name=":5" />  The Milwaukee Railroad dropped its electrified system in 1974, just months before the [[1973 oil crisis|OPEC]] oil embargo of the United States.<ref name=":3" />  The Milwaukee Railroad was abandoned following a bankruptcy settlement and the last train that went through Harlowton was in March 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ridethehiawatha.com/history|title=History of the Milwaukee Road Railroad Company}}</ref>  [[Milwaukee Road Historic District]] was listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on July 8, 1988.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/88001024.pdf|title=United States Department of the Interior National Park Service|website=National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet}}</ref>  The depot has been converted into the Harlowton Milwaukee Depot Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://centralmontana.com/listings/19043.htm|title=Central Montana|website=Harlowton Milwaukee Depot Museum}}</ref>