George N. Flanders was a speaker for the M»I.A. History Group at a meeting heldAugust 21st, 1966~ in Hyalite C~m starting at the home of Helva Horris whichwas the old Flanders Honestead The neeting continned up the Canyon as faras the Chisholm Cabins. The following peOgle were in attendaucex Dr. HerriU.Burlingame who asked msny questions of Mr. Flanders; Hrs» Fraser-(a granddaughterof George Krattuer who was a Gallatin Gateway o1d timex' and elase friend of GeorgeFlander~s father); Me3va Morris who knows much of the history of her ranch; MnaDavts Hyan, Christine Kundert, Helen Fechter~ arian Stephens, John and DorothyPaugh~ Theodore Paugh, Br» Fraser, Harriette Cushman~ Vexne and Ãrs. Sexton,Louise Br7an, Louise Bright who was a Brainard, ~%s. Effie Chsuner, "ay NoxTell.,

Bertha Clow~ and the note takex Hbud.e Paugh

The meting started Wth a display of old pictures ednce the first George

~e rs was an avtd and canscientious photographer, He beU.eved in documentigg

events with photography. There was a picture of the site of the Flanders Hme­

stead in 1880 before there was any buiid&g there. Next there was a view of

the begbming of the mill in 1882 and a shot of the mill in 1886. The house

in the last picture was built by Hr. RLchenborger~ and was used by hbn fax his

honeymoon cottage» He later built a business in Boseman snd spent his life

there» T here were bun1shouses for th e workers. Nr and Hrs , F l anders U.ved

in the main house built by Eichenborger which became the headquarters for

the Flanders Homsstead.

The picture of 1888 was af."ter rlanders had moved in Further up the cazqqm

was a lo@~g camp cal1ed Lousetwwn which was bu&t by the Flanders. It was a

lauherk into the 1920s at least, There was also a picture of Hr FLandsrs,

his partnex Rr. Lansing and John Wchenbor:,:er in front of the mQ1 with other

workers •

Tbe mQ3. operated as a smr mill, sldmQe mLll and lath RL11 at the time

when a picture was taken that showed oux speaker as a chQd of three in 1898.

The logs had to be driven down frcna 7Kddle Creek. It took 18 days to get them

down» The logs were boomed down froi the site of the city water supply into the

mL11 pond, The dams used for booming were caLled splash dams. Mhen dams were

built to move logs water was released three timss a dagr, There was a dam at LanghoRr

cabin as weU. as lower in the canyon. The last picture in this collectlan showed

f

192G after 44, eaa eiosed

er, Gewp ~ r g~m ~ ea t~ W ~ c m bts i

o34 He'~ ~i aLso furrdaheC ymer, Xh me eas4 of 3aeenan, g>O,COO wae

Qates4el & eXsaring arcL «Ktchhg Xor the electrkc pgwer site, The poeer

vras usei fbx three yeere ancL it wys- eeLC mvhe tbe nsm af 4be Peoples Khectx4e

Qght Cce~ay', N t h ks Mae the SuU.sei Paeer Conpary' wae stsrte4 to hxQ4

Hebgen Laha ~ch me to eq~Qy yower to 0» ~l» e4ate+ Thegr boi®A ee4

4he ycaer ~ gk e f r oe the PeeyXee KLeetrLo I~ ' Ca cmieeyiAbout etgh4 ysare

near S4eev~i Se mee4 to Mhh!Xe Creak in 1878 Ss aelct sone laad neew

k4e ~ area of op se4hm heh be heph th» t fI Ik~ ~ ~ i Qea be eaM

sga4a aad ~ eahi 4he ya4vilege of ming hLe ~4er te aaha ccssmehal ekeagrLeity+

+ Soeetaa~e 95storir of eLLCLe Ceaxhg~ gL~ aeeh of t h ta ~~

Xa4ex ~ Qeo~ N u~ ~ behe aa i h act Co oeD caA he eahk th • aQ1

4o Pre6 Seah~, aat the aQl icheel te GzeQ.+ ~ H a ei ye ~ xweek er s L

the xsoeh Mte waa besglk ~ Hce+ 8alee beesee • she 1Qced. Q s ee®4.

Tbe orLghael nwi ep )~ l i t e Cacqee waa a Ic~gng xoad ex1 i4 yaqgeeeee4

&th the Xoggiag eyezsMee+ + XN6 i i ~ fat o i h e bssW ard up to Bock

Ctesk ih thah area )Ehiltecg ~was zuead ahaA 39RG whea 4he Pbeeeh Serviae

sad® tlWr b4g mceia cf' the area W 4he eavlg Ag • -thsse ~ «I J hdlat ChdX

'wyyy -Q . M e~ i " I l e ~ ~ l a e e kSNR SN h h ' »

'f4$ ~ • This wao ese4 ae a bo11e4in boani + ohk thisze. Bcee of the

name Io badc to the 18gs. Xnelade4 az» ~ La ®r ge ~ ~ a oeo ah he

Cestwe Be bra@4 tka va~ the eere ef the Cuator Iaeeaceei He feeN tbe

sett1ers at a picnic Wth Krattzers. They were so apset that they moved into

Boseman until they thought the dauger waa over. At the time of this event

there were few soldiers at Fort Elkis and the valley was eamplete3g undefended

except by the ~ rs themselves.

To go on with the st~ oZ Xiee LaPo~ he was a half breed Crow who had

married tato the Bear fsmi3g for whom Bsaz Creek was naaed. There was E5g

Bear and Lltt3.e Bear as wel3. as Tellow Bear snd numerous other members ef

the family~ Zt is suyyosed that the 'dilson for whcca Nilson Creek was namd

ha6 also a~ed into the 2esx family.

Pozgeis aana is on Histo~ Hock we have said.(N'hsr nams are George

Kxattser of SaLesville, Qaxveht Langsiug who was iFlander~s g~aer, and Tomlinson

who vas also a mQl operator

George Kratt.ser is also a man of mwgr stories Be told of getting caught

in a blissard after being on a success&Q, hunC, • He skhned out the elk he had

shot and wrapped hheself in the hide Maturc~ tne hide froze and trapped

him, %his Xrattser was Effie Atldn~s father~ and he was a c3use fH.end of George

PlichCersp Sr •

Ths Iorthern Pacifio dM not cut ties in the+alite area until 1884i Cooper

started cutting ties on Trai1 Creek snd at Bear Caagpon, He gina~ starbed up

the QaU.atin in 1908. He werh as 5u. as the Tagrlor Pork on Liglknh3g Creek. He

went broke there, He boened into Central Park. The boom broke snd he lost

his logs which is what brohe Mm.

FGRi4kL T~US STARTS

George Plandcrs was a Civil War veteran. Be went into the arey' fram Veraeat

where he had mxked in a saw mill. He served in the anqy four years and was

wounde4 tWce, the last t8ns in the lungs. He had bullets lodgod in both ckmulders

and could never lift heavy loads above shoulder heigth Ih other w~ he was as

strang as other loggers and lived a long life. After the war his doctor toM

he shoukd cous west because of hXs lungs. The bullst had lodmd close to an

axtery md could never be removed so the ~tion of his ikungs would be permanent+

Rxredo

He eaze west by train to Xowa where he took a stage to Qaaha~ and a steamboat

to Fort Pan=on. Qe~ond $~Man hc old of buffalo stopping hia boat for three

days bec ~a the river was Xilled vd.th swima6ng a"A~- • He l~e6 in Fort Benton

in 4he sauaaer and went en to Helsna. There he ~ d and - ~ r ksd as a ~ wr i ght

d uring the m % r s . Hc w a eu"'tc successful = -- a ~ e r a n d when he hwdd of t h e

prosl-.erous f'~ m thc ~"~atin ho decMed it would be a good place to sell

lumber to the =-ctt.le~ • 8 fow ha lefL, l?elen= he ordered the parts Xor a

5hinglc mLL1, a ' . : ter wh al , and "aw ~ p~ w . ~Ms -irm i n ~ 8 . 'ihe Xtssis

were shipped to Fort ; "'-erton znd Qr +t c d t o ~ NB M a Mi at a t m ";~hen toughs.

still hur aromd th tagc stations wa-t,~ to s~=ct people to rob. ; hsn George

came to the:.~~a+m~ hc avoided the st-tions.

(

J/

PZter Gco=m had first ~rivcd he woMsd in Uozeuan as a carpenter. In

1870 he svua&ed on " h~stead at Mar Creek ou' of Zalea~e and started

his mi11. Ps beg~ to make aE85glcs in 387G. Here he hired the nativcs such

as Ike mForge the XnJ-m~ Gco4t, He toD~ of Zu cutting off Ms toes when he

was .-z>rkinp in ths timber. He rushed b.~ to the cabm «Xth tbe toes and put

thcm bac3c mi as wel3. as he ccaiM. ',vhen a friend visitcd hira he ask~4 bim to

pnt on a c l ean ~ age. '."iren Me friend fainted he had to even qj.ve ixp on

P getti~ this simple help. '-:6Auz he was able to have a doctor look at -.he

injury the knitting had started aad, the doctor did not want to take a chance

on breaking the bones again. Nhen he had reccnrered he walked Wth ceQZ a

s~ t limp <hen George FLanders heard of the mishay he sent Garrett Ians~

to ~ care of LaForge Gari~tt w-';s a mil3. wright and saw mUl man. I n 7

Flanders aad Lansing deoided on a bigger mill. '4ey mwed to HhhGe Creek by

hai~g the lumber for the buildings and hause froa 3eax Creek. At the time

oX the ~ there was onIg cee Xndian tral1 into the caxgnaa,They used axea

fu

(4

as draught anhaals. They had a camp at, 4mghors cai6n in the basin» The

first year they didn't make a big catting because it was a gamble haw' the

operation would go, They didn't even have a dam yet, This was the fall

of L877 • They made the cjrive in the spring

»

They got the capital xor the operation fram a b~r M Boseman narned

J(g (~ )f' ~ ~Hg~ I ~ ) C ~ lw O

Kunts. ' He gave them cawKt because hs believed the mQ3. would be needed, in

the valley. They got the parts for the big mLll f rea Pennsylvani.a. It came

by rail to Mllon. Henry Davis freighted it M frata there. The order was

pla&by Harry McKay. The mLLl. arrived in the later part of 1877 » They

moved it to P38idex's homestead and built the pond The ditch went. up to

the place where the city now gets its water suppQ. This ditch was dug by

hand with a pick and shcrrel It carried a 100 inches of water and took the

whole creek which was permitted because the water went back into the stream

after being used» Thegr hsd a waste gate foz exhra water.

They set up the buih5ng and aachinerjr during the late part of 187P »

cut the loca1 timber to try out the mQl. The XLrst rea1 driva was in the

spring of 18/8 and it was a small cutting The Zogs cams down nice+~ but be­

caxse of obstructioes it took a laag time to bring them down. They bailt a

road up the canyon during the sumnsr and as they built the road they cleared

the creek of boulders and snags. This clea~ went on for two years.

+ 38S6 the road was up to Langohrs eaiy and clese to History Rock.

This was really a rough road. Uith the completian of the road realylxmibex"

work stax~. Inspite of high production they were not skge to mset their

orders. Thcgr started a lumber yard in Boeman about X884. FLanders sold

his lumber and that of Tomlinson~ "aehary SaIAm~ and Qons a1l three with

~ close to Salesville. Tn 1887 the xailroad cam tnto the valley and

after this lumber could be shipped in. This ruined the zdll business. The

yard continued until about 1898.

Pa» F1anders sold the saw mill and. land, +m Stansfisld » The yard a lso was

'1

yoXd. Stmsaell ~ b nke qMte sooa+ ~ the benk gmeehee4 Flanesre

vae mde zeed.ver eai oolct aet the mhex4>Xs to ~ ae maeh of the debb ae

possQQ8 He be~gd; baek tbe ~ atg the gagd was o034 to Hphbe of Kgap~

@xt Sohle F baahrs thce ~ C be mQX mxQ1 he eA4ect+

Xh vse aC 4hKs 4hse tb14 Q~p F Lanchsms aml Beneg~with SobXe s4arbA

to saLl eXeeC~ty to tke 4am of 3omenen+ Theg eehC ouh thia bco~ fa

1908. FLan5ers ~ b ack to eaacb~ >mdd,X X9X$ The Xaet h4g 4rive ~ i o 49l l .

W4h Bavha. 5® w4er veeEt, g a4 hmg up+ Ah tkhs 4Qe be ~ X a

all hhs proyeHgr % Ms ~ 's ae a 4 deh eabe ~ y a sqmee3y xeyeas8Me

md tbe a cpcesea yat hha eeh Ot haadimeo» Cem~ *sdua' ~ ~ aer e .

eotAhae4 to ~ Che basee4eek hA he ga4 in t tek l» 4~ i 5g Co Aei hXs

eaktle ce @2 hay «haChg Che he4 whrhex cC X9l9~ Ba 5et ecQg a Aet doDaxs

he ileave4 hio deMe aaL se34 Qa heeeeteaL in 4he eprLeg~ ~ w ee

laL &4h a eeLQ. seerege eM Qeog@ had he34 af tke aaehh of the eegoa+

Yoaag Qeorge alee hei a fee heeeaa ~ X%9 eotkX L929 he wLs % Ne daihe

LsdMAe4 thA be love4 eeee;r ~abada ot tkLs ~

The bcwaaeteaC bas h¹4 a cheCkmsC cieeee' ¹keeo 0®ovme 1oA Xt.Bob Aieakxeeg

had the hk~yeeh ao4e m i4 ~ Q. ~ 3oeL» Reexoce peoy3e nehe4 Xt, be8ee

Hrei Ba1ee bo®g* i4+ 8be ie tke m» whe ye4, in te Cw~ ~beeiL beeeeo Nbe iSe4

the «eaa6 of a eQX Awel ©hhex geopIe hee cwne4 it atnea she leA, R , i s

nov eeaC ly J4elva Seea+

~r yrisee Hie ylctmres are the aest eogkete reeoxd

l4soeQAeeae® R)CAel

Xn X920 tkere waa a mumaa4 40 eeC ae4de tke Xaet ln gpaLtte Ceuqrces Jor a

t he ' d e a i A s a ,.~l t of t !ie =f f o ~ „'ovez..'e;." p~otograQers msde a mcvte

of al ' '-e po~~s of inte;ws+ in th c a~mn~ The fQ z was shovn in t b e

Xrv~ 3choa1 about 19M and tho vievin,„. L".ated two bours The-film ie

still held ~ the >orest~ Uffioe in Re~o

9en Nogar wes are of the 1o;gmrs ~tu m >rked for Flan~".er

~ ne a eu fo r hM +

BucksM ~. reez was r@n.~~i fc» m old tra-:er Wo 1'ved th

4 3.w~s ~ 88e d : M 1 R&kskM S o

FLar~ex„- reek has a c1iff alonp:; it wt ere mterial is washed dom. that

deer use fo r a 3 . i ck+

' , i:8harse "mak m~ ­.~d 'or a horse td:..t i~ emayed f~ it,s rider

wi4b m~ e ezxt bridls on. 4 had 'o be caug~t and un~ad~. Ão one vas

able to diecover where M c~ fz ea,

Chist:oM's mbin was built in 1&i6 George had a picture tai en t"ere

when he was a year o l d He w a s bor r ' w 1 895 •

~orge has a bzmchur fram his dude business on KMd1e Creek~ Xt ~

pr'Med in, 1919 he sam He aaed tEm Chishola Uabin to store sup~eo and ae

a tvye af head=uaWers. "'hs F'o~st, Bupervisor, Celgdn~ is said to?mva burned

t.".e cabm to p~m~ent, a fire tF,ero du~~ dr,'r xeather. He set his fire in a44

winter xi .'.a't a witness, 'The cabm had been piven to the ~re~snt as a

h'storicM nxmmaant a f m „."cam befox'e b„an a remeW with the Bales F~,

'"eor-'.e W~o a pict~ af John ':iork who 'g.".s sn ali! frei- hter on the 3oseean

Ie c;..e west with hi- f~ter to ~U'o~~ M K 5~ > • John

'.efa~ J ohn Pw~n az. ' ve d pr o t ~ 'vQ in 18 61. He fmg,hted fram Hl~~ and

he h~d asrg- talcs to te3,1 of Irdian raids. 1!e w-s tho t~e of old fellow

;~ho wo~~~! =" " ~ = ..+o I ~' ~~ cam"~ >nd .calp t.";e slsop&r: w,.~rs and slip

out without ~~mg datecto6 • Vw 1iko ~-'ver 'xtw~ Johxaon s&pl;-~ d':c'. not 3.ike

Xr<Mns. Vida Ha3m>rvy of Bo?sv~ 3toim vas his daughtex .. he 1ivod in

the old '~'ork Pouso. Ja& Nork~s gxandeon lives on Niseion Creek between

fJXr~~.g~ 88g ® g 'p~ 6g » p ~~ ~~g ~ Ir~ ~g gg ~ @~15 6 3,e i ~ i O ~ C~ t 4e

coe oZ ~M JovP"as.