The Chicago and Milwaukee railroad built its transcontinental line late in the 19 th century and flooded US urban areas and European cities with brochures lauding the wonderful agricultural land available in the Northwest to anyone who would pay $18 to the government and settle on 320 acres for 5 years. Of course, the land was promoted as rich and abundant with plenty of rainfall.
Thousands of people, most without farming backgrounds, headed west and many settled in eastern Montana near the new railroad towns of Ismay (a contraction of the president of the Railroad's daughters names and Mildred (maybe his mistress ?).
Rainfall did not live up to expectations and the harsh winters (temperatures to 50 below zero) and heavy winds combined to blow what little topsoil there was into oblivion.
All settlers left Mildred and all but a family or two left Ismay.
The railroad still runs from Ismay to Mildred, along the Yellowstone river to Miles City and westward.
On our 30+ mile dirt road trip today we met a rancher from Wyoming who is leasing land for 800 cattle in the area, because he was “droughted out” of Wyoming, visited an open praire church, stepped onto the front porch of several abandoned houses, drove up to the abandoned jailhouse, saw some wildlife and enjoyed Montana’s big sky.
The people from Mildred left in the 1930’s, leaving behind what furniture and accessories they could not carry.
Looks desolate there-- Is that a bird?
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