Although
coal was discovered in the
region in the 1860s, it wasn’t until
the
demand
for
the fossil fuel, and the
availability of the railroad to haul coal
from the area
in the late 1880s, that
coal mining began taking foothold
around
what is now the town of Bearcreek.
Individuals began small mining operations in the Bearcreek district
in the 1890s. The independent miners used horse and wagon to haul
coal over the hill to the railroad at Red Lodge. In 1897, Elijah
Smith and George Lamport formed the Montana Fuel & Iron Company,
opening a larger scale underground coal mine near Bearcreek. That
company would eventually be called the Montana Coal & Iron Company.
As the extent of the Bearcreek coalfield
was realized, more mines opened. The Montana, Wyoming & Southern
Railroad laid tracks east of Bearcreek, and eventually a line was
opened to the Bearcreek mines. By 1907 four major mines were operating;
Montana Coal & Iron, Bearcreek Coal Company, Smokeless and Sootless
Coal Company, and International Coal Company.
Lamport and Robert Leavens formed the Bearcreek
Town and Improvement Company and platted the town of Bearcreek in
1905. The pair donated the streets and alleys to the town in perpetuity.
Lots were sold and mineral rights were retained by their company.
What had been a coal mining camp of tents, lean-tos and hastily
constructed shacks became a town. Bearcreek was awarded a post office
in 1905. In 1906 the town was incorporated.
Miners of many nationalities streamed into
the area. Lots for sale became scarce. By 1907 there were thirteen
businesses along Bearcreek’s
main street, by 1912 there were over 25. With the shortage of space
to build new houses in town, miners began construction of homes
up the various coulees around Bearcreek. Although the official census
population of Bearcreek in 1920 is listed as 744, the population
of the area of greater Bearcreek is said to have grown to well over
2,000, including the Anaconda Mining Company owned town of Washoe.
In 1920 a high school building opened. |
Bearcreek
Montana Census, 1910 - 2000 |
| 1890 |
1900 |
1910 |
1920 |
1930 |
1940 |
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
No Census |
302 |
744 |
472 |
324 |
162 |
61 |
31 |
61 |
37 |
83 |
 |
|
Like most early coal mining communities, Bearcreek
had its ups and downs. Labor union strikes, the depression, and
the vulnerability of the demand for coal made for tough times for
the miners and their families. In the 1930s, many left the area.
World War II sparked a revival in the coal industry in the 1940s,
but not to the extent of the operations that had been underway in
the first two decades of the century. Then, in 1943, Montana’s
worst mine disaster at the Smith Mine proved to be a fatal blow
to mining in the area. Again, people moved out, some taking their
homes with them. What businesses remained, closed. By 1970, the
census counted only 31 residents living in Bearcreek. Bearcreek
was, by some accounts, a ghost town.
Yet, those who remained fought many obstacles
to keep Bearcreek a viable town. Operating with a negligible tax
base, the Bearcreek Town Council continued to meet, and to keep
the town alive. Former residents kept coming back to visit, to renew
fond memories of the little mining town they loved and of which
they were so proud. Thanks to the loyalty of these people, and to
the dedication and tenacity of town officials and residents, the
hopes and dreams the people of the community who lived here in the
early years had for their beloved Bearcreek may yet become a reality.
In 2006, the town will celebrate 100 years as an incorporated town.
Bearcreek is most certainly, because of its people past and present,
a town that refuses to fade away. Upgrades to Bearcreek's Town Hall
and the town's cemetery has begun. |
A
busy corner in Bearcreek around 1920
|
