Posts tagged Homesteaders
Homesteader Highlight: John Ervin, Upper Missouri River Montana

One of our favorite homesteaders stories is that of John Ervin. He might possibly be the most colorful character amongst the stories contained in our history digest. John’s homestead is located in the Badlands or “Breaks” portion of the monument. We generally stay at a campsite just downriver from his cabin. It is possible to visit the cabin certain times of the year, and if you have time to navigate the often thick willows and brush leading up to the cabin. Mainly, we love picturing John and his life in our of our favorite parts of the entire river.

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Woodhawks and Steamboats of the Upper Missouri River

Woodhawk Creek is named for the men who set up shop on the banks of the Missouri to supply the steamboats with fuel-wood for their boilers, which consumed as many as twenty-five to thirty cords per day (a cord is basically the equivalent of the amount of wood that, when chopped, can fill the bed of a pick up truck). The ‘wookhawks’ were an independent breed of men, and the work they performed was physically demanding. They led an isolated existence and were extremely vulnerable to attacks by hostile Indians. Their lives were dangerous, and often short (okay, Hobbes).

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