Big Hole Valley History

Settlers Arrive

Through the 1870’s ranchers from the Beaverhead and Deer Lodge Valleys were grazing their animals on the expansive grass prairies. But it wasn’t until 1882 that a few homesteaders would commit to residence here by stacking huge mounds of firewood to ensure their winter survival. The tiny new community was initially called “The Crossings”. But by 1892, the town of Wisdom had been surveyed and firmly established.

Rich grass-hay and cattle became primary commodities. From 1890 to 1910, the Big Hole Valley gained fame for its nutritious strains of grass. Hay was often shipped east to feed prized race horses. Since the grazing season is still only about 5 months long, it’s not surprising that hay remains the only major cash crop produced in this valley.

In 1910, a couple of local ranchers invented an ingenious contraption to improve their hay baling methods. Initially called the Sunny Slope Slide Stacker, it later came to be known as the “Beaverslide”. Commercial equipment in this remote and often deep frozen climate was often at risk, but the Beaverslide worked perfectly to stack 30 foot tall, 20 ton loaves of hay that would soon checkerboard the valley floor. “The Land of Ten Thousand Haystacks” was a common term used to reference the lush green mounds that spread north and south for miles and miles. To this day, the Beaverslide remains the one invention that uniquely identifies this region in early American ranching history.

Main Street Wisdom expanded through the early century, growing to several thousand people as the commerce of grass and cattle energized the local economy. (More to come….)