Wheat Basin, Montana Explained

Official Name:Wheat Basin, Montana
Settlement Type:Ghost town
Pushpin Map:Montana#USA
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Montana
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Stillwater
Population As Of:2010
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:0
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Timezone:Mountain (MST)
Utc Offset:-7
Timezone Dst:MDT
Utc Offset Dst:-6
Elevation Ft:3947
Coordinates:45.9172°N -109.0628°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:59057
Area Code:406
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:778337

Wheat Basin is a ghost town in Stillwater County, Montana, United States. Wheat Basin is sourced from the USGS (United States Geographical Survey). The town has a total area of 6.5 acres (2.6 hectares).

History

In 1915, four years before John Stolte platted Wheat Basin, the town of Nora grew up from a railroad construction camp midway between the towns of Rapelje and Molt near the mouth of Big Lake.[2]

By the summer of 1917, the railroad had been completed, the Riopel family had opened a mercantile store there and the postal service in Washington, D.C. changed Nora's name to Wheat Basin in 1918. The town supported a developed main street with a grain elevator, a bank, stores, a dance hall and lumber yards. A post office was open in 1918 with Frances Riopel serving as postmaster; it remained in operation until 1936. The town was primarily an agricultural community with a stop and depot. The Wheat basin post office was closed in 1936. The railroad later pulled out and the town descended into steep decline.[3]

In 1937, the town was gripped by a bloody double homicide committed by Frank Robideau. The murder victims were Michael and Frieda Kuntz, who ran the "Occidental Grain Elevator." Robideau was quickly tried and hanged.[4]

Today, Wheat Basin is a ghost town, with little remaining that is easily visible except a number of concrete building foundations and depressions where buildings once stood. The streets and main road are also still present. The last surviving structure was the Grain Elevator, which burned down in 1997. A sign placard indicates the site of the former town.

The town was purchased in 2006 by Ken Mesch. Only two shops are owned by the previous owners of the blacksmith shop.[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. 2011-05-14.
  2. Web site: Staff. LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA Of The Gazette. Remnants of the once-thriving Wheat Basin scattered all over Stillwater County. The Billings Gazette. en.
  3. Web site: Staff. LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA Of The Gazette. Typical prairie town dwindled to nothing. The Billings Gazette. en.
  4. Web site: New book tells story of 1937 double homicide, and the boy who survived. Spokesman.com. en.
  5. Web site: Staff. LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA Of The Gazette. Remnants of the once-thriving Wheat Basin scattered all over Stillwater County. 2020-09-10. The Billings Gazette. en.