From Montana Magazine, No 169, September/October 2001, 38-44; this article is presented in cooperation with Montana Magazine. All rights reserved, © 2002.

CROW COUNTRY, COAL COUNTRY
Originally part of the Crow Indians’ territory, this valley served them each summer as a place to worship, rest, and hunt. Captain William Clark, of Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery, passed just north of here through the Yellowstone River valley in 1806; the next year, a member of the Corps, John Colter, explored the Clarks Fork valley east of Red Lodge. Jim Bridger trapped in the area in 1837 and 1838. EuroAmerican settlers eventually found their way here, and with the opening of a post office to provide mail service on the Billings-to-Meeteetse stage route, the town was officially established in 1884. The origin of the town’s name may always be a subject of debate, but many maintain that it comes from the tepees the Crow people painted with red clay.

In 1897, guests of The Pollard Hotel—the town’s first brick building—witnessed the Sundance Kid robbing the Red Lodge Bank across the street. Buffalo Bill Cody, Williams Jennings Bryan, Calamity Jane, Frederic Remington, and Liver Eatin’ Johnston are among those on the hotel’s long and colorful guest register. Today, The Pollard still is open for business, with thirty-nine guest rooms and a full-service restaurant.

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Like many towns in the West, Red Lodge was built on mining. In this case, coal mining. The Rocky Fork Coal Company opened the area’s first mine in 1887. By 1891, more than 400 Finns, Scots, Irish, Italians, Slavs, and Scandinavians worked the East Side Mine, digging on average a hundred tons of coal a day. In 1895, Red Lodge became the seat of newly-formed Carbon County. By 1906, the town hit a population of 4,000. Within a few years, it passed the 6,000 mark—nearly three times our present-day population.
The advent of strip mining in southeastern Montana in the 1920s signaled the beginning of the end for the Red Lodge coal boom. In 1924, the West Side Mine closed. The Great Depression forced more mines to close, and in 1943, an underground explosion killed seventy-four men at the Smith Mine four miles east of town, devastating the community and effectively ending coal mining in Carbon County.

GROWTH & CHANGE
Recently named a “Distinctive Destination” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Red Lodge knows how to celebrate its past while putting a lot of thought into the future. Faced with the growing pains that plague many Western communities today, Red Lodge is changing.
Western-style sprawl and a controversial proposal to construct a new airport north of town are just a couple of the issues facing the community. Opinions differ on how to shape Red Lodge’s future. Some people envision bigger, better tourist attractions, while others tout the quiet life to retirees, and still others dig their heels into the status quo. Fortunately, this is a place where old-timers and newcomers, environmentalists and developers, and ranchers and ski bums can gather amicably (for the most part) to talk about the future.
Motivated by subdivisions that transformed land surrounding her family’s ranch over the last decade, fourth-generation rancher Beverly Gabrian is active in local growth issues. “Ten years ago we were part of a strong ranching community,” she noted. “We all worked together. If the fence separating you and your neighbors broke down, you or your neighbor fixed it.
“These days we’re losing that community as the land is subdivided.”
Beverly responded to those challenges by working with area ranchers and townspeople to form the Carbon County Resource Council, a grassroots organization whose mission includes preserving agricultural lands and other open space.
Gary Ferguson, local naturalist and writer, in part owes the integrity of his work to Red Lodge and its surroundings. Out of gratitude and a deep-seated love for the place, he works to maintain the town’s integrity in return. “Our back yard is what scientists call the largest generally intact ecosystem in the temperate world. I value our proximity to such an amazing place. I also value our community. There’s a certain diversity of thought, opinion, and experience here that you don’t find in a lot of places. I’m concerned about protecting the ecological integrity of our back yard; I’m equally concerned about protecting the diversity of our community.”
In 1992, Gary and 160 or so other locals formed the Beartooth Front Community Forum, a citizens’ organization that works to bring people together to find common ground on potentially divisive community issues, and to find solutions to community problems, including the loss of agricultural land to residential development. The group has been astonishingly successful in its undertakings: it helped establish a local Boys & Girls Club, it set up a water quality monitoring program for Rock Creek, and it helped the city develop a progressive master plan that upholds the town’s architectural traditions. It also sponsored public forums on conservation easements and other open space preservation tools that helped convince three area ranchers to donate easements on more than 10,000 acres of working ranchland.
The influx of newcomers and the demand for a piece of Montana have made area real estate and rentals increasingly expensive, and many locals fear that the economy can’t provide the jobs to keep up. Some newcomers are retired, and a small number are “modem cowboys,” yet a good number of Red Lodge residents—both old-timers and newcomers—must work two or three jobs so that they can afford to live here. Though tourism and recreation have supplanted agriculture and mining as leading economic forces, those forces have not yet created many jobs above minimum wage.

WILD AND HISTORIC
People are drawn to the area for a reason. Elevations in the wild, diverse Beartooth Ranger District range from less than 5,000 feet in the Stillwater River drainage, to the highest point in Montana, Granite Peak, at 12,799 feet. The region’s wildlife populations include bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, elk, deer, black bears, grizzly bears, mountain lions, and bobcats.
With hundreds of miles of hiking and riding trails, over 250 high mountain lakes, and miles of rivers and streams, the Red Lodge area offers plenty for the recreationalist. If you visit during the snowy months, the opportunities to play are equally abundant. Don your skinny skis or snowshoes at the Red Lodge Nordic Area, or hit the slopes at Red Lodge Mountain Resort, which offers over sixty trails and a vertical drop of 2,400 feet.
Take a day’s survey of the area’s historic sites with a walking tour of Red Lodge, using the self-guided maps available at the Peaks to Plains Museum and the Chamber of Commerce. A few of the highlights include Finn Town, the Victorian “castles” of the Hi Bug district, and the Theatorium, built in 1921 by volunteers and decorated with marble statues imported from Italy.
Red Lodge has some of the best gallery-crawling in the region. Begin at the southern end of town at Rocky Fork Juniper, where artisans Peter Imbs and Lee Kern display their unique furniture, handcrafted from fallen Rocky Mountain juniper collected along the foothills of the Beartooths. Founded in the late 1980s when Imbs created his first piece—a juniper lamp whose twists and turns were natural, along with its glowing umber hues—Rocky Fork Juniper is now an established name among connoisseurs of rustic home furnishings. Six years ago, Lee joined Peter and expanded the Rocky Fork line with beds, rocking chairs, and other pieces that embrace juniper’s natural beauty. Today, Peter’s daughters, Shanny and Sonya, apprentice with the woodworkers. “We plan to carry on the tradition after the old men are gone,” Sonya said with a wink.
Downtown Red Lodge is home to several art galleries and shops featuring locally made crafts. Highlights include the Coleman Gallery, displaying the work of award-winning photographer Merv Coleman; the Clay Cafe, showing utilitarian and decorative pottery by regional artists; and Magpie Toys, offering handcrafted wooden toys and games. Last stop is the Depot Gallery at the Carbon County Arts Guild. Located in the old Northern Pacific Railway depot on the north end of town, the gallery presents a comprehensive look at the work of artists and craftspersons from throughout the county.
Another great Red Lodge itinerary begins with a visit to the Peaks to Plains Museum in downtown Red Lodge. The museum houses a large collection of rodeo memorabilia and mining-era artifacts, as well as an exhibit exploring construction of the Beartooth Highway, an act of faith that required five years, millions of dollars, and prodigious engineering skills.
Follow your museum tour with a drive along Highway 308 past the coal mines of Washoe and Bearcreek. Markers explain the history of each site, including the Smith Mine Disaster of 1942. Visit the Bearcreek Cemetery to honor the dead and then stop by the Bearcreek Saloon to raise a glass in their memory.

REST AND REFRESH
Sleep by the creek, or rest up in a historic hotel or bed and breakfast inn. Whatever your preference, Red Lodge offers plenty of options. Montana Connections and Red Lodging both book secluded creekside cabins and in-town residential lodging throughout the area. An old favorite, the Yodeler Motel, provides clean, comfortable rooms right on Broadway. And if you’re roughing it, you’ll find plenty of space to set up your tent or park an RV at the two commercial campgrounds or among the Beartooth Ranger District’s 700 camping units.
Head to the grain elevator at the north end of town to whet your whistle with a frosty ale at Sam’s Tap Room. A favorite local gathering place, the Tap Room serves award-winning beers created by Master Brewer Sam Hoffmann.
At the Bridge Creek Backcountry Kitchen & Wine Bar, executive chef Eric Trager turns naturally grown beef from the nearby Lazy E-L Ranch into mouthwatering burgers and steaks, including a scrumptious top sirloin rubbed with thyme and doused with a port wine sauce. An enthusiast of the grape, owner-proprieter Peter Christ offers a fantastic wine list featuring bottles not normally found in this corner of the world. Peter’s enthusiasm for teaching his customers about wine translates into reasonable prices on bottles, a rotating list of wines by the glass, and wine classes and tastings.
Other favorites of mine include The Pizza Company, PD McKinney’s, and the Red Lodge Cafe. Genesis Natural Foods offers a terrific lunch menu and a good selection of organic produce and groceries to stock your cooler.
For a leisurely morning over the paper and a cuppa joe, drop by the Coffee Roasters. Across the street from the Pollard, Shari at Buckin’ Bronc brews up a mean espresso. If you’re feeling indulgent, try the Calamity Jane.
Finally, Arlyn and Linda Vietz at City Bakery offer a tasty selection of Old World pastries and breads, but that’s not the only reason you should stop by their storefront. They’re the kind of people who will leave a loaf of foccacia on your porch “just because.” Arlyn and Linda take care of their customers, especially the old-timers. Linda will tell you that John Kastelitz likes bread sticks with his coffee, and don’t buy that kind of cookie for Tony Zupan, he likes those chocolate ones, didn’t you know? The bakery’s tight space doesn’t keep the customers away. Indeed, it offers a friendly, bustling ambiance that’s a favorite with locals and tourists alike—one that serves as a fitting introduction to the warmth, history, and diversity of this little town
at the toe of the Beartooths.

OUT AND ABOUT FROM RED LODGE, DRIVE NORTH TWELVE MILES ON HIGHWAY 212 to Roberts. There you’ll find The Red Star Gallery, home to the work of internationally acclaimed painter Kevin Red Star, who draws on his Crow Indian heritage for inspiration and subject matter. Other Roberts artists include David and Robyn Rivers, whose found-object art is displayed at Missoula’s Sutton Gallery and the Wellness Center in Billings and, from time to time, at the Depot Gallery in Red Lodge. Also located in Roberts, Hayseed’s Antiques houses a unique collection of treasures from times past. Continue north to Joliet and the Charles Ringer Studio and Gallery. Known far and wide for his kinetic steel sculptures, Chuck transforms industrial materials into mobile animal shapes, geometric designs, and social stereotypes. Marked by an eighteen-foot metal sculpture known locally as the Creature, Ringer’s gallery, studio, and gardens make a fascinating stop. Dubbed “The Old Wreckin’ Yard,” the Ringer place was once an auto salvage yard. Chuck and his wife, Emily, bought the yard in 1971 and, over the years, turned the buildings into their home and workspace, and the grounds into a living, moving sculpture garden. Walk the grounds to see outdoor kinetic pieces that move with the wind, along with hundreds of restored artifacts that reflect the areaindustrial history. Tour the gallery to see more pieces by this artist whose work is also displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, and The Whitney Museum in New York City. Dubbed “America’s most beautiful road” by newsman Charles Kuralt, the Beartooth Highway (U.S. 212) is a requisite “must-see” on any visitor’s list. Climbing to 10,947 feet, the scenic byway offers spectacular views of the glacier-carved cirques, high alpine lakes, and the tough-but-fragile vegetation of the Beartooth Mountains. From Red Lodge, the road follows Rock Creek south across grassy hills that soon give way to dense lodgepole pine forests. About thirteen miles from town, the road climbs away from the creek, and you begin the zigzagging, 4,000-foot ascent to the Beartooth Plateau. Just beyond Vista Point scenic overlook, which affords phenomenal views across Rock Creek Canyon to the high, rolling country of the Beartooth and Hell Roarin’ plateaus, the trees give out entirely and you enter a world of glacial lakes, lavish summer wildflowers, and snow that lingers through the summer months. Along the plateau, the highway dips into Wyoming for a spell, then descends into the Clark Fork Valley before wending to Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana, and the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.