Historical Marker
Big Blackfoot Railroad
Missoula County · Montana
The logs this line carried were cut by men who struck in 1917. That spring a walkout that began among river drivers on April 13 spread through the logging camps of the inland Northwest by July, organized largely by the Industrial Workers of the World. In Montana the lumberjacks asked for $5 a day instead of $3.50 and eight hours instead of ten, along with clean bedding, washrooms and decent food. Bonner was among the places struck. Many operators had conceded the eight-hour day by January 1918.
What the plaque says
Big Blackfoot Railroad Railroad logging was an important facet of the history of Montana's lumber industry. The Big Blackfoot Railroad was one of several logging railroads created to sustain the Anaconda Copper Mining Company's sawmill at Bonner. Built by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific (Milwaukee Road) Railroad between 1911 and 1936, the line was used almost exclusively by the Anaconda Company. The company acquired 625,000 acres of timber in the Blackfoot River Valley in 1904 to provide lumber and cord wood for its mining and smelting operations in Butte and Anaconda. For twenty-eight years, the company harvested approximately 40 million board feet of lumber annually from its property in the valley - making the Anaconda Company the largest timber producer in Montana. This section of railroad grade was constructed in 1934. By the early 1940's how- ever, economic depression, war and increasing use of trucks to haul lumber caused a sharp decline in the logging industry in the valley. Although the Anaconda Company ceased logging operations in the Blackfoot Valley in 1949, the line was not abandoned until 1978. Since the line was never intended to be permanent and was often relocated to take advantage of new timber stands, the track was frequently placed directly on the ground without the benefit of ballast or any significant grading. Portions of the old railroad can be seen adjacent to the high- way to the south.
Where it stands
47.00582, -113.36010 · Directions