Near Avon in Powell County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
The Valley of a Thousand Haystacks
The Little Blackfoot Valley is filled with lush hay fields. You already may have noticed the rounded haystacks and commented on the strange lodgepole structures standing in many of the fields. This contraption that looks like a cross between a catapult and a cage is a hay-stacker that actually acts like a little of both. It was invented before 1910 by Dade Stephens and H. Armitage in the Big Hole Valley about sixty miles south of here. The device, called a beaver slide, revolutionized haying in Montana. It helped keep the wind from blowing the hay away and cut stacking time considerably.
To work the beaver slide, a large rake piled high with hay is run up the arms of the slide (the sloping portion of the “catapult”). At the top the hay dumps onto the stack. The side gates (the cage part) keep the stack in a neat pile and make it possible to stack higher. The sides were added to the system in the late 1940s. Although the lifting of the rake is usually powered by a take-off from a tractor, truck or car axle, on some operations horse teams still provide the rpm’s to muscle the hay up the slide.
Aside from minor improvements, the beaver slide has remained unchanged since its inception. Once used throughout a good portion of the northern west, modern technology that can shape hay into bales, loaves or huge jelly rolls have replaced it in many areas. The Little Blackfoot is one of several valleys in Montana where you can still see the beaver slide and its distinctive haystacks.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Agriculture. A significant historical year for this entry is 1910.
Location. 46° 35.462′ N, 112° 39.424′ W. Marker is near Avon, Montana, in Powell County. Marker is on U.S. 12, 1½ miles west of Chokecherry Lane, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Avon MT 59713, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Site of the First Log House in the Deer Lodge Valley (approx. 8.2 miles away); Ranching Traditions - A New Generation (approx. 13.2 miles away); From Range to Market (approx. 13.2 miles away); Vaquero vs. Cowboy (approx. 13.2 miles away); The Long and Short of Cattle Breeds (approx. 13.2 miles away); Equal in the Saddle (approx. 13.2 miles away); Winter of 1886 (approx. 13.2 miles away); Two Immigrants Shared an American Dream (approx. 13.2 miles away).
Credits. This page was last revised on October 10, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 23, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 2,915 times since then and 169 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on February 23, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. 2. submitted on December 23, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 3. submitted on February 23, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. 4, 5. submitted on December 23, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Photo of wide-view of marker and surroundings. • Can you help?