Coal Mines and Railroads

Coal Mines and Railroads. . While not as glamorous as gold, coal plated a critical part in Montana's history. It fueled the railroads, fired the smelters. and heated Montana homes. Much of the state's economy was once based on coal. Extensive bituminous coal deposits were discovered near here in the early 1880s. The coal's high quality drew the attention of railroad tycoon James J. Hill, who constructed a railroad between Great Falls and Stockett in 1888. For decades, the 14-mile spur line carried coal from the mines at Tracy, Centerille, Stockett, and Sand Coulee. The coal powered locomotives, provided fuel for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company's refinery at Great Falls, and was used for domestic purposes throughout central Montana. The coal camps near the mines were wide open towns where "saloons were filled with miners relaxing after (a) hard day's in the pits, and nobody looked ahead much farther than the next pay day." By 1928, the refinery in Great Falls had converted to natural gas and the railroad's steam locomotives burned oil instead of coal. The last commercial coal mine in the Sand Coulee District closed in 1929 and the railroad abandoned the spur line in 1932.