On North 11th Avenue near River Street, on the right when traveling north.
By 1897, a single-story home stood on this site. Owners had added a wing and two porches by 1910, but by 1920 that house had been replaced with this one-story bungalow. The full-length front porch tucked beneath the roof, exposed rafter tails, and . . . — — Map (db m165044) HM
On North 11th Avenue near River Street, on the left when traveling north.
At the turn of the twentieth century, inviting porches fronted many houses in Forsyth. Built before 1910 on a prominent corner lot, this hipped-roof home retains its full-length porch, supported by Doric columns. As with many early-twentieth-century . . . — — Map (db m165048) HM
On North 12th Avenue at Park Street, on the right when traveling north on North 12th Avenue.
Early pioneers Thomas and Mary Alexander owned large swaths of land in and around Forsyth, including most of this block, which they subdivided into lots. They sold this tract to Edward Jones in 1903, who likely built this asymmetrical two-story . . . — — Map (db m164911) HM
On North 13th Avenue near Oak Street, on the left when traveling north.
A single-story octagonal cutaway bay with prominent wooden brackets and a multi-sided screen porch mark the street façade of this T-shaped, two-story home. An excellent example of vernacular Queen Anne style architecture, the home displays much . . . — — Map (db m164833) HM
On North 12th Avenue near Oak Street, on the left when traveling north.
Northern Pacific conductor Frank Runyan and his wife, Nellie, built this one-story bungalow in 1914. County jailor Dick Wright and his wife, Edith, lived here from 1919 to 1923. A. J. and Ina Freeman owned the home in 1940. A. J. was justice of the . . . — — Map (db m164850) HM
On Willow Street at North 12th Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Willow Street.
Standing just outside the original town site, this two-story home is believed to be one of the first residences constructed so close to the Yellowstone River. It was a dangerous place to build since despite early dikes, the river was still prone to . . . — — Map (db m164854) HM
On Main Street near North 9th Street, on the right when traveling west.
In 1882, pioneer Thomas Alexander traded a parcel of land to the Northern Pacific in exchange for other property nearby. Alexander’s farm became the town of Forsyth and Alexander became an important local merchant and real estate developer. Among . . . — — Map (db m164780) HM
On North 13th Avenue near Oak Street, on the right when traveling north.
A large central dormer and an inset front porch distinguish this Craftsman style residence. Businessman and real estate developer Winnie Dowlin likely had the home constructed circa 1910 along with the two houses immediately to the south for rental . . . — — Map (db m164832) HM
On North 13th Avenue near River Street, on the left when traveling north.
Arrival of the Milwaukee railroad and the masses of homesteaders who followed in its wake meant land-office business for Forsyth. As Rosebud County seat, Forsyth provided plenty of work for lawyers like Henry Beeman, who opened a title abstract . . . — — Map (db m165229) HM
On North 13th Avenue near River Street, on the right when traveling north.
“The three Longley cottages in the eastern part of the city have been completed and are ready for occupancy,” announced the Forsyth Times in November 1901. Two of those cottages were almost certainly this hipped-roof residence and its . . . — — Map (db m165150) HM
On Main Street near 12th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
The Northern Pacific Railroad was the lifeblood of many small Montana towns like Forsyth, which was founded in 1882 to serve as an operations base for rail crews. Since unmarried men filled most railroad positions, towns like Forsyth had need of . . . — — Map (db m164666) HM
On South 7th Avenue at Front Street, on the left when traveling south on South 7th Avenue.
On May 8, 1882, the first train rumbled through Forsyth, and the growing town soon became home to many Northern Pacific Railway workers. Among them were locomotive engineers, whose skills were in high demand, particularly in the West during the . . . — — Map (db m164787) HM
On North 9th Avenue near Cedar Street, on the right when traveling north.
Sunrays filtering through a window apparently ignited straw packing in the basement of the J. E. Choisser Wholesale Liquor Company in July 1917. Bottles of liquor burst in the flames, fueling a fire that ultimately gutted the two-story building. . . . — — Map (db m164764) HM
On South 7th Avenue at Vne Street, on the left when traveling south on South 7th Avenue.
Five brick houses, all built by early Forsyth merchant Hiram Marcyes, lined this block in 1903. Marcyes arrived in Forsyth in 1882 when it was just a tent town. In 1888, he built the first brick business block in Forsyth; fifteen years later he . . . — — Map (db m164788) HM
On Main Street at North 8th Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
Decorative brickwork marks this impressive hotel designed by Montana architects Link and Haire. A vivid diamond pattern of light and dark brick provides a decorative band below the cornice, while raised brickwork divides the building vertically. A . . . — — Map (db m164770) HM
On North 12th Avenue at Park Street, on the right when traveling north on North 12th Avenue.
“E. A. Cornwell, the popular Forsyth merchant and banker, will move this week into the first cement block house ever built in Forsyth,” reported the Forsyth Times on October 3, 1907. “It is fitted with steam throughout, electric . . . — — Map (db m164917) HM
On North 12th Avenue at River Street, on the left when traveling north on North 12th Avenue.
Cast concrete block was an exciting new technology in the 1900s. While critics labeled it “cheap and vulgar,” builders and homeowners embraced it as a “substantial and beautiful substitute for stone.” Durable, affordable, and . . . — — Map (db m164922) HM
On North 11th Avenue near Park Street, on the right when traveling north.
Distinctive pointed-arched, Gothic style windows and a decorative three-story square tower, tucked in the L of the cross-gable, originally distinguished this unique residence, constructed between 1896 and 1903. In March 1903, John and Julia Edwards . . . — — Map (db m165050) HM
On North 11th Avenue at Park Street, on the right when traveling north on North 11th Avenue.
In 1901, prosperous rancher Thomas Hammond built “a fine residence in Forsyth ... one of the architectural adornments of the city.” He and his wife, Adelaide, and their four children used the home as a town house until 1905. That year . . . — — Map (db m165052) HM
On Cedar Street at North 12th Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Cedar Street.
When an overheated furnace set fire to the First Presbyterian Church in December 1919, the congregation lost everything but the Prairie style manse built next door in 1910. While church members temporarily held services in the Masonic Hall, news of . . . — — Map (db m164923) HM
On 3rd Avenue North at Oak Street, on the left when traveling north on 3rd Avenue North.
Although heavy rain disrupted the celebrations, it couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm Forsyth residents felt for their new bridge, dedicated on July 4, 1905. Prior to the bridge’s construction, Rosebud County residents had to ford the Yellowstone River . . . — — Map (db m164782) HM
On Main Street at North 10th Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
Captain William Clark trekked through this area on his journey down the Yellowstone River in 1806. By the time General George Armstrong Custer passed by en route to the Little Bighorn in 1876, homesteads dotted the area. As the Northern Pacific . . . — — Map (db m164670) HM
On Main Street near 13th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Founded for the railroad, Forsyth’s residential neighborhoods were platted in 1882 but much of the land lay undeveloped until the 1900s. Forsyth’s first-generation homes were simple dwellings rapidly constructed of wood or log to serve the immediate . . . — — Map (db m164627) HM
On 3rd Avenue North at Oak Street, on the left when traveling north on 3rd Avenue North.
Recognizing that successful communities require infrastructure, Forsyth’s civic leaders proposed construction of a waterworks and sewerage system in 1906. As the town council asserted when it posted the bond issue, “We desire to improve the town.... . . . — — Map (db m164783) HM
On Main Street at 12th Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
(Three panels make up this marker:) (panel 1)
In 1918, rising flood waters on the Yellowstone River threatened the City of Forsyth, the Forsyth Times-Journal reported "Over 500 men worked for 36 hours to keep . . . — — Map (db m164762) HM
On Main Street at 9th Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
In 1918, the city of Forsyth was threatened by rising flood waters of the Yellowstone River.
Only a two block section of Main Street between 8th and 10th avenues remained relatively dry because temporary berms were quickly constructed to hold . . . — — Map (db m164763) HM
On Main Street near North 8th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
In 1918, the city of Forsyth was threatened by rising flood waters of the Yellowstone River. Only two blocks of Main Street between 8th and 10th Avenues remained dry. Temporary berms had been constructed to hold the flood waters at bay to protect . . . — — Map (db m164773) HM
On 3rd Avenue North at Oak Street, on the left when traveling north on 3rd Avenue North.
In 1918, a rising Yellowstone River threatened the City of Forsyth. According to the Forsyth Times Journal, "Over 500 men worked for 36 hours to keep the flood water out of the city as much as possible." On this day in the early morning hours, the . . . — — Map (db m164785) HM
On North 14th Avenue at River Street, on the left when traveling north on North 14th Avenue.
In 1918 the city of Forsyth was flooded for 2 1/2 weeks by the rising waters of the Yellowstone River.
The waters rushed into the west end of Forsyth, flooding the entire town north of the Northern Pacific Railroad tracks. As the flood waters . . . — — Map (db m165144) HM
On Main Street near 6th Avenue North, on the right when traveling west.
In 1918, water from the Yellowstone River rushed into the west end of Forsyth and flooded the entire town north of the Northern Pacific Railroad tracks. Every basement was flooded to the floor joists. Homes in the residential district had 2 to 3 . . . — — Map (db m165234) HM
On North 13th Avenue at River Street, on the left when traveling north on North 13th Avenue.
Decorative half-timbering and an intricate roofline distinguish this elegant one-and-one-half-story home. Mary Philbrick had the residence built as a wedding present for her daughter Mary Frances and son-in-law Harry Cornwell, a hardware merchant. . . . — — Map (db m165146) HM
On Front Street near South 5th Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
Hiram Marcyes was born September 11, 1844 in Newberg, Maine. He served in the Civil War as a bugler in the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Company with the the Union army. His service took him in battles from Vicksburg to Sherman's March to the . . . — — Map (db m188746) HM
On North 15th Avenue at Potty Path on North 15th Avenue.
One the morning of May 23, 1876, two cavalrymen and a citizen teamster, attached to Colonel John Gibbon's Montana Column, were ambushed by a war party of Lakota in the bluffs on the north side of the Yellowstone a few miles downriver from this . . . — — Map (db m164801) HM
On North 9th Avenue near Cedar Street, on the left when traveling north.
A pressed metal cornice, door surrounds made of cast iron, and an exposed steel I-beam distinguish the façade of the 1907 Kennedy-Fletcher block. Geo. L. Mesker and Co. of Bedford, Indiana, the largest architectural ironworks in the country, . . . — — Map (db m164766) HM
On North 12th Avenue near River Street, on the right when traveling north.
Cattleman Lafayette H. Parker and his wife, Lida, purchased a small home on this lot in 1910. Lafayette died two years later of tuberculosis, but Lida continued to live here, and in 1917, she obtained a mortgage to replace her home with a two-story . . . — — Map (db m164921) HM
On Main Street near 10th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Terra-cotta medallions sporting the Masonic emblem of square and compass and the words “Masonic Temple” centered beneath the cornice proudly announce this building’s primary purpose. Chartered in 1898, the Forsyth Masonic Lodge met in . . . — — Map (db m164686) HM
On North 13th Avenue near Park Street when traveling north.
When the Milwaukee road arrived in 1907, Forsyth boomed, and carpenter Maurice S. Lord decided to open his own business. “It won’t cost you anything to talk to me,” he advertised, “and if I can’t suit you as to price and quality, . . . — — Map (db m165145) HM
On North 13th Avenue near Cedar Street, on the left when traveling north.
The deep eaves and flared rooflines of this two-story home were meant to evoke the Far East, while its octagonal tower, ornamental brackets, decorative beveled glass, and corbelled chimneys reveal the attention to detail that accompanied the home’s . . . — — Map (db m165230) HM
On Main Street near 10th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Pioneer businessman Thomas Alexander founded Forsyth’s first bank in 1892. In 1898, he built this ashlar stone bank building with material quarried within a mile of Forsyth. Three small panels on the cornice commemorate the year of construction and . . . — — Map (db m164760) HM
On North 12th Avenue near Park Street, on the left when traveling north.
Carpenter Gustav Hoff purchased this lot in 1900, and sometime before 1920 he built this one-story, hipped roof house, likely as an investment. Robert “Shorty” Meredith and his wife Mary bought the residence in 1920 for $2,500. The . . . — — Map (db m164855) HM
On North 13th Avenue at River Street, on the left when traveling north on North 13th Avenue.
Emmett and Anna Meyerhoff arrived in Forsyth in 1902 and quickly became prominent in Forsyth society. The assistant cashier of the newly organized Forsyth State Bank (later First National Bank), Meyerhoff was bank president by 1913. Anna was active . . . — — Map (db m165149) HM
On Cedar Street near North 11th Street, on the left when traveling east.
A truncated hipped roof reflects this circa 1895 home’s modest beginnings. Carpenters used shorter, less expensive pieces of lumber for hipped roofs than for triangular-shaped gable roofs. Owners added a full-length front porch (since removed) and a . . . — — Map (db m164924) HM
On Front Street near South 5th Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
The Northern Pacific Railroad surveyed along the north side of the Yellowstone River during the summers of 1871 and 1873, a time when the still-powerful Lakota controlled the unceded land south of the river. A a result, the survey crews required . . . — — Map (db m188744) HM
On Main Street near 12th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Scandal and intrigue surrounded the construction of Rosebud County Courthouse in 1914. Rosebud County citizens recognized the need for a new courthouse when they passed a $125,000 bond issue in 1911 to fund the building. To design a suitable . . . — — Map (db m164668) HM
On North 17th Street at Cedar Street, on the right when traveling north on North 17th Street.
“Remember the Flu epidemic” declared a notice advocating support for Rosebud County Hospital. In 1918 and 1919 influenza killed over 5,000 Montanans. Flu victims in Forsyth received care at the Masonic Hall, temporarily converted into an . . . — — Map (db m164791) HM
On Main Street near 10th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
“May You Prosper Well in Your New Theatre with Your Steadfast Faith in Forsyth,” read one of the many ads that filled the August 28, 1930, Forsyth Times. Car and clothing merchants joined building contractors and suppliers in . . . — — Map (db m164689) HM
On North 12th Avenue at Oak Street, on the left when traveling north on North 12th Avenue.
Northern Pacific Railroad engineer Thomas Sorenson and his wife Hannah built this one-and-one-half-story residence circa 1910. That year the Norwegian immigrant couple lived here with their five children and two boarders, both of whom also worked . . . — — Map (db m164835) HM
On North 11th Avenue at River Street, on the right when traveling north on North 11th Avenue.
Civil engineer Charles Taber helped survey the original Northern Pacific line through Forsyth in 1881. He must have liked what he saw because he soon returned to Forsyth, becoming the town’s first mayor after it incorporated in 1904. Taber purchased . . . — — Map (db m165047) HM
On Old Highway 10 near Smith Creek Road, on the left when traveling west.
When General Terry, Custer and Gibbon met on the steamer Far West to coordinate the final plan of action against the hostiles, it was decided that the Indians were probably camped along the Little Bighorn. Custer was to lead the Seventh Cavalry to . . . — — Map (db m165235) HM
On North 13th Avenue near Cedar Street, on the right when traveling north.
The history of Forsyth depends heavily on two men - Thomas Alexander and Hiram Marcyes - very different individuals yet both dedicated to creative and aggressive growth. Thomas Alexander began as a pioneer sheep, cattle and horse rancher and . . . — — Map (db m165231) HM
On North 14th Avenue at River Street, on the left when traveling north on North 14th Avenue.
Small touches add elegance to this one-and-one-half-story Colonial Revival residence and matching garage. Particularly noteworthy are its overall symmetry, prominent eave returns, shingled gabled ends, and classical pillars supporting the hipped . . . — — Map (db m165143) HM
On Main Street at 10th Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
Symmetrical facades, conservative design, and the use of durable material, particularly stone and brick, typified small-town Montana bank buildings like this one, originally constructed in Vananda, seventeen miles northwest of Forsyth. In the days . . . — — Map (db m164685) HM
On North 11th Avenue at Cedar Street, on the right when traveling north on North 11th Avenue.
Dr. Arthur C. Wilson moved to Forsyth after graduating medical school in 1891. He worked as a surgeon for the Northern Pacific Railroad, as a medical examiner for insurance companies, and as the county health officer. Forsyth’s first resident . . . — — Map (db m165042) HM
Near Interstate 94 at milepost 117 near Graveyard Creek RoadThe, on the left when traveling west.
Many a dogie * (not doggie - dudes please note) has been decorated with one of these famous Montana irons.
(Click on the photograph to enlarge it and have a closer look at the brands.)
* A dogie is a little calf who has lost . . . — — Map (db m164408) HM
Near Interstate 94 at milepost 117 near Graveyard Creek Road, on the right when traveling east.
In the years following the Korean War, tensions heightened between the United States and Soviet Union. To prevent a surprise communist attack, the U.S. Air Force established a network of radar stations to protect American air space. Using the most . . . — — Map (db m164493) HM
On U.S. 12 near 'Main Street', on the left when traveling west.
Founded in 1908, Ingomar became a hub of commerce when the Milwaukee Road Railroad completed its line across Montana. The community had no source of water and relied on the railroad to provide 22,000 gallon water tank cars each week for the town . . . — — Map (db m189089) HM
On First Avenue near Third Street, on the left when traveling west.
Founded in 1908, Ingomar became a hub of commerce when the Milwaukee Road Railroad completed its line across Montana. The community had no source of water and relied on the railroad to provide 22,000 gallon water tank cars each week for the town . . . — — Map (db m189095) HM
Near 2nd Avenue near 3rd Street, on the right when traveling west.
As hundreds of farmers and ranchers homesteaded the arid, treeless plains of northwestern Rosebud County, the townsite of Ingomar was platted along the tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway in 1912. That year, one teacher and a . . . — — Map (db m189103) HM
On Main Street near 1st Avenue (?), on the left when traveling north.
J. Abraham “Abe” Bookman came from Ireland with his wife, Anna, and brother-in-law, Simon Sigman. By 1912, they had settled in Ingomar, where Bookman operated the town mercantile and Sigman served as postmaster. The business was so prosperous that . . . — — Map (db m189091) HM
On Main Street at First Avenue (?), on the left when traveling north on Main Street.
Completion of the “Milwaukee Road” brought hundreds of homesteaders to Ingomar during the 1910s. By 1914, wood-frame homes and a small commercial district proclaimed the town a permanent settlement. On July 2, 1914, the Ingomar Index announced that . . . — — Map (db m189093) HM
On Rosebud Creek Road (County Road 447) at Snider Creek Road, on the left when traveling south on Rosebud Creek Road. Reported unreadable.
In the aftermath of the Rosebud and Little Bighorn battles, both Generals Terry and Crook withdrew to their respective base camps waiting for additional troops and supplies. Even though the commands were only about 100 miles apart, communication . . . — — Map (db m189247) HM
On Main Street near River Road, on the right when traveling west.
At noon on June 22, 1876, the Seventh Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer began its ill-fated march to the Little Bighorn near this location.
General Alfred Terry, having ordered a parade review send-off for . . . — — Map (db m189167) HM
On Rosebud Creek Road (County Road 447) 9 miles south of Interstate 94, on the left when traveling north.
At noon, on June 22, 1876, Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer's command broke camp along the Yellowstone River, passed in review of General Terry and Colonel Gibbon, and marched to the mouth of Rosebud Creek. The Seventh Cavalry then proceeded . . . — — Map (db m189172) WM
On Rosebud Creek Road (County Road 447) 4 miles south of Interstate 94, on the left when traveling north.
In 1886, ranchers buried near here what many believe to be the remains of Private Nathan Short, Co. C, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Short was believed to be carrying a message from General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, 7 miles S.W, of this point . . . — — Map (db m189169) HM
Near Interstate 94 at milepost 117 near Graveyard Creek Road, on the right when traveling west.
Wherever you are in Montana, you stand in the pathway of Lewis and Clark. Their 1804-1806 expedition was a grand adventure to investigate the people and resources of the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase and to seek a navigable passage across the . . . — — Map (db m164417) HM
A few days after the Custer disaster on June 25, 1876, General Alfred Terry moved the decimated Seventh Cavalry to Fort Pease on the Yellowstone waiting nearly a month for additional troops and supplies.
By late July, the steamboats contracted . . . — — Map (db m164626) HM
Near Interstate 94 at milepost 117 near Graveyard Creek Road, on the right when traveling west.
From July 28, 1806, when William Clark passed Rosebud Creek on his way down the Yellowstone, this river valley has served as one of the major avenues for development and trade in eastern Montana. Innumerable trappers and traders followed Clark's . . . — — Map (db m164409) HM
In June 1876, the column of General John Gibbon and Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, both under the command of General Alfred Terry, met near here at the mouth of Rosebud Creek aboard the steamer Far West. They were under orders to . . . — — Map (db m164624) HM
On Frontage Road/Old Highway 10 near Interstate 94, on the left when traveling west.
Beginning in early May, 1876 when the Lakota ran off about thirty horsed belonging to the Crow scouts, patrols from the Montana Column reported Indian sightings almost every day from the Big Horn River on down to Rosebud Creek. All signs indicated a . . . — — Map (db m164542) HM
From its origins as a railroad siding established by the Northern Pacific in 1882, Rosebud grew into a bustling homesteading community. The town boasted 300 residents when Fred and Mary Mefford arrived from the Midwest in 1896, bringing with them a . . . — — Map (db m164619) HM
Near Interstate 94 at milepost 117, on the right when traveling west.
About 65 million years ago, the inland sea receded as the Rocky Mountains rose, pushing the shoreline further east. Great rivers meandered through the coastal plain in a warm and humid climate, depositing sediment which would later become known as . . . — — Map (db m164492) HM
On Rosebud Creek Road (County Road 447) 20 miles south of Interstate 94, on the left when traveling south.
When the Dakota Column arrived at the confluence of the Powder River and the Yellowstone, General Alfred Terry wanted to be certain that the Lakota had not moved south and east even though Gibbon's scouts had already located the big village on the . . . — — Map (db m189245) HM
On Frontage Road near Old Highway 10, on the right when traveling west.
Children first attended school in a log cabin at this site in 1882, the year the Northern Pacific Railroad completed its line through the Yellowstone Valley. The railroad brought growing numbers of homesteaders, and in 1904 the community replaced . . . — — Map (db m165242) HM
