MISSOULA — Ever wonder about the history of the Rattlesnake? Folks who do gathered Sunday to learn about the early residents who helped shape the iconic neighborhood into what it is today.
People packed into the Missoula Public Library to hear tales of the German, Scottish, Irish and Swedish homesteaders who cared out a life in the Upper Rattlesnake.
Mike Young, historian and former president of Wild Montana’s Shining Mountains Chapter, spoke for January’s edition of the Rattlesnake Creek Watershed Group’s lecture series.
He began the presentation with an acknowledgment that the Rattlesnake is the traditional homeland of the Salish and Kalispell people. Young said we can learn a lot about and from the past.
“I think one of the things I find especially interesting about all this is that we're kind of looking at the history of ordinary people," Young said. "These are not senators and congressmen and presidents and things like that. They're just people who are living off the land and making a living.”
From the 1880s to the 1930s, residents like “Coyote Bill” and the Wallman family left their mark on what is now the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness. Remnants of their lives can still be seen on the landscapes in archaeological sites.
Young encourages people to check out what remains, but to treat the sites with respect so that the history can live on in what he calls “Missoula’s unique ‘Outdoor Museum.’”
