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APRIL / MAY 2021 • MONTANA SENIOR NEWS ALL ABOUt MONtANA PAGE 11
baggage and freight room, the living quar- of the community railroad to be lost. Using
ters for the station agent, an office, and a donations, proceeds from three grants, and
waiting room. many volunteer hours, they restored the
A nearby duplex-style privy, as well as depot to its former 1901 prominence to tell
a reintroduced section of track with a bay that story.
window Dover caboose, provided further The Monarch Depot Historic District is
authenticity to the restored depot. one of the few remaining examples of a Great
The living quarters in the depot were Northern standardized depot and privy con-
immediately put to use. The railroad com- Monarch Depot during reconstruction in 2018. Photo struction. Visitors standing on the platform
pany found that having a station agent live courtesy of Janet Enloe. today find the restored Monarch Depot, now
on the premises was a great convenience, on the National Register of Historic Places,
because married agents with families were If baseball teams from Monarch and makes one aspect of Montana history vivid
usually more dependable. The building Neihart were playing a game, a locomo- and real.
was safer for cash receipts waiting to be tive and car would take the visitors to Monarch, Mont., is on Highway 89,
shipped, and danger of fires getting out of the host town. which is often called the Park to Park
hand was decreased, resulting in reduced When the circus came to Great Falls, a Highway. The town is just about halfway
insurance costs. train took families to enjoy the show before between Glacier Park and Yellowstone Park,
The railroad tracks made traveling returning them home later that night. making it a delightful halfway stop.
more convenient for the community, Around 1915, a fish train was added on The drive through the Little Belt
even when they weren’t riding the train. Sundays. Since the tracks paralleled Belt Mountains also offers beautiful scenery
Handcars, made to fit the tracks, traveled Creek, where trout could be seen in deep over Kings Hill.
downhill, north from Neihart to Monarch, holes, fisherman requested to be dropped The Monarch Neihart Historical Group
with ease, but horses pulled handcars off at their favorite fishing holes. (MHNG) is eager to have visitors view the
uphill the other direction. By 1945, mining ceased in the Little restored Monarch Depot and to hear its
Area residents also built modified bicy- Belt Mountains, and the highway through story. The depot can always be viewed from
cles on handcar wheels and axles to peddle the area was finally paved. The last train its exterior.
their way on the tracks. rumbled into the community on November Depending on the status of COVID, the
The railroad company accommodated 3, 1945, and the tracks were soon ripped up building will be open this summer on week-
residents with special trains that would stop and hauled away, leaving only the Monarch ends from Memorial Day to Labor Day for
along the route, letting people off and on. Depot to deteriorate. guided tours. Since it is opened with the
Freight was delivered near homes, so res- A group of local residents, with Janet and assistance of volunteers, it is also helpful
idents wouldn’t have to go into the depot. Hugh Enloe and Bob Majerus leading the if visitors email [email protected] the date
way, decided they couldn’t allow the story of expected arrival. MsN
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