Why we’re here
Posted By admin on January 29, 2010
When you think about it, Butte and Helena were started by miners, Billings as a transportation hub for steamboats and railroads, Great Falls for its water power, coal mining and agriculture. Kalispell was a railroad and agriculture town.
Missoula was attractive for its lumber and agricultural possibilities, and eventually the railroads. But its roots are in commerce. When someone asks you why Missoula is here, it’s because of its location as a hub of trade from all directions, starting way back with Indian trails. Five valleys (for my money the Bitterroot, Frenchtown, Evaro/Mission, Hellgate and Blackfoot) funnel everything into Missoula.
That’s why Frank Worden and Christopher Higgins came here on the new Mullan Road in the summer of 1860 in the first place, to start a store at Hell Gate. It’s why the Missoula Merc and its progenitors blossomed into the mercantile giant of the Northwest. It’s not as sexy a history as some, but it’s where we came from. It’s no wonder the loss of Macy’s strikes so deep a chord for so many folks.
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