Rocky Point, Montana (ghost town) facts for kids

The old town of Rocky Point was once a busy place in Fergus County, Montana. It was located on the south side of the Missouri River in an area called the Missouri Breaks. Rocky Point was special because it had a natural shallow spot, or "ford," where people and animals could cross the river.

Long ago, huge herds of American bison (buffalo) used to travel through the breaks to cross the river at Rocky Point. Later, when steamboats traveled the Missouri River (from the 1860s to the 1880s), Rocky Point became a stop. Steamboats brought supplies for mining towns in the Judith Mountains and Little Rocky Mountains, and also for Fort Maginnis, a military fort built in 1880.

In the 1870s and 1880s, Rocky Point had a store, a hotel, two saloons, a stable for horses, a blacksmith shop, and a ferry to help people cross the river. Because it was in a remote area, Rocky Point also became a hiding spot for outlaws. These outlaws would steal cattle and horses until local ranchers stopped them in 1884.

From 1886 to 1936, a post office called Wilder was nearby. So, sometimes Rocky Point was also called Wilder. The community continued through the homesteading years (1900-1918). But it slowly disappeared when the ferry stopped working in the 1920s. By 1936, the Army Corps of Engineers bought the land near the river for the Fort Peck Dam, and Rocky Point was gone.

Today, some old buildings are still there, but they are falling apart. The area is now part of the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. You can visit Rocky Point by driving on dirt roads, but these roads can become very muddy and hard to use when it rains.

Rocky Point's Early Days (Before 1900)

A Natural River Crossing

At Rocky Point, the Missouri River flows over a rocky area called a Bearpaw shale reef. This made the river bottom firm and the water shallow, creating a perfect spot for crossing. For thousands of years, migrating buffalo used this spot to cross the river. They created trails leading down through the steep "breaks" on both sides of the river to Rocky Point.

Steamboat Stop (1860s-1880s)

When gold was found in Montana Territory in the 1860s, the Missouri River became a main route for moving people and goods by steamboat. The river runs through the Missouri Breaks, which are steep, eroded lands that make it hard to reach the river. Rocky Point became a natural steamboat landing because of the old buffalo trails. These trails led from the river up through the breaks to the flat plains on both sides.

The steamboat era lasted from the mid-1860s until railroads arrived in the 1880s. After 1874, steamboats often brought goods from Bismarck to Fort Benton. Rocky Point's steamboat landing handled goods and passengers only for the local area. Steamboats needed high water, usually in June from melting snow, to reach Fort Benton. During low water, larger boats often had to unload their cargo further downriver. Some of this cargo came to Rocky Point, but boats often tried to reach Cow Island further upriver, as it had a better route to Fort Benton.

Gold discoveries in the Judith Mountains (1880) and Little Rocky Mountains (1884) made Rocky Point more important. It became a landing spot for machinery needed in the mines. By 1881, Rocky Point was the official steamboat landing for supplies going to and from Fort Maginnis, which was about 63 miles away.

The Northern Pacific Railroad finished its line through southern Montana in 1883. This greatly reduced steamboat traffic. Then, in 1887, the Great Northern Railroad built tracks north of the Missouri River breaks. This finally ended steamboat travel on the Missouri River.

Wood Hawk Camps (1860s-1880s)

"Wood hawk" camps were places along the Missouri River where men cut down trees, mostly cottonwood, and stacked the wood. Steamboats would stop and buy this wood to burn for fuel. The flat land near Rocky Point became one of these wood hawk camps. In 1868, Lohmire and Lee had a camp there. In 1871, people escaping an Indian encounter found safety at a woodchopper's cabin there.

Buffalo Hunters (Late 1870s-1883)

After 1876, military actions against Native American tribes made it safer for hunters on the Eastern Montana plains. Buffalo hides were valuable for making industrial machine belts. As the danger decreased, commercial buffalo hunters, also called "hide hunters," began killing large numbers of buffalo just for their hides. Hunters near Rocky Point brought their hides to the steamboat landing. Local merchants would buy the hides and ship them east by steamboat. By 1883, there were so few buffalo left that this type of hunting ended.

Cattle Crossing Point

As cattle replaced buffalo on the plains, the ford at Rocky Point became a place for large cattle herds to cross the river. One rancher described a difficult crossing during a drought: "We were close to the Missouri River, planning to cross at Rocky Point. The wind blew from the north, and the cattle smelled the water. They ran straight for it. Nothing could stop the thirsty animals. They ran wildly for the water, with cowboys chasing them. There was a spot of quicksand in the river just above the ford. Before the men could stop them, the cattle plunged in and got stuck. A small steamboat at the landing used its engine to help pull some out. But we lost seventy cattle despite our efforts. After that, we crossed the rest of the herd without more trouble. From there on, we found more water and better grass."

The Rocky Point Ferry

Because of the trails leading to the ford, Rocky Point was a natural spot for a ferry. The ferry operated from the 1880s until the late 1920s, as long as Rocky Point was used as a crossing point.

By 1885, John Tyler was the ferryman. Charles Siringo, a famous stock detective, described his crossing at Rocky Point: "I arrived in Rocky Point on the south bank of the Big Muddy river three hours after dark. Here I found old man Tyler and his son running the ferry and keeping a small Indian trading store."

In 1907, Elmer Turner bought the ferry from Tyler. He ran it until 1927, when he took it apart and used the wood for buildings in Rocky Point.

Challenging Gumbo Mud

The clay dirt in the Missouri Breaks is famous for its "gumbo mud." When it gets wet, it first becomes slippery, then very sticky. It clumps up around anything that touches it. This sticky nature is because the clay has a lot of bentonite.

Travelers to Rocky Point often faced this mud. It was exhausting to get through. Charley Siringo, the stock detective, rode his horse to Rocky Point. He wanted to cross the Missouri River on his way to Landusky. After he entered the Missouri Breaks (which he called the "Bad Lands"), he met the "sticky mud": "... the sticky mud of the 'Bad Lands' was something fearful. It would stick to the mare's feet till the poor animal could hardly gallop. I had seen many kinds of sticky mud in my life, but nothing to equal this."

When Siringo got off his horse, he found he couldn't put his foot in the stirrup because of the mud stuck to it. He had to scrape the mud off with a knife. When he finally reached Rocky Point, his horse was very tired. "My mare had only traveled 30 miles, but she had carried about 75 pounds of mud across the 'Bad Lands,' so she was almost played out on arriving at Rocky Point. I had often heard of the 'Bad lands' and wanted to visit them, but now that desire had vanished."

Rocky Point Settlement

In the Missouri Breaks, a ferry and a river crossing were rare. So, a community grew at Rocky Point. It became a meeting place for miners, woodcutters, trappers, buffalo hunters, whiskey traders, ranchers, and cowboys. Rocky Point served honest business people, but it also became a place where thieves and outlaws lived.

In 1880, C. A. Broadwater, a merchant from Helena, moved his warehouse near Rocky Point. He built structures and named the settlement "Wilder" after his business partner, Amherst H. Wilder. Broadwater received shipments for Fort Maginnis. He asked for military help, and 19 soldiers were sent to Wilder to guard government goods.

By 1885, Rocky Point had a store, a hotel, a stable, two saloons, a blacksmith shop, and the ferry. R. A. Richie ran the store. M. F. Marsh ran a large warehouse, his bar, and the hotel.

Teddy Blue Abbott, a cowboy who later became a ranch owner, wrote about Rocky Point in the 1880s: "There were a few stores at Rocky Point, and a saloon run by a man named Marsh, and three white women. One was Mrs. Marsh, a very nice lady who kept the eating house. She had a daughter."

Outlaws and Rustlers (Early 1880s)

In the 1870s, Rocky Point was deep in the Missouri Breaks. This area was far from any county seat, so law enforcement like a county sheriff rarely visited. People who were in trouble with the law gathered at Rocky Point because it was a safe hiding place. If a sheriff showed up, outlaws could simply ride their horses across the Missouri River into another county, where the sheriff had no power to arrest them.

These outlaws lived in the river bottoms and pretended to be buffalo hunters, Indian traders, or woodcutters. Rocky Point in the 1870s and 1880s was known as a tough town.

Around the Missouri Breaks, both north and south, were vast grasslands. In the early 1880s, buffalo were almost gone, replaced by large herds of cattle, many brought from Texas. Big ranches grew, with cattle grazing on public lands. These ranches also had many horses. This created an opportunity for thieves living in the breaks. They would steal cattle and horses from the plains, drive them into remote parts of the breaks, change their brands, and then take them to the other side of the river to sell them. Stealing horses was common because horses could be moved faster than cattle.

Rocky Point was important for this rustling because stolen animals could be crossed from one side of the river to the other at the ford. Thieves would travel as far south as Wyoming and as far north as Canada. As horse stealing became more common, ranchers believed that "there were rustlers' meeting places at the mouth of the Musselshell, at Rocky Point and at Wolf Point [in Montana Territory]."

Vigilantes in 1884

In 1884, Granville Stuart, an early pioneer and rancher who owned a large ranch near Fort Maginnis, organized a group to go into the Breaks. They were looking for suspected rustlers. It's estimated that between 13 and 35 rustlers were killed, likely closer to 18 or 20.

Rocky Point Becomes Wilder

The steamboat era ended when the Northern Pacific Railroad finished its line across Montana in 1883, followed by the Great Northern Railroad in 1887. Rocky Point was still a river crossing, but it wasn't between any major towns, so it had less traffic.

In 1886, a post office was created in the Rocky Point area and named Wilder, after C. A. Broadwater's business partner. The Wilder post office operated from 1886 to 1939. Robert A. Richie was the first postmaster. Even after the post office was created, the community at the crossing was still called Rocky Point, but the post office was Wilder, and sometimes the community was also called Wilder.

As long as the ferry worked, Rocky Point remained a local gathering place. It was even a place where people voted in elections. In 1886, 53 votes were cast there.

In 1888, Marsh's saloon at Rocky Point burned down. R. A. Richie moved to Glasgow and later died. In 1889, Montana became a state. Rocky Point was then in Chouteau County, but that part of the county was traded to Fergus County, so Wilder became part of Fergus County.

In 1900, Rocky Point was still a river crossing with a ferry, a store, and a bar. After 1900, more homesteaders (people settling on land) arrived. In 1907, Elmer Turner took over the store and the Wilder post office. He also bought the ferry. Turner lived at the ford until 1935, when the government bought all the land for the Fort Peck Dam.

In 1918, the Wilder Post Office moved to Luella M. Belyea's homestead on top of the river hill. Elmer Turner kept the ferry going until 1929. He then used the wood to build a new log shop and another building that still stands. Elma M. Webb took over the Wilder post office in 1920. She moved the original handmade boxes and shelves into her home, where she also ran a store.

After the ferry was taken apart in 1929, Rocky Point stopped being a community at the ford. But the idea of the community continued at the Wilder Post Office, even though it was no longer at the original crossing site. Local people still met at Elma Webb's home. Wilder was a voting place until 1942.

After her husband died, Elma Webb leased her place and the Wilder Post Office to Elna Brumfield Wright in 1935. The post office changed hands a few more times. In 1937, Bertine Mathison became postmaster. A fire destroyed the building, and the Wilder Post Office closed on November 30, 1939. This was the end of Wilder as a community.

Future Bridge Site (1931)

In 1931, Rocky Point was considered as a possible site for a highway bridge over the Missouri River. This bridge would connect Lewistown (south of the breaks) and Malta (north of the breaks). Rocky Point was a good choice because it had a strong foundation in the Bearpaw Shale, and the river channel didn't move much there. Also, it was estimated to be cheaper than other sites for both the bridge and the roads leading to it.

However, the Great Depression (1930s) stopped all road building plans. When interest in the highway project came back in the 1950s, another location upstream was chosen for the bridge instead.

Part of Fort Peck Dam Project (1935)

In 1936, the land at Rocky Point became U.S. government property. The Army Corps of Engineers bought all the river bottom land that might be affected by the Fort Peck Dam, which was being built. This ended all community activity at the Rocky Point ford. All the families who lived on ranches and homesteads along the Missouri River moved away. The lands at Rocky Point have been under federal control ever since. They are now part of the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.

Several old buildings still stand near the ford, but they are in poor condition.

Visiting Rocky Point

The roads and the site are on public land within the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. You can find directions from U.S. Highway 191 using maps or online tools.

Off the highway, most roads are dirt. They become impossible to use when wet. The description by Charles Siringo about the sticky mud, even though it's over a hundred years old, is still true today.

The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge website has maps you can download. It also provides information on "Current Refuge Road Conditions" on its home page, noting impassable places. However, it warns that this list might not be complete or up to date.