Wheat Basin, Montana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wheat Basin, Montana
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 Wheat Basin, Montana
Location in Montana
Wheat Basin, Montana
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Montana |
| County | Stillwater |
| Elevation | 3,947 ft (1,203 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code |
59057
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| Area code(s) | 406 |
| GNIS feature ID | 778337 |
Wheat Basin is a ghost town located in Stillwater County, Montana, in the United States. A ghost town is a place where most people have left, and it's mostly empty now. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) keeps records about places like Wheat Basin. This small town covers about 6.5 acres, which is roughly the size of five football fields.
Contents
The Story of Wheat Basin
How Wheat Basin Started
The area that became Wheat Basin began as a small settlement called Nora in 1915. This was four years before a man named John Stolte officially planned the town of Wheat Basin. Nora grew up as a camp for workers building a railroad. It was located between the towns of Rapelje and Molt, close to Big Lake.
Growing into a Town
By the summer of 1917, the railroad was finished. This brought more people and businesses to the area. The Riopel family opened a general store, which sold many different goods. In 1918, the postal service in Washington, D.C., officially changed the town's name from Nora to Wheat Basin.
Wheat Basin soon became a busy place. It had a main street with important buildings. There was a grain elevator, which is a tall building used to store grain like wheat. The town also had a bank, several stores, a dance hall for entertainment, and lumber yards where wood was sold. Wheat Basin was mainly a farming community. It served as a stop for the railroad, with a depot where trains could load and unload goods and passengers.
The Decline of Wheat Basin
Life in Wheat Basin began to change in the 1930s. The post office, which was a key part of the community, closed in 1936. Later, the railroad decided to stop running trains through Wheat Basin. When the railroad left, the town lost its main connection to other places and its way of transporting goods. This caused the town to slowly become empty.
What Remains Today
Today, Wheat Basin is truly a ghost town. Not much is left that you can easily see. You can find some concrete foundations where buildings once stood. There are also dips in the ground that show where other structures used to be. The old streets and the main road are still visible, even though the buildings are gone.
The last building that was still standing was the grain elevator. Sadly, it burned down in 1997. Now, a special sign marks the spot where the town of Wheat Basin once thrived.
