Newspapers Were In Nearly Every Town In Montana

244 Weeklies!

by Mike Stebleton

part 2 of 4

(Part 1 was in the January 5, 2022 issue of the DC Leader)

Although newspapers were not in Montana Territory, there were two newspapers located about as close as they could be.

The Frontier Scout was published for the first time on July 14, 1864 at Fort Union, Dakota Territory, which is less than one mile from today’s Montana/ North Dakota border. It was the first newspaper in Dakota Territory (1861-1889).

Nearly 40 years later the town of Mondak was situated about 500 yards northwest of Fort Union along the GN rail line and two miles west of Fort Buford near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. In 1903 William Hoffstead started a weekly newspaper called The Yellowstone News, , which must have had quite a number of readers — and thirsty ones at that — since the town had seven saloons operating during Mondak’s one year of existence.

Moving west, and skipping over newspapers from Bainville to Hinsdale along the StPM& M/GN route to be discussed later in the Roosevelt County and Daniels County sections, born were newspapers listed in geographical order from east to west named: Saco Independent, , Malta Enterprise, ,

Harlem Enterprise, , Milk River Valley News, , Harlem News, , Chinook Opinion, , Hi-Line Herald Havre Promoter Havre Daily News in 1928), Fresno Sentinel, , Kremlin Chancellor, , Gildford Tribune, , Hingham American, ,

Hingham Herald, , Hingham Review, , Rudyard Dispatch, ,

Inverness News, , Joplin Independent, , Joplin Times, ,

Hill County Leader and Liberty County Farmer, , the latter two located in Joplin.

The Chester Signal (1905) became the Chester Independent in 1915 and later that same year the Chester Democrat and then the Chester Reporter. . In 1936 the Reporter and Liberty County Farmer of Joplin consolidated to become the

Liberty County Times. .

West of Chester, where Lothair had a newspaper, were the Galata Herald, ,

Galata Journal, , Devon Register, , Devon Tribune, ,

Dunkirk Press, , Shelby News, ,

Shelby Promoter, , Shelby Producer, , Shelby Tribune, ,

Ethridge World, , Cut Bank Pioneer Press, , Glacier County Chief, , Browning Chief, , The Columbian and Hendricks’ Columbian at Columbia Falls, Whitefish Independent and Whitefish Pilot. . In Kalispell was the Daily Reminder, , Daily Inter Lake, , Kalispell Times, ,

Flathead Monitor, , Kalispell Weekly News and Kalispell News-Farm Journal. .

The GN main line traveled through Eureka and along the Koot...