Residents, landowners and/or locals who had strong connections to Sedan.

Back row left – right:  Allen Woosley, Lyle Reichman, Russ Palmer, Wally McHenry, Bill D’Ewart

Front row left to right: Swede Palmer, Don Boegli & Warren Reichman

As of May 2000 there were approximately 70 year round residents of Sedan. However in earlier times Sedan seems to have had many more full time residents. Some of those people brought their families and worked only a short time while others remained. Allen Woosley was the oldest living native of Sedan at that time. His son Lyle Woosley (4th generation) and family are still ranching today. Allen’s grandfather, Josh Woosley was one of the first homesteaders in Sedan as noted below.

Many of the names listed below were taken from the 1912 Gallatin County Ownership Map, stories written by Warren Reichman, Sedan School records, and from interviews conducted by past and present residents. There are evidently many more names which could be added to this list as there were over 250 school children listed during the 73 year history of the operation of Sedan School.

Any families who have photos, stories or additional history to share please contact us and we will add it. Thanks!

Families are listed alphabetically in most cases unless there are several family members noted then they are listed alphabetically after the father’s name. Where multiple spellings were found for some families they have been left until correct spelling verified.

Fred E. Ainger / Anger / Enger (Spelling variations noted on some documents) – A bachelor and forest ranger whose name was actually Reynolds. He left home at 14 after having an argument with his father and changed his name vowing to have nothing to do with him. As noted in “Tracks Volume II,” this information describes Fred “Enger” and the ranger station, “One station is located on land owned by Pearl D’Ewart, twenty miles southwest of Wilsall at the base of the Bridgers. This ranger station, built in the 1920s, served as the district forest station. “Fred Enger kept all the books pertaining to the Bridger Mountains at this station, and this was the only station where a ranger lived year round. Most were used only in the summer time.”

Fred E. Ainger, as noted in her book (Bates, 1994) book, was said to have been “A ranger in the Gallatin Forest from 1906 to 1950.” Fred Ainger built Ainger Lake and the dam for Frazier Lake with help from the CCC. He built a cabin near Frazier Lake and also lived on what is now known as the Beckner Place. After he retired as a forest ranger, he bought a ranch in the Sedan area and ranched here under the assumed name until his death. See Sedan Misc for more information on location of Ainger and Frazier Lakes.

Gordon Alcorn – From Beardstown, Illinois. Worked for Russ Robinsons for about 8 years. Lived on the Robinson Ranch in Francis’ basement and used to hunt with “Slim Keefer.”

John C. & Annie Alexander – Listed on 1913 School Census Report for Sedan. Child: Bernall 16 yrs.

Ray Alexander – He and his father homesteaded and ranched here.

Roy W. Alexander – Went to war in the World War I. According to an Abstract that Suzanne (Hunter) Walker has, “In March 1920, The United States of America deeded the land to Roy W. Alexander, a single man of Wilsall, Montana. “To secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers of the Public Domain,” and the acts supplemental thereto claim of Roy W. Alexander, has been “established and duly consummated, in conformity to law.” By the President: Woodrow Wilson.

“In April of 1920 Roy W. Alexander transferred the land to a John A. Sorrell of Wilsall, Montana.” This information was taken from the Abstract of the land which is now owned by Suzanne (Hunter) Walker.

Allen Family – Owned land south of Flathead Pass and across Flathead Creek. Alta Woosley recalls that Mr. Allen was a Park County Commissioner who owned the land but did not live on it. She said they are not related to the Don & Yates Allen families noted below.

Don & Florence Allen – Children David, Barry, Lloyd & Steve, all boys attended Sedan School. Don worked for M.D. Armstrong and lived on the place which is now Butch Waddell’s. They also lived on the Robert Jones Place. Don and Yates were brothers and worked for M.D. Armstrong.

Yates Allen Family – Children Barbara, Linda, Anita, Edith, Leslie & Sharon. All the girls attended Sedan School except Sharon. This Allen family lived in the old Wendall Francis Place across from the Woosleys’ roping barn. Yates and his brother Don worked for M.D. Armstrong.

Frank E. & Ada Allison – Frank Allison homesteaded here and raised purebred guernsey cattle. Mrs. Allison was a sister of Liza Lamson and Mrs. Foreman though this has been disputed as Mrs. Allison is not mentioned in Liza Lamson’s obituary. Listed on the 1912 Ownership map of the area and Gallatin County School Census Reports for Sedan District #38 from 1909 – 1914. Children: Earl W., Adelle A. and Arthur. They sold their ranch and moved to Washington.

Mark Anderson – Long time friend and employee of the Butch Waddell family.

M.D. (Merlin) & Edna Mae (Pepperlin) Armstrong – Armstrong bought the place from Jorgenson; the first site occupied by Josh & Josie Woosley; now Butch Waddell’s Place. M.D. was Sedan School clerk 1957-58 and/or possibly 1964-1965. Children; Melvin, Olin, & Cindy attended Sedan School. Armstrongs moved to Billings.

Norman “Norm” & Martha Elinor (Shelhamer) Amundson – Norm nor Elinor were Sedan residents but she had relatives from Sedan and they were dance band musicians for some of the Cheese Factory dances; Elinor played the piano, Norm the drums. Norn was born October 8, 1916. Elinor was born Nov 23, 1919 in Livingston. She and Norm were married December 28, 1941. Norm died December 17, 1982 and is buried in the Wilsall Cemetery. His headstone reads, “S SGT US ARMY WWII.” Elinor died April 22, 2012 in Big Timber, MT and is also buried in the Wilsall Cemetery.

Louis J. Authier – Buried in Sedan Cemetery. His headstone reads “March 29, 1899. Aged 21 years & 5 months.”

Henry & Garnet Ayers – Lived at Jones’ Corner. None of their sons Clarence E., George, Robert “Bob” & Donald Henry attended Sedan School but they all graduated from Wilsall.

Clarence E. Ayers – Born. March 8, 1937 Glasgow, MT – Died May 2, 2005 Lewistown, MT Military Honors – Montana Air National Guard – Honor Guard – Interment Central Montana Memorial Gardens.

Donald Henry Ayers – Born March 11, 1942 Lewistown, MT – Died April 10, 2011.

Robert “Bob” & Myrna (Fastje) Ayers – Myrna was born in 1941, grew up in Sedan and attended Sedan School. Bob moved to the area as an older student so did not attend Sedan School. Both attended Wilsall School. Bob & Myrna married in Billings, Montana after she graduated from Wilsall School in 1958. Their sons Hal and Ken did not live in Sedan. Bob & Myrna are buried in Bridger, Montana.

Louis Bailey Family – Children were enrolled in Sedan School during the 1930s and 1930s. Francis was one of the children. He lived across the road from Joe Whitman.

Alex & Marie Baker – Moved to Sedan in 1966. Alex worked for the Armstrong Ranch and later the Wayne Landis Ranch. Mrs. Baker taught at the Sedan School for the 1966-67 and 1967-68 school years until the school closed in the spring of 1968. The Bakers moved to Clyde Park where she taught and he worked for the Double U Ranch. Mrs. Marie Baker was the Last Sedan School teacher from 1966-1968. She was not from the area.

Angel Baker – Married a Keys girl, homesteaded here and ranched. He had an “outfit for commercial grain grinding and wood sawing.” He and his wife raised several children.

Angeles & Myrtle Baker – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909 and 1910. Children listed were John H. and Silvia.

Miss Barber – Teacher at Sedan School during 1935/1936 school term.

Barnard Family – Barnard’s lived in the first home built on the Petterson land. It was near where Tim & Anita lived across from the Sedan Cemetery and burned to the ground. Anita has found pieces of beautiful china when tilling her garden, though Mrs. Barnard was blind. The second home they built is what was the smaller house on their property across from the cemetery. The Kelly family lived in the home after Barnards did.

S.D. Barrows – 1912 Ownership Map

Barto – Ran sheep in Green Canyon Country

Herb Bates – Drove school bus up here for over 36 years starting in 1948. He was remembered by former resident, Kay Seitz, as having been, “A kind man, kept order but liked kids. He’d do anything for us. He pulled out pickup out of a sawdust pile one night in Wilsall with one of his Case tractors. Shirley Robinson, Jerry Olson, John Hebnes and I drove my dad’s pickup on this sawdust pile after a pep rally and sunk in…He pulled it out, didn’t say a word to my folks. Dad wondered for a long time why sawdust fell out of everything whenever they did something underneath the truck. Herb was a good friend to us all…he was a big part of our lives…it was a sad day when he passed away.”

Baty – Marvin attended Sedan School.

Mary Bautch – Taught at Sedan School and then later on the Rocky Boy Reservation. She is deceased.

Gordon & Bev (Landis) Baver – Bev is the daughter of Wayne & Verna Lu Landis. She attended Sedan and Wilsall Schools. Children Chad and Nathan attended Shields Valley Schools.

R.A. Baxter – 1912 Ownership Map

George Bernard (pronounced Bur-nerd) “Bernie” & Beneta Harriet “Hattie” (James) Beckner – Bernie was born December 4, 1890 in Swan Creek, Illinois where he spent his early life and received his education. He moved to Liman, CO at the age of 18 where he lived until moving to Butte in 1927 where he was miner. Hattie was born August 9, 1896 in Pennsylvania.

Bernie and Hattie were married in Blackfoot, Idaho on July 17, 1935 and moved to Sedan shortly afterward. They bought land near Flathead Pass where they ranched for 34 years. Hattie was remembered as an excellent gardener and was actually able to grow watermelon up Flathead Pass. Beckners would drive their team down from their place to Ernie & Helen Chriskes‘, where they kept their car. Beckners moved to Wilsall in 1972.

Bernie died February 12, 1973 in Wilsall and is buried in the Wilsall Cemetery. Hattie died December 5, 1985 in Wilsall and is also buried in the Wilsall Cemetery.

Beneta had 3 children with Chester Geordge prior to marrying Bernard Beckner. Her children were James Chester, Nord Hayden, and Daniel “Dan” Kent Geordge and all 3 boys attended Sedan School along with Virginia Geordge who was Chester’s daughter from a previous marriage to Elizabeth.

Fritz Becker – Originally from Wilsall. Ran bands of horses on open range north of Sedan. Was said to have had “really good horses.”

Earl Ralph & Ivy Bessie (Walker) Beebe – Earl and Ivy moved to Wilsall from Ryegate in 1931 due to many years of draught and bad storms. They later moved to Sedan from Wilsall in 1938 to land owned by Brebriech. Brebriech originally built the house the Beebe’s lived in on this land for Bob Christie. Earl Beebe milked cows and ranched while he lived on that land until he died in 1948. A baby boy and a baby girl passed away. Their 14 other children were: Alice, Charles “Chuck,” Earl “Birdell,” Beulah, Ellen, Evelyn, Inez, Lester, Art, Joye, Geneva, Margaret Jo “Midge,” Violet & Ivy “Wave.” The Beebe children who attended Sedan School were: Art, Beulah, Charles, Geneva, Inez, Ivy, Lester and Margaret Jo.

Arthur “Art” LeRoy Beebe – Born March 22, 1934, 13th of 14 children. Died March 21, 2017. Buried with Military Honors – Army – Interment Wilsall Cemetery.

Alice Beebe married Kermit Inabnit – Their children were Inez, Iris, & Ted. Both parents and all three children attended Sedan School.

Beulah Beebe was married to William Boegli (of Sedan) who was killed in service. She later married Floyd Christie – also from Sedan.

Charles R. “Chuck” Beebe – Born July 5, 1931 in Broadview, MT. Graduated from Wilsall High School (Home of the Longhorns) in 1950. Died July 1, 2008. Interment Mountain View Cemetery Livingston, MT.

Evelyn Beebe married Reed Palmer and they had 3 children: William “Billy,” James Reed “Jim,” and Harriet. Evelyn later married Lyle Reichman and they had children Patsy Jean and Raymond Earl. All of the children attended Sedan School.

Geneva “Gen” Lucille Beebe was born May 29, 1925 in Ryegate, Montana. Geneva married Arthur Wallace “Wally” Christie (brother of Floyd Christie) on January 15, 1944.

Joye Beebe married Roy Waddell whose family also lived in Sedan.

F.E. Benedict – 1912 Ownership Map

Bill Berhow – Rented the Clark Place in the early 1980s, trained border collies

Bill & Lucille (Williams) Bishop – Lived north of the Woosley Cemetery and had two children Patty & Bob. Bob attended the Sedan School. The Williams were the previous owners of the Henry Woosley Place. The Paul & Lucille Vennes Family lived there later.

Bill Blair – Homesteaded and ranched in this community.
E.G. Blair – 1912 Ownership Map
M.B. Blair – 1912 Ownership Map

Lawrence Harold Blattie & Grace Irene (Lamson) Blattie – Lawrence was born September 22, 1909 in Titonka, Iowa the son of Alfred and Katherine (Spieck) Blattie. Alfred came to America from Switzerland; Katherine was from Ohio.

Lawrence and “one or two” brothers were also born in Iowa. His other brothers and sisters were born in the Kasson-Mantorville area of southern Minnesota. The Blattie family lived in Minnesota until Katherine’s death due to tuberculosis when Lawrence was 12 years old. Lawrence and his siblings were sent to live with several different neighbors splitting up the family. Lawrence’s son, Harold said that Lawrence and his brother Ed changed the spelling of their last name from Blatti to Blattie in response to that experience of being “farmed out” especially after their time spent with one of the families who treated the boys “like slaves.”

Grace Irene was born April 4, 1909 in Bozeman to parents Phelan “Phil” Leroy & Eliza Ann (Cook) Lamson. Grace’s family owned the current Fastje place on the south side of Flathead Creek.

The first house Grace and her parents lived in in Sedan was made of cottonwood logs and was used for 40 years. Grace attended Sedan School and graduated from Wilsall High School.

Lawrence moved to Montana when he was 17 and worked on a dairy farm in Ballantine, MT until he heard there were cheese making jobs in Sedan where he arrived in 1928. Lawrence and Ralph Spring were some of the first cheesemakers at the Cheese Factory.

Lawrence met Grace while he was working for Phil Lamson. Lawrence and Grace were married December 12, 1933 in Livingston.

Grace’s family & Lawrence’s family lived just a few miles from each other in Iowa and they have always wondered if that had anything to do with their getting married. Grace’s father, Phelan “Phil” Leroy Lamson was born in Goldfield, Iowa and her mother, Eliza Ann “Liza” Cook, born in Ontario, Canada.

Lawrence & Grace bought the Orville DeFields Place on the north side of Flathead Creek and farmed there together near her parents until 1966 when Lawrence took a job in Yellowstone National Park. The Blattie family continued to live in Sedan during this time.

There were two houses and an old barn on the place. The barn was built around 1912-1916 and is a large two story building. The upper story was used for storing hay and the ground level has numerous stalls. Blattie’s first lived in what they referred to as the blue house and later moved to the pink house, on the east side of the lane.

Helen Chriske recalled that one of the Blattie homes and Joye Waddell’s home having come from Nye the same year.

Caroline Ellen was born June 20, 1934 and died one month later on July 20, 1934. She and her brother Walter Phelan “Phil,” are buried in the Sedan Cemetery and were listed in Josie Woosley’s Bible as “Blattie Babies.” 

Walter Phelan “Phil,” was born November 3, 1942 and died August 15, 1945 at the age of 2. Phil was a middle child who had “something wrong with his liver.” Helen Chriske recalled that one of the Rexroat boys was helping Grace when Phil died in 1945. Walter Phelan “Phil,” and his sister Caroline Ellen are buried in the Sedan Cemetery and were listed in Josie Woosley’s Bible as “Blattie Babies.”

Lawrence “Harold” Blattie, Jr., the third Blattie child, attended Sedan School where Lawrence was a clerk from 1944 – 1947. Harold became County Commissioner of Molt, Montana.

Lawrence retired from Yellowstone National Park in 1985.

Grace lived in the Sedan area all her life and died on March 14, 1989 in Livingston and is buried in the Wilsall Cemetery.

The Sedan Woman’s Club published a cookbook and reads, “Grace Blattie was an ingredient of this Sedan Community. She passed away in the spring of 1989, just short of her 80th birthday. Her “flavor” remains and blends with the rest. We dedicate this book in memory of Grace,…and to all who have made up our Sedan Community: past, present, and future.”

Lawrence died October 23, 2002 in Columbus, Montana and is buried in Wilsall Cemetery. The pink home on the east side of the lane burned down in July of 2003 when it got hit by lightning.

Howard & Afton Bloxham – Worked for Hod Sanders (Clover Club Potato Chips) who owned land in Sedan but never lived here. Bloxhams lived at the Mark Cowan Place after Marty & Virginia Swandal sold it.

Walter & Louise (Schaeppi) Boegli – Walter was employed at The Cheese Factory. He arrived in the U.S. from Switzerland. They came to Sedan in 1921. Their children were Paul, Donald, Elinor, and Willy. All four attended Sedan School. Walter & Louise spoke Swiss at home with the children until they began school and when they began speaking English.

Donald Ralph Boegli – Was born in Sedan on August 18, 1916 and attended Sedan School. Donald’s parents, Walter and Louise, moved here from Switzerland. Donald was recruited as a “listening post” and was stationed on the Aleutian Islands in Alaska during the war, since he spoke German, Swiss, and English. Don worked for Allen & Alta Woosley for many years. He died August 18, 1993.

Elinor Boegli – Daughter of Walter & Louise. Student at Sedan School in the mid 30s. Married Wallace McHenry of Meyersburg in 1941.

Paul Boegli – Son of Walter & Louise. Student at Sedan School in the mid 30s.

William “Willy” Arnold & Beulah (Beebe) Boegli – William was born April 20, 1919 in Austin, MN. He was the brother of Donald, Paul and Elinor and the son of Walter & Louise Boegli. He died Sept 30, 1944 in World War II on Anguar Island Palau which was a Japanese stronghold. His remains were returned to the United States in 2019 and he was interred May 29, 2019 in Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman, MT with Military Honors U.S. Army.

Beulah (Beebe) Boegli later married Floyd Christie.

Frank Bohart – Ranched here for several years. He was the first man to have a store at Sedan. He lived on the land that is now owned by the Robinsons.

Richard F. & Effie M. Bohart – Listed on 1912 Gallatin County Ownership Map, Listed on the Gallatin County School Census Reports for Sedan #38 from 1911 -1914. Richard & Effie sold land to the Sedan School Board of Trustees District #38 in 1921, so they could build a larger school. Children: Seth 14 yrs., Marjory 10 yrs., Paul 8 yrs., and Richard. Seth was born September 25, 1899. He was a classmate of Henry Woosley and later became a lawyer.

Herman Bolte – Student at Sedan School in the mid 30s.

Bob Boring – Has worked on several local ranches and lived in the yellow house on the Isbell Place.

Art Bowen – Rode cattle freight train to Chicago with Warren Reichman when they were in high school.

James W. & Lucrita Bowen – The most famous freighter of the Shields during the early 1900s, better known as the “Cayuse Kid”. The Cayuse Kid sold his horses to George Shelhamer and moved from the Shields when the railroad came. J.W. Bowen listed on the 1912 Ownership Map. James & Lucrita are listed on 1909 & 1910 Gallatin County School Census Reports for Sedan #38 with children; Inez A. (or Ineza) and Lester F. Bowen. Ed Kaiser was said to have married Mrs. Bowen after his first wife died.

George Breibach – Owned the local bank, had controlling interest of The Sedan Cheese Factory, and owned a large dairy farm. He also owned a bank in Wilsall, now the Bank Bar. Was said to have foreclosed on “everybody” (local ranchers) in 1930s. Hellesmark was a co-owner of The Cheese Factory. Breibach also owned the land Charley and Frances Robinson purchased in 1953 as their current ranch.

Tom Broadway – Old British soldier, trapper, hunter, rancher, and bachelor, who lived to be 93. His land joined the Maddox land and is south of Allen and Alta Woosley’s Place. He owned a section south of Green Canyon by Battle Ridge.

L.G. Brown – 1912 Ownership Map – had a sawmill that was in operation for a short time.

Netta Brown – Attended first term new Sedan School 1901/1902

Brown’s Sawmill – Believed to have been on Brackett Creek. Two Terry Brothers later married two Brown girls and worked at the sawmill which later became known as the the Terry Sawmill.

Mrs. Bryson – Grades 5-8 teacher at Sedan School in October 1935.

Burns Family – Lived on the land which was formerly known as the Clark Place and which later became the site of the Sedan Methodist Church. Children attended Sedan School during the 1920s and 1930s. The children are Bob, Harold, Clarence “Bud,” Henry, Ruth, Dorothy, Wes, and Bruce. These kids either walked to school or used the buggy. Bob married a woman from Butte named Lil. He was considered quite eccentric by the locals.

Burns – Old man Burns was a “Rawleighman” in Clyde Park (see below for more info on Rawleighmen) – Alta Woosley did not believe was the same Burns Family who lived on the Clark Place where the Sedan Church is located.

“Rawleighman.” A quick search on the internet at https://www.wtrawleigh.com/ yielded this information: The W.T. Rawleigh Company has been a friend of the family since 1889 and today customers around the world continue to rely on our quality products, excellent service, and the exceptional ideals and principles on which the company was founded.  In the 1800s, William Thomas Rawleigh established a goal for himself. With only $15, a borrowed horse, a mortgaged buggy, and four types of “Good Health Products,” he set out determined to become a successful businessman. Rawleigh secured a large number of customers with his dependable service, honest methods, and free trials. He would leave products on ‘time and trial’ knowing that the products would sell themselves.” 

Burns went out of business and started farming in Sedan. He then moved near the Woosley Cemetery. Burns later sold the west half of section 17 to Virgil Isbell and Woosleys bought the east half of section 17. 

Roy Waddell tells two stories about incidents occurring at the Burns Place in earlier years as noted in “Tracks Volume I,” “There was a guy living there who always used gas and kerosene lamps which he hung from the ceiling. One night this guy heard a shot. As quick as he could, he blew out all his lamps, grabbed his rifle, and took cover behind the stove. He sat there all night waiting for the people to come back shooting again. They never did but he went down to the Waddells where he stayed the rest of the winter. Roy said they found the next spring that a live bullet had rolled off the top window pane onto a lamp and the heat had set it off…

”Another incident happened there after the Burns were gone. A man named John Gezee got shot through the nose, but he never knew who did it. He was the last person to live there.” 

Dave Burrows – was an Englishman who would not give prospecting for gold at the above mentioned mine. He did, however, live in the mountains for years. Area residents wondered how he lived in the mountains, because apparently no one in Sedan was aware of him ever striking gold. Some say he stole cattle for a living. He was 80 years in 1932 and had been in the area a “mighty long time.” It was stated by Kay Seitz that, “You can’t say that Sedan didn’t have at least one loyal prospector.”

Bush Quarter – Tom Hunter owned the Bush Place which is located on the east side of the county road approximately 3 miles from Sedan heading toward Bozeman. According to Suzanne (Hunter) Walker, “The Bush Quarter Section is the SE 1/4 Section 16 Township 2 North Range 7 E of m.m. This quarter section was part of the school land that John E. Bush purchased. The abstract does not show a purchase date but does show where his estate paid the land off in August 1937.

“Mr. Bush’s Will was included in the Abstract. He was 68 years old in 1929, at the time the Will was written. He left $5.00 to his daughter who lived in Oregon, and all the rest of his estate and property to his brother’s children, who resided in Pennsylvania. Mr. Bush passed away July 16, 1937.

“In April of 1945, Thomas Hunter of Clyde Park, Montana purchased the land from Mr. Bush’s Estate. The taxes were $7.88. Tom drove his cattle from Cottonwood Creek (North of Clyde Park) every spring to the Bush Quarter in a two day drive. He pastured them for a couple of weeks there and then moved them up to the high pasture (known as the Gibson Section and the Lane Quarter). In the fall, cows and calves were gathered from the high pasture and brought back down to the Bush Quarter. From there they were driven back to the home place on Cottonwood Creek.

This land was transferred to Betty, Tom’s wife and later inherited by their daughter Suzanne in 1995. See Hunter family information below on Suzanne’s recollection of these cattle drives.

Kevin & Jeanie Butler – Lived at John Swenson’s Place in the old Vennes home for a while. Kevin worked for the Wilderness Treatment Center. Children Brandon & Aaron

William Buzard – Sedan School’s first teacher 1895

Frank “Slim” & Nola Cady – Ranched the old Shelhamer Place

G.S. “Carp” Carpenter – Owned the Johnson Place at one time which is where Lyle & Tara Swandal lived on the Park & Gallatin County border before moving to the Tacke Place.

Jim Carr – His family lived near the teacherage.

Raymond & Ruby Carr – They lived on the farm that Kirk Koch owned and had two boys; Dayle and Loyd who lived in the area for about 5 years. When Raymond’s mother Mary Carr passed away, Raymond’s 10 year old sister Margaret Carr came to Sedan to live with them in 1929 or 1930. Raymond nor Ruby attended Sedan School, but Margaret did for a few months while she was living with them. Raymond had an auction soon after that and moved to California.

Margaret Carr – Was was raised on the Shields River and moved to Sedan in 1929 or 1930 to live with her brother’s Raymond’s family after her mother passed away. She attended Sedan School for a few months when she was 10 until her brother moved to California. Margaret returned to Sedan in 1947 with her husband Tuck Tuttle and daughter Jeanie where Tuck ran the ranch for M.D. Armstrong until 1952. They left and moved to Big Timber and on to Billings in 1957.

Carrol – Two brothers who lived beyond the Ranger Station west of Sedan. One of the brothers was described as “An old timer who

Carrol / Carroll – Two brothers lived in the Bridger Mountains beyond the ranger station west of Sedan. One of the brothers was described as “An old timer who searched for gold in the area for years.” Carrol Creek which runs through Sedan is likely named for one of these brothers. See Sedan Miscellaneous for more information on Carrol Creek and other creeks in the area.

The spelling on many maps of the area of Carrol Creek does not match the spelling noted below for John H. Carroll though it is most likely that this is the same person:

The information below from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/205547024/john-h.-carroll states that John H. Carroll was buried in the Sedan Cemetery but that has not been confirmed by our research.  The Gallatin County records for burials in Sedan Cemetery have been lost.  The findagrave author of this information surmised that John H. Carroll is buried in Sedan Cemetery since he was a longtime resident of Sedan and since no documents list him as having been buried in the Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman.

John H. Carroll, a ranchman and miner, who has been making his home for some time near Sedan, in the East Flathead country, and one of the picturesque characters of the early mining days in the west, died yesterday evening at 7 o’clock at the Deaconess hospital. The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon from Safley’s undertaking parlors, the services being in charge of Rev. J. E. Parker. The old miner was 83 years and 5 months old, and has been a bachelor all his life. As far as friends know there are no living relatives of the old man. Two weeks ago yesterday, the old man underwent an operation at the hospital but his condition was weak and complications arose which caused his death. Mr. Carroll has been a resident of this part of Montana for the past quarter of a century, and prior to that time, was active in the development of some wealthy mining properties in Colorado. While in Montana (he) has always been identified with mining interests and was, prior to the entrance of the college trained mining engineers into the field of western mining, accounted one of the best trained and wisest in his profession, of any of the miners of the west. In Colorado, where his palmiest days were spent, John Carroll was made rich many times by the strikes he made in the mines of that state. The story of this period of his life, as told by himself or his friends, reads like pages from the romances of the early west. His intimate friends in Bozeman were few, but several who have come in contact with him have been impressed with the force and richness of his nature. 

~~

‘The Missoulian,’ Missoula, MT.

06 Han. 1912: (Excerpted)

Bozeman, Jan. 5. — John H. Carroll..died this evening in the Deaconess hospital here. In the early days of Colorado he made and spent several fortunes, once selling a Leadville mine for $100,000. He was in modest circumstances during the latter years of his life. 

According to findagrave.com, John H. Carroll was born August of 1829 and died January 5, 1912.  As noted above it is unknown exactly where his remains were buried.

Florence Case – Sedan School teacher 1957 -1962.

Pat Casey – Buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Ed Chaple – Indians took off toward his place after Battle Ridge encounter as noted above describing how Battle Ridge got its name.

J. I. Chase Threshing Machine Co. – 1912 Ownership Map

C. Sarah Chaffer – 1912 Ownership Map

Guy Chriske – Was born in Sedan, attended Sedan School and now ranches along Flathead Creek.

Helen Montana (Short) & Ernest “Ernie” Chriske – Helen was born October 4, 1917 in White Sulphur Springs to John Dixon and Ida Marguerite (Fuller) Short. She attended Butte Creek School near her home north of White Sulphur Springs. Ernest and Helen met in White Sulphur Springs when she was working for Ed and Susan Pierce. They married in 1938 and ranched in White Sulphur Springs until they settled in Sedan on Flathead Creek in 1944.

Ernest and Helen bought their land from Charlie Smith. H.R. Reichman owned the land before Smith. It is on the Chriske property that the East Flathead School used to be located. Ernest served as a trustee during the later years of Sedan School, including 1951 – 1963 as all of their children attended Sedan School. Helen was a member of the Sedan Community Club where she served as treasurer for many years. Their children are: Elviera (Chriske) Cotter, Theresa (Chriske) Fries, Alta (Chriske) Bell, Marla (Chriske) Carlson, Karen (Chriske) and Guy Chriske. Ernest died December 22, 1963. Karen passed away in 1965.

Alta (Chriske) Bell fondly recalls the Cheese Factory dances and how the kids would play until they fell asleep on the piles of coats laying around during the dances. She also remembers coming to school at times in snowstorms on a sleigh and team.

Helen died January 21, 2005 in Sedan at the home of her son Guy. Interment Mayn Cemetery White Sulphur Springs, MT.

Daisy D. Chrisman – Came to Montana from Kansas in 1897 to visit 4 aunts in Bozeman. She stayed and attended Montana State College and began teaching at Sedan School. It was noted that, “Some of the students were almost as old as she was and some were larger.” Daisy roomed with the Cashus M. Clay Morrison family. She married their son, Bill on March 21, 1900 in Billings, Montana. In 1901 they moved to a ranch 8 miles east of Wilsall. In February of 1903 Daisy gave birth to twins, a boy George Everett Morrison and a girl, who was born dead.

Christie Family: Alexander “Sandy,” Dave, Donald, William, James, George, Rob, Emma (Curdy) Christie, and Eliza (Camp) Christie.

Alexander “Sandy”(A.S.) & Christina Christie – Trustee 1929/1930 school term. 
Children: Roy and Ruth. They lived in a small house on Butch Waddell’s Place in the late 20s and early 30s. The small house has burned. Ruth married Laurel Inabnit 

Rob & Orpha Christie – Orpha was Rob’s first wife. Rob & Orpha came to Sedan from California in 1930 or ’31. They lived across from Joe Whitman’s Place and later moved to where Beebes lived. Their children wereVern, Kenneth, Glen, Marvin, Juanita (Christie) Hedrick, Eunice (Christie) Behm. and Helen, who died as a young girl.When Orpha died Rob later married her sister, Edith Montgomery. See below.

Rob Christie & Edith (Montgomery) (Covey) Christie – Edith was the second wife of Rob Christie and the sister of his first wife, Orpha. Rob married Edith when Orpha died and left him with many children. Since their family was so large and Mr. Christie milked cows for The Cheese Factory Brebriech built a small house for the Christie family in 1933 or 1934 as the first residents on the Beebe Place.

Rob & Edith had one son named Bob Christie, who attended Sedan School in the mid 40s. Edith had a daughter named Patti (Covey) Wozney. Rob and Edith later lived in the old teacherage in 1948 or 1949. Rob & Edith moved to California from Sedan.

Following Rob’s death and after returning to Sedan Edith was a housekeeper for the Wendell Francis family when his wife, Juanita, died in an automobile accident.

James & Pearl (Berryhill) Christie – James was born October 1887 and raised in Bridger Canyon. James and Pearl were married January 1, 1912 in his parents’ home. Their children were; Floyd born January 8, 1913 in Clyde Park, Agnes born in 1914 died as a baby, Myda born October 22, 1915 in Clyde Park; Leona born December 30, 1917 in the family home at Brackett Creek, Edith (Christie) Wood born March 1, 1920 in California, Lester born July 1922 at the family home in Brackett Creek and Arthur Wallace “Wally” born on the old Shelhamer Place in July of 1924.

All children but Agnes attended Sedan School. The Christie’s lived in several places in Sedan several years apart as well as in California when Edith was born. James and Pearl ranched in Brackett Creek until 1922 when they moved to Sedan. The Christies lived northeast of the Sedan School in Gallatin County (near the county line). They farmed there and raised chickens and sold cream and eggs at the creamery in Wilsall.

Floyd Christie married Beulah Beebe of Sedan, Wallace Christie married Geneva “Gen” Beebe of Sedan, and Lester Christie married Ila Siefert. Myda (Christie) Inabnit and Leona (Christie) Koch lived in Sedan for years and raised their families here. Pearl died in Bozeman in February of 1965 and James died in Livingston in March of 1968.

Arthur Wallace “Wally” Christie & Geneva “Gen” Lucille (Beebe) Christie – “Wally” was born on the old Shelhamer Place July 1924. Geneva was Born May 29, 1925 in Ryegate, MT. Geneva & Wally married on January 15, 1944. “Gen” died April 12, 2005 Missoula, MT.

William S. Christie – Owned Cheese Factory building and was father of Ina (Christie) Denton who taught at Sedan School. Ina and her family lived with William during the time she was teaching in Sedan.

Vance Church – Was a “cowpuncher” and bachelor who lived in Sedan area near the ranger station on land now owned by Pearl D’Ewart. He homesteaded the area on the other side of where Duey and Sarah Nollmeyer now live along Carrol Creek.

Charley Clark – Homesteaded in the community and lived here for several years. He raised a fine family.

Frank J. & Nancy Clark – Listed on Gallatin County School Census Report for Sedan district 38 from 1909 – 1914. Children: Floyd born 1893. and Gladys born 1896. Frank donated land on which the Sedan Methodist Church was built in 1898. His remaining land around the church was sold to Inabnits and then to Tim Petterson. Frank served as a trustee for the Sedan Methodist Church and was also a trustee for the first school term of Sedan School.

Fred B. Colburn – Listed as a child of Frederick W. & Carrie F. Pascoe on the Gallatin County School Census Report for Sedan #38 in 1909 and 1910. Carrie and Fred. B. Colburn are listed on the 1911 and 1912 Gallatin County School Census Reports for District #66 (East Flathead / Pass View School). Her husband is noted as deceased at that time and she is noted as having a son (or being a guardian for) Fred B. Colburn. It is possible that Fred B. Colburn took the name Pasco and is the same person locals later describe as bachelor Fred Pasco.

Brenda Riley Cole

Joe Cole – Shot off end of John Geasy’s nose and killed Dave Humphry.

Addie Kimpton Conrad – Emma Coulter’s niece, who inherited the Coulter place when William shot himself, after his wife was killed in a car accident. Addie then leased this land to Ray Isbell in 1932 and sold it to him in 1947.

Conrad – Homesteaded here, married a niece of Coulter, was a fine rancher who died a young man.

Maude Cook – Sedan School teacher during the 1897/98 school term

Dewey & Alice Cooper – Dewey was a logger while they lived in Sedan. They had several children some of them attended Sedan School. Bobby, Brad, Diane, and Wayne attended Sedan School. Wayne died of spinal meningitis while attending school. Verna Lu Landis took Wayne to the hospital in Bozeman where he died. Battle Ridge was impassable during that time, so she had to take him through Livingston (where they refused to treat him) and on to Bozeman. Other children were Lori and Billy Scott.

Sybil (Spencer) Corrigan – Mrs. Corrigan was Roberta (Spencer) Fastje’s sister and Anita (Inabnit) Petterson’s 6th grade teacher at Sedan School. Anita recalls Sybil taught for a portion of 1946. It was a tough winter and Sybil walked from Fastje’s to teach. Mr. Wilson replaced her mid-year, perhaps prior to the Christmas program.

William D. & Emma Coulter – Bought land from John W. Van Doren on December 12, 1899 for $2,000. June 13, 1901, John bought more land which is currently the Isbell ranch. On May 11, 1911, he bought more land. He and Emma ran cattle, horses, and sheep. Emma was blind and died one day when Mr. Coulter tipped their Model T car over. He mourned her death and later killed himself on October 10, 1923. Addie Kimpton Conrad, Emma’s niece, inherited the land who leased it to Ray Isbell.

Mark & Florence Cowan – Great-grandfather to Thomas James Francis. Ranched in this community for several years. Daughter: Juanita (Cowen) Frances.

W.C. Culkin – Ownership map 1912

Ben & Alice Ann (Platt) Culver – Alice was born March 10, 1953. Ben & Alice settled in Sedan at an early date. Their son, Benny Culver, attended the first term of Sedan School. Mrs. Culver died November 17, 1900 and is buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Bill & Sydney “Pearl” (Gwaltney) D’Ewart – Bill’s father Wesley D’Ewart was a member of the Montana House of Representatives from 1937 to 1939; a member of the Montana Senate from 1941 – 1945 and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from June 5, 1945 to January 3, 1955.

Sydney “Pearl” was born February 3, 1917 at home on the Clarence Walton Ranch east of Wilsall beneath the Crazy Mountains to parents Artie Carrelton “Cot” and Emma (Dietz) Gwaltney.   Pearl was the second of seven children. 

Pearl’s father ranched and worked for the county.  At one time Artie worked on the Hill Ranch below Goat Mountain and the family lived in the house that Mike & Cindy (Landers) Block lived in when ranching up the Shields on the Spear Lazy U.

Pearl attended school in Livingston, Wilsall and Lat and worked for Paul and Dorothy Working caring for their daughter.  After the 1935 earthquake high school classes were held in the Miles Hotel on Cooper Street. Pearl’s mother and brother Bud died six weeks apart in 1936.  Pearl graduated from Wilsall in 1937.

Bill and Pearl married June 7, 1937 and settled on the D’Ewart Ranch west of Wilsall. 

Son Richard Frank “Dickie” was born July 5, 1938.

The D’Ewarts raised cattle together on over 9,000 acres of ranchland. They first started out with dairy cows selling milk to Yellowstone National Park then switched to commercial beef cattle in 1950.

Bill and Pearl did not live in Sedan but owned land in Sedan below the Bridgers where the Forest Service parking lot is at the West end of Seitz Road known as the former Vance Church Place.  The D’Ewarts also owned land where the Ainger Ranger Station stands.

“Dickie” died in October 1950 in a tractor accident when he was 12 years old.

Bill and Pearl adopted daughter Eleanor Lee “Mitzi,” soon after she was born June 12, 1952.  Mitz died April 6, 2017.

Bill and Pearl were married for 37 years when he died in 1970.

Pearl was featured on the September page in the “Ranch Women of Park County 2003-04” Calendar sponsored by the Alliance Development Corporation of Park County.

Siblings Walter James “Brownie Gwaltney and Alta (Gwaltney) Woosley lived in Sedan.  Alta was a longtime Sedan resident married to Allen “Gump” Woosley.

Pearl died October 23, 2018 at the age of 101 interred at Mountain View Cemetery Livingston, MT.

Dall – Homesteaded here.

Bill Daugherty Family – Children Jack and Tom attended school at Sedan during the 1920s and 1930s. It is believed that son, Bill Jr. was probably too old to have attended Sedan School. There was also a daughter names Beulah who attended Sedan School. They lived on what is now known as “the Ross Kime Place” prior to Ross Kime living there.

Beulah Daugherty – Attended Sedan School -Married Russell Eagler of Clyde Park.

Bill Daugherty Jr. – Children Woodrow and Willetta attended Sedan School and were in the same grade as Warren Reichman.

Jack & Alythe Daugherty – Lived in a cabin which is now a cow camp owned by Tim and Anita Petterson. It is said that between 1945-1950, he was found with his head cut off supposedly by a chain saw. However, this story has not been proven since it was thought that chain saws were not yet manufactured at that time. Later the story was amended to state that he moved to Washington and lost his head in a logging accident.

Tom Daugherty – Bachelor who lived in Sedan area.

J.T.Davidson – Listed on 1912 Ownership Map. He was a dentist. Sold land to Inabnits.

William A. Davidson – Listed on the 1910 School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38. Children; Anna E., Nannie P., and Josephine. William is then listed on the 1911 and 1912 School Census Reports of Gallatin County for Sedan District #66 as divorced with the 3 children.

Harry Davis – Listed on the 1913 Sedan School Census Report of Gallatin County as the adopted son of Denver & Marion Kannegaard, however, he is also listed as the adopted son of Andrew & Anna (Polson) Johnson Kannegaard.

M.S. Dawes – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Dave Dearman – Lived on the Ross Kime Place.

Orville J. & Louise M. DeFields – He homesteaded here. They had a big dairy barn, ran Holstein cattle, and Orville played the violin at dances at the Cheese factory. Their land was bought by Lawrence and Grace Blattie who bought the place when they were married. Children George H. & Lucille G. attended Sedan School. The DeFields family is listed on the Gallatin County School Census Reports as residing in District #38 in 1909 with children George (born 1908) and Arthur (born 1895). In years 1910, 1911 and 1914 only George is listed. In 1912 George and Lucille (born that year) are listed with their parents as residing in Sedan District #65.

Ina (Christie) Denton – Sedan School teacher – finished out the 1947/1948 school term in the primary grades for Eva Lachenmaier who was on maternity leave. Ina’s daughter Eva Lee attended Sedan School while Ina was teaching there. Ina’s father is William S. Christie who owned the Cheese Factory building while Ina was teaching in Sedan. Ina and her family lived with Ina’s father during the time she taught at Sedan.

Christian “Chris” & Mary (Woosley) Dobler – (Pronounced Doe-blur) Chris was born August 18, 1932. He never lived in Sedan. Chris graduated from MSU and worked for NASA. He died February 26, 1997 and is buried in Woosley Cemetery. Mary is Allen Woosley’s sister.

George Donnell – Lived in Sedan, moved a house from Fraser Lake to where Ole Swandal’s Place was.

Mike & Peg DuHoux –Worked for the Wilderness Treatment Center.

John W. Duncan – Was a guy who worked for Allen who is buried in Woosley Cemetery. His grave is marked with the only wooden headstone in the cemetery. See Sedan Cemetery for photo of the marker.

George Dunn – Owned land Nollmeyers bought on what is now Seitz Road West.

Larry Easterbrook – Attended Sedan School

Harley & Hazel Ellison – They lived in the old home on Tim and Petterson’s place on Bridger Canyon Road. Larry and Adair were they children and both attended Sedan School.

Johnnie Emhoff – Family settled in Sedan at an early date, and his children attended first term of the second building of the Sedan School (1901/1902). One child was named Johnnie Emhoff.

Fred Enger – Believed to be Fred Ainger as noted above.

M. P. Evans – 1912 Ownership Map

Nathaniel P. & Sarah Evans – Listed on 1909 and 1910 Gallatin County School Census Reports for Sedan #38 with children Edwin W. and Ruth A. Ruth is again listed in 1911 and 1913, not Edwin.

Arthur E. “Art”& Roberta Margaret “Bert” (Spencer) Fastje – Art was born December 13, 1911 in Havre, Montana to parents Henry and Catherine Fastje and two brothers; Barney and William. Art received his education in the Havre area and worked for a time on a sheep ranch in Melville.

Roberta was born on the family ranch in Cleveland, Montana, (Blaine County) south of Chinook on May 18, 1915, the eldest daughter of parents Robert and Margaret (Griffin) Spencer. Roberta spent her early life on a ranch in the Bearpaw Mountains where she attended a local one-room school for eight years. Roberta graduated from Chinook High School in 1934 and attended Northern Montana College at Havre where she earned a teaching certificate in 1936.

Art & Roberta were married on May 18, 1936 in Havre, MT. Roberta taught grade school in country schools in Blaine and Hill Counties. Two children born in Havre; Myrna in 1941 and Robert in 1943. Robert & Myrna both attended Sedan School and graduated from high school in Wilsall.

Before moving to Flathead Creek in Sedan, Art went to Alaska and worked on a dairy for a short time while investigating the possibility of moving there.

Art and Roberta, along with Art’s brother, Barney bought the the Lester “Shorty” Faw Ranch on Flathead Creek in 1946 Art, Barney and father Henry raised sheep and a few head of cattle. Art later bought out his brother and father’s shares of the ranch operation. Art helped the U.S. Forest Service watch for fires in the area and he was the local TV repairman for the Shields Valley for many years. Art also played the saxophone by ear at dances above the Cheese Factory in Sedan and in Wilsall and Havre.

Roberta taught at Sedan School during the 1951/1952 school year and was a clerk from 1953-1957. Art was a trustee of Sedan School for several years. Roberta’s sister Sybil Corrigan also taught at Sedan School.

Art died October 3, 1997 at his home in Sedan. Roberta died March 6, 2006 at Gallatin Rest Home in Bozeman. Art and Roberta are buried in the Wilsall Cemetery.

Barney Fastje – Bachelor brother of Art and son of Henry Fastje. Tim Petterson told of how he remembers Barney Fastje stumbling across a letter at the Pasco Place (which is now the corner of Fastje and Flathead Creek Roads. Lester “Shorty” Faw bought the old Inabnit Store and moved it to the old Pasco Place). The letter was from a family member of either Faw or Pasco who had survived the Titanic.

Kay Seitz, who was a neighbor of the Fastje’s had this to say about Barney and Henry: “Barney lived in Sedan for as long as I can remember. He lived on the upper Fastje place with his dad. They took care of the sheep and they had an authentic sheep herder’s wagon and everything. Mr. Fastje, (Barney’s dad – Henry) was a wonderful old gentlemen, who was quiet and never said much.) He was always kind to all of us kids and we all loved him.

Barney was a bachelor. He was good looking, fun and always good to all of us youngsters in the community. He loved the dances at the Old Cheese Factory and would dance every dance, and even dance with ‘us kids’ now and then. He always bought whatever we were selling at school and always had a kind word for us.

He was probably the best story teller I’ve ever heard. He would often stop at our house on a winter evening and visit. He could entertain us with stories for hours on end. They were always so exciting and full of action.

Barney was always there to help whenever help was needed. He put shoes on our horses so we could ride them to school, he helped with branding and anything else that was needed.

As the years went by he eye sight failed and he couldn’t see very well. Barney still drove on the country roads, but not on the major ones. He always had his dog in the back of his truck and went slowly.

He was diagnosed with cancer in the late 1970’s and was in a nursing home in Billings, Montana for a time before he passed away. His funeral and burial were in Havre, Montana.

Barney was a good guy. The kind you could depend on, a wonderful friend and the kind of man that this world needs a lot more of.”

Henry Fastje – Father of Art and Barney, raised sheep and a few head of cattle in Sedan. Art later bought out his father’s and brother’s shares of the ranch.

Robert & Bonnie (Graham) Fastje – Bonnie and Robert were married in 1965 in Livingston and are now ranching along Flathead Creek. Their children are Deb born in 1969 and Justin born in 1972.

Lester “Shorty” & Alberta Faw – Bought the old Inabnit Store building and moved it to the old Pasco Place which is now at the corner of Fastje and Flathead Creek Roads. He moved the building to make it into a house, but it was never finished and Barney Fastje later used it as a lambing shed. Tim Petterson told of how he remembers Barney Fastje stumbling across a letter found (some time after Shorty vacated the building) which described how a family member of either Faw or Pasco had survived the Titanic. Children were Ellis, Sharon, Roger, Donna, and Bob. Ellis attended Sedan School then Faw family left the area.

Ferguson Brothers – Sons of John Ferguson, ranched here several years, sold out, moved to Hardin, MT.

J.F. Ferguson – Trustee at Sedan School 1898/1899 term

John Ferguson – Homesteaded here and raised a large family. He was a “bull whacker,” helped freight into Virginia City in the sixties, ranched, and ran stock.

John Fisher – 1912 Ownership Map

Jim Flathers – bachelor who lived back in the hills. Reichmans were his nearest neighbor – See “The Valley of Unmarried Men” by Warren N. Reichman.

M. Fleming -1912 Ownership Map

Harry Flowers – Homesteaded here and served in World War I.

Rev. W.G. Forbir / Forbis – Present when cornerstone laid for Sedan Methodist Church March 9, 1898.

Sam Foreman – Sam and his wife were Canadians, who homesteaded and ranched in this area. They lived 1/2 mile below the Webber place at the south end of Elkhorn Ridge about one mile north of Chriskes’. Mrs. Foreman was a sister of Liza Lamson. Some records state that Mrs. F.E. Allison was also a sister of Mrs. Foreman & Mrs. Lamson though this has been disputed as Liza Lamson’s obituary makes no mention of Mrs. Allison.

John H. & Martha Foster – Listed on the 1910 Gallatin County School Census Report for District #38. Children; Alice, Anna, and Dolfus.

Ed Fox – Brother to Harry. – Homesteaded here, was a musician, handyman, and good carpenter.

H.J. Fox – 1912 Ownership Map

Harry Fox – A rancher in the Sedan area, who had an outstanding life as a young man. He used to ride a high wheeled bicycle in a circus, but he got in a wreck and got hurt. After that he became a circus clown. He was also a fine auctioneer and raised fine horses.

Clarence & Jessie (Guffey) Francis – The Francis family Migrated to Montana from Missouri in the early 1900s and settled at a ranch west of Wilsall. Clarence attended Sedan School in the 1920s and 19303. They had 3 boys Claude, Clyde, & Wendell. Claude & Clyde were twins. All three boys attended Sedan School.

Claude & Edith (Sumner) Francis – Lived at Wendall Francis’s Place across from what is now Woosley’s roping barn. Both of their children; Charlene and Claudie, attended Sedan School. Claude’s second wife was believed to be a woman named Betty.

James & Elsie Francis – Bought their place in Sedan in 1910. Sent children to Sedan School during the 1920s and 1930s. Parents of Clarence Francis.

James Wendell & Juanita (Cowan) Francis – Lived across from what is now Woosley’s roping barn. James was the son of Clarence Francis and Jessie (Guffey) Francis, Born in Green Castle, Missouri in 1915. James and Juanita were married in 1936. Their son (Thomas) James attended Sedan School during the 1920s and 1930s. They also had a daughter named Nancy who attended Sedan School.

Wendell, as he was also known, served as a trustee for Sedan School in the 1940s and early 1950s. Juanita used to play piano for dances above the Cheese Factory and at the Sedan School. Art Fastje played the sax. Florence and Mark Cowan were Juanita’s parents. Later Wendell and Juanita moved to Juanita’s folks’ place (at the county line) and then a daughter Sandy was born. Juanita died in a car accident. Edith (Mrs. Rob) Christie was the housekeeper and babysat Sandy.

Lyle Woosley recalls as a young boy attending a card party one night with his parents at Juanita Francis’ home. Knowing these card parties tended to go late into the night and the kids would fall asleep before they were over, Lyle asked Juanita where he’d be sleeping. They could, Juanita replied, “Hang him on a nail somewhere.” Lyle said he didn’t sleep that night as they weren’t hanging him on a nail!

Thomas James “Jim” Francis & Bonnie (O’Hair) Francis – Thomas James was born to Wendell and Juanita Francis in Livingston. He was raised on the family ranch acquired in Sedan in 1910. Thomas James attended grade school in Sedan (approximately 1/4 of mile from his home) and graduated from high school in Wilsall in 1959. Jim worked for his dad on both his father’s (Wendell) and grandfather’s ( Clarence) land. He remembers stacking loose hay and using a team of horses to feed. Jim and Bonnie had known each other since they were both about 12 years old and were married in 1964. They moved to the ranch at Sedan and raised sheep. Thomas James is the grandson of Mark and Florence Cowan.

James L. & Mary Francis – Listed on the 1909 – 1911 Gallatin County School Census Reports for District #38. Child; William

Dan & Judi (Woosley) Fraser – Judi is the daughter of Allen and Alta Woosley. Frasers near the Woosley’s roping barn. Children Jodi and Wylie. Jodi is credited with with having come up with the nickname “Gump,” for her grandfather, Allen, for which he was known by many.

Frazier Lake – Built by the CCC Boys in the 1940s. See Sedan Misc for more information on location of Ainger Lake, Frazier Lake and creeks in the Sedan area.

Marty & Julie Freeman – Lived on John Swenson’s Ranch which was the old Vennes Place and later moved to the Fastje Ranch where Marty works. Children McKenzie and Colton.

Leonard “Smokey” Frikke – Was a caretaker for the Gays and I Am Third ranch. He also worked for Charley Robinson for many years.

Arnold P. & Bess Gambell – Listed on the 1911 Gallatin County School Census Report for School District #66 with child Ambros H.

Percy & Bessie Gamble – Listed on the 1910 Gallatin County School Census Report for District #38 with child Herman. Perhaps same family listed above and below and child’s name is Ambros Herman.

Pierce Gamble – Homesteaded and ranched in the Sedan area for several years. He sold his ranch, moved to Wilsall country and farmed for several years He later moved to Bozeman.

Henry Gay – Came to Sedan from Silicone Valley, California and put up the money to purchase the Seitz Place. Henry and sisters Greta and Carolyn started the “I Am Third Ranch and the Trinity Bridger Cattle Company. Their place later became the King of Hearts Ranch.

Greta (pronounced Greet a) married Robert C. Mathis, a four start general. They are the Mathis family who started Eagle Mount. Carolyn’s husband Burl Winchester raised Angus cattle and bought a reputation cattle herd for the place. Burl’s brother, Dwight Winchester managed the place and lived in the house that Greg and Pat Seitz built north of Flathead Creek Road West now Tim and Cindy Zupan’s house. “Smokey” Leonard Frikke was a hired man for Gays and lived in the earth home on the King of Hearts Ranch where Dewey and Linda Zupan live.

At some point Gays’ cattle were found to have a genetic defect (recessive gene) which affected the entire herd and caused the demise of the operation. Burl and Carolyn lived on their place known as Winchester Angus west of Bozeman. They have both passed away.

John Gezee, Geasie, Geasy – Freighter, rancher, and for several years was a road supervisor in Sedan. He was also a bachelor, who had the end of his nose shot off by Joe Cole.

Chester David “C.D.” Geordge (pronounced Gorge) – Chester was born in Nephi, Utah on October 4, 1875. He met Elizabeth Edwards in England while with “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.” They were married in Utah about 1896. They had 3 children; Ellis (born in 1899), Eva, and Virginia. Elizabeth died at John Day, Oregon between 1913 and 1916.

Chester joined “Montana Ann’s Wild West Show” and while in Pennsylvania he met and married Harriet “Benita” James. Chester & Harriet also known as “Hattie” had 3 children; James (born in Livingston), Nord (born in Beaver, UT on March 9, 1921) and Dan Kent (born in Sedan).

Chester and Hattie ranched north of the Fastje ranch up on the Daughtery Place (what is now the cow camp of Tim and Anita Petterson on Petterson Road) in the 20s for several years. James, Nord, and Dan all attended Sedan School in the 1920s and 1930s.

Chester & Hattie divorced, she moved to Butte and eventually married Bernard (pronounced Bur nerd) Beckner who was a miner from Butte and was said to have been a very nice man. She and Beckner came to Sedan and lived near Flathead Pass. Chester remained a bachelor after Hattie left.

Dan Geordge – Son of Chester and Hattie Geordge and a student at Sedan School in the mid 30s

Ellis Geordge – Son of Chester & Elizabeth Geordge. Owned the Sedan Store near the school after Joe Webber did.

Eva Geordge – Daughter of Chester & Elizabeth Geordge

James Geordge – Son of Chester and Hattie Geordge and a student at Sedan School

Nord Geordge – Nord was a son of Chester and Hattie Geordge and a student at Sedan School. He graduated from Wilsall High School in 1939. Nord died February 21, 2006 in Salmon, Idaho.

Virginia Geordge – Daughter of Chester & Elizabeth Geordge. Student at Sedan School after her father remarried (Hattie). Virginia married a man named Chippendale.

Clarence & Bertha George – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910, child Dorethy

Mr. Gerard / Girard / Jerard – He homesteaded here and died on his homestead. He is buried in Sedan Cemetery. A black man took care of him and got the ranch when he died. It went by the name of the “Nigger’s Place” for years.

Mr. & Mrs. Gerrard – Traded their place in Sedan for Jack & Beulah McKeown’s home in Billings in October 1935. McKeown’s later sold to Alfred & Ethel Wilson. This was a log home at the foothills of the Bridgers and five miles northwest of Sedan School.

Gibson Section – This section of land changed hands many times. It is not known if Mr. Gibson ever resided in Sedan or if anyone ever lived on his section of land. The following is the deed chain as submitted by Carol (Hunter) Woosley for Section 13, 3N 6E: US gov to Northern Pacific Railroad (NP RR); NP RR to Erve G. Blair, etal; Blair to Blair-Penwell Ranch Co.; Blair-Penwell Ranch to Walter C. Thompson, Sheriff, Gallatin Co.; to Clara N. Albertson; Clara N. Albertson; to Guy and Gilbert Gibson; Guy Gibson to Gilbert R. Gibson; Gilbert R Gibson to Thomas R. Hunter. It was then passed on to Nancy E. Hunter when Tom Hunter died, and to Mary and Carol (Hunter) when their mother, Nancy died.

John F. & Cassie Gillian – Listed on the 1913 and 1914 Gallatin County School Census Reports for Sedan #38 with child; Dee (male).

Hurley Godwin – A bachelor in the community who was well liked. He came to the valley from Missouri. He became the Sedan School wagon driver sometime during the 1920s He worked for various ranchers in the area, he knew everybody and they knew him. When he died he was mourned by a host of friends but no relatives. See “The Valley of Unmarried Men” by Warren N. Reichman.

Arthur E. & May Gravell – Listed on 1911 School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38, child Marilin.

Arthur Ray & Birdine Irene (George) Gray – Arthur Ray was born 11/13/1905 in Cuba, Kansas. Birdine was born 9/10/1919 in Musselshell, Montana. Ray and Birdine met at a county dance and were married in 1934 and lived in Roundup. Ray worked at a sawmill until Birdine and Charles Riggs inherited the ranch in Sedan behind Joye Waddell’s place near Vennes’s. (Charles was Birdine’s stepbrother through her mother Birdine’s mother Velma Birtha Reighard-George-Riggs’s marriage to Charles Riggs.

Ray and Birdine’s children were: Larry (12/24/1935 – died as an infant in the hospital where he was born ) Terry Lowell (10/13/1937, Roundup, MT), Patrick Wayne (5/16/1941, Roundup, MT), Mary Yvonne “Vonnie” Gray-Durkin-Gray (later married a Durkin and then another Gray) born 6/1/1943, Roundup, MT,and Doris Gail “Corki” Gray Leite Wilson, 12/5/1946, Roundup, MT.

All the Gray children n attended Sedan School through 8th grade (with the exception of Larry). Birdine also attended Sedan School through the 8th grade. The Gray children raised sheep, pigs, and dairy cows. The Grays grew wheat which they sold in town along with wool, and cream. Birdine used to bake maple sticks and bear claws. Beverly Landis and Corki Gray were friends. Bev says she remembers stopping at Velma’s house on the way home from school (Velma lived near the Sedan School in a home which at one time became the Sedan Store). Pat graduated from Wilsall High School in 1958.

The Gray family moved to Grants Pass, Oregon where Ray died June 11, 1970 and Birdine died in 1974. Pat died in Grants Pass in 2004.

Green Canyon – Located southeast of the Pergande Place. This canyon was named after the Green family who resided there and was the site of many local community baseball games. The Hunter family also lived in Green Canyon.

Green Family – Family who resided southeast of the Pergande Place and whom Green Canyon is named after which was the site of many local community baseball games as recounted by Butch Waddell and Russell Robinson.

Neil E. Grimes – Buried in the Woosley Cemetery. His wife was Alta (Gwaltney) Woosley‘s sister Pat. He lived in Washington.

Dick Guernsey – Homesteaded here, sold his homestead and left the country.

Walter J. “Brownie” & Anne A. (Prevetz) Gwaltney – Brownie was born June 21, 1923 in Wilsall the son of Artie C. and Emma L. (Dietz) Gwaltney. He attended Wilsall School where he spent his early life. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1941 during World World II where he served on the repair ship USS Regal in the South Pacific. He worked as a welder repairing war-damaged ships of the American fleet. When he was discharged in 1947 he returned to Wilsall where he worked as a ranch hand. Brownie was an accomplished horseman and participated in many area rodeos.

October 1, 1949 Brownie and Anne married in Livingston where they lived for a short time before moving to Helena where Brownie worked as a welder, blacksmith and draftsman for 18 years. Brownie also served as a deputy sheriff for Jefferson County and then as a guard in the Federal Reserve Bank in Helena.

After retiring they came to the Sedan where Brownie used to work as a boy. Brownie was the brother of Alta (Gwaltney) Woosley, Sydney “Pearl” (Gwaltney) D’Ewart , Robert D. “Bob” Gwaltney, Glenna, Pat (Gwaltney) Grimes, and brother, Artie C. who died at age 16 of rheumatic fever. Brownie died June 28, 2006 at Diamond K Lodge in Livingston and was buried in the Wilsall Cemetery.

John S. “Pegleg” & Mary V. Haley – Lived in Sedan on Section 7. His place was known as the “Sacajawea Ranch,” and was later owned by the Venneses and the Nollmeyers. Listed on the1913 and 1914 Gallatin County School Census Report for Sedan #38. Children: Mary 7 years, Caroline 5 years, and John 4 years.The 3-sided log home was built in 1917 using logs from what is now Pearl D’Ewart’s Place. It was said to have been the first home in the area with indoor plumbing?? There was a huge barn on the place that looked as though it was large enough to winter cattle in. Haley is said to have gone broke and lost the place in 1919.

Miss Sallie Hamlett – Sedan School teacher in the early 60s.

Blake Hammer – Homesteaded here, but spent most of his life in the Big Hole country.

Jack Hammer – Homesteaded and ranched for several years. Jack had been a government messenger for several years, and a policeman in Butte for a time.

Ben Hamelton – An early settler, who sold his ranch to John Hopkins.

Dave & Nancy Hancock – Worked for “I Am Third” ranch, had 3 children.

Mrs. Hare – Sedan School teacher 1964/1965.

Eunice, Mark & Pauline Hargis – Students at Sedan School.

Doc & Orris Harris – Owned the land north of the Johnson Place, where Lyle & Tara Swandal lived. Doc & Orris had 7 children. He was a doctor in Livingston. He and his family came here only in the summers.

Mrs. Zillian Hawthorne – Sedan School teacher 1950/1951. Her son was named Lester and was believed to have been a student at Sedan School. Helen Chriske recalled Mrs. Hawthorne as having been from Ringling.

Wilbur “Bill” & Olive Maxine (McHenry) Heiser – Olive attended Sedan School. Bill worked around on the ranches of Sedan for a time and they later moved to Oregon and Washington.

Sevilla Helfrich – Listed in Gallatin County School Census Report for Sedan. Husband deceased, Child Paul B. 8 years old.

John Selmer Hellesmark – Born July 15, 1891, in Moi, Norway. Last owner of The Cheese Factory. He also had the Farmer’s Creamery in Livingston and a contract to provide milk to Yellowstone National Park; he picked milk up in Sedan sometime between 1928 and 1936. He died on July 25, 1963.

LaVetta Hembroff – Sedan School teacher first term 1929/1930 school year.

Asa & Ruth Grenell (Porter) Henness – Asa was born December 12, 1870 to parents Isaac N. & Harriet S. (Berry) Henness in Salem, Oregon.  Ruth was born April 25, 1880 in Clackamas County Oregon to parents Lark and Lillian Huntley (Kiser) Porter. 

Asa and Ruth married March 18, 1908 in Ilwaco, Washington.  Their wedding ceremony announcement as published in their local newspaper states, “Both of the contracting parties belong to two of the oldest families in the county.”  On the day of their wedding they left for Montana, “Where they had an ideal home life until her sudden death” as stated in Ruth’s funeral announcement.

A land deed dated April 27, 1910 shows Asa bought Lots 1,2, &3 of SE Quarter Section 4, Township 2, North of Range 7 East of MPM 236.99 acres, 636 acres from James & Martha Woosley.  Some of this land later became the Sedan Cemetery.

Ruth died after giving birth to son Asa Porter Henness October 29, 1910. 

Asa Porter Henness died at birth along with his mother Ruth on October 29, 1910.  Ruth and son noted as “Henness Baby” in Josie Woosley’s bible are both buried in the Sedan Cemetery.  A photo of their ornate, shared headstone can be found at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26598488/ruth-grenell-henness.

Ruth’s father Lark Porter of Silverton, Oregon was residing in Sedan with wife Lydia Lydia Mae (Van Gorder Russell) Porter and their children by 1911 according to the 1911 School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38.

Asa & Helen (Barber) Henness – Helen was born May 11, 1880 in Plymouth, Wisconsin and taught school there until moving to Livingston in 1912.  Asa married Helen in 1915 in Livingston, MT and they ranched “near Wilsall” until Asa’s death. 

Asa date of death is listed as October 5, 1954 in Bozeman, MT at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26598517/asa-henness and is death is also stated apparently erroneously as 1955 in information pertaining to Helen.  Asa is also buried in the Sedan Cemetery. His headstone reads: “1870-1954.”

Helen “taught in rural Park County schools for many years.” according to findagrave.  She moved to Livingston in 1957. 

Helen died in 1969 in Livingston survived by nephew Harrie B. Landers of Wilsall.   Helen is also buried in Sedan Cemetery. Helen’s headstone reads: “May 11, 1880-June 6, 1969,” however at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26598542/helen-henness Findagrave states, “The headstone is incorrect – true month of death per death certificate is January not June.”  Therefore, it appears as though her date of death was January 6, 1969.

Merle Henry – Owned the Landis Place that the Lester Miller family lived in near the Sedan Store and School. Had a daughter named Marilyn. He sold it in 1949 which forced the Miller family to move.

Mrs. Sol P. Heron – She was a sister of the Myers brothers and came here from Missouri on a wagon with the late Mrs. Bill Officer. More information noted about her above on how Battle Ridge got its name.

Chuck & Frances (Jones ) Hewitt – Frances’ family is the Jones family that Jones’s Corner is named after. Chuck and Frances lived on the Jones Place across the creek and west of her parents. She was a local housewife with teaching certificate who conceded to teach school only until another teacher could be hired during World War II years. Mrs. Hewitt taught from 9/14/42 – 10/43 and also taught during the 1950/1951 term along with Mrs. Erma Willes. Chuck was the Sedan mail carrier after Ike Sanders retired in 1954.

Gladys Holgate – Was a teacher in Sedan and lived in a shack with her brother Dean where Pergandes lived. Dean attended Sedan School. Gladys married Jack Inabnit.

Bob & Val Hood – Lived at Jones’s Place and worked for Armstrong.

Charles Hooper – His baby is listed as buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Fannie Hooper – Homesteaded in this community and rancher here for several years. He sold his ranch and went into the well drilling business. He drilled most of the wells in this area.

Joe Hoozier – Adrian Inabnit may know more about him.

John Hopkins – 1912 Ownership Map – He bought his land from Ben Hamelton and ran cattle. He was a trustee for the 1910/1911 school year.

Bob & Lisa Hosfield – Lived in the old Koch Place near the Sedan School. They have a son named Royal Tyrell. Bob and Lisa divorced.

Dave Humphry – He was a homesteader, rancher, and freighter. He had several teams and freighted merchandise to Castle, Montana. He was shot by Joe Cole and is buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Thomas S. & Gladys Humphery – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909, all children listed with last name Maybill; Francis J., Millie or Nellie, Alford E., Nelson O., Lewis B., and Alice . In the1910 all children but Francis were listed. In 1911 the report lists husband deceased, Humphery family in District #66 with children Nelson, Lewis, and Mable.

Guy & Mary (Francis) Hunter – Lived in Green Canyon. Listed on the School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1914. Their children were Allen, Alice, Everett, Lula, Nina, Ruth, and Tom. The only children listed on the above named Census Report in 1914 were Lula, Nina, Alice, Ruth, and Thomas. Mary had a brother named Oscar who was listed as residing in the household at the time of the report. Guy and Thomas Royal were brothers.

Everett & Evelyn (Lane) Hunter – Mrs. Hunter was formerly Miss Lane the Sedan School teacher of Grades 1-4 teacher supposedly in October of 1935 (see conflicting information below). Everett was the son of Guy and Mary (Francis) Hunter. In a poem that was written about him at the time he passed away his family refers to him being born on the Green Canyon Ranch near Sedan. And further in the poem they say that:

“Henry Woosley’s ranch was near the Sedan school. There a young gal named Evelyn Lane, Taught the golden Rule. Everett and Evelyn soon married, And decided to settle down, They left the Flathead Creek area, And, moved to town.”

Everett was the brother of Nina (Hunter) Woosley.

According to Evelyn’s obituary she graduated from Western Montana College at Dillon in 1937 with a degree in education. She taught in the Big Horn, Gallatin and Park Counties for a short time. However it does not list the schools she taught in.

Everett and Evelyn were married in 1937 at St Anthony, Idaho. It is not known how long Evelyn taught at Sedan but Everett and Evelyn kept their marriage a secret for awhile because she was not supposed to be married and teach. According to their daughter Sherry (Hunter) Davis.

Thomas Royal “Tom” & Nancy Elizabeth “Betty” (McHenry) Hunter – Had seven brothers and two sisters that lived (one died as a baby); Betty married Thomas Royal “Tom” Hunter who was Nina (Hunter) Woosley’s brother. Both Betty and Tom are buried in the Woosley Cemetery. Tom owned the Bush Place which is located on the east side of the county road approximately 3 miles from Sedan heading toward Bozeman. They also owned land above Petterson’s Cow Camp bordering Guy Chriske’s Place. Their children were Carol Viola, Mary Ethel, Margery Ruth, Thomas David, and Suzanne. Both Tom & Betty lived in Sedan as children but did not live here after they were married. Tom lived with his sister Nina in Sedan along with his brother Everett. They were married in Bozeman and lived in the Spring dale area on Charlie Francis’s Place until they moved to their ranch on Cottonwood Creek in 1937. That is where they lived until they died. Tom died on the ranch and Betty died in Livingston. Betty attended Sedan School.

Tom Hunter purchased the Bush Quarter Section (16 Township 2 N Range & E of m.m) in 1945. See Bush Quarter above for more information on Mr. Bush.

Suzanne (Hunter) Walker submitted the following information about her father’s “High Quarter” as he referred to it, which he purchased in 1947. “It is the SW Quarter of Section 12 in the Township 3 N Range, 7 E m.p.m. It was part of his summer pasture for his cows and he always enjoyed taking a day to go up and salt cows or ride.” See Lane Quarter below for more information on earlier owners of this land dating back to 1920 and having been “established and duly consummated, in conformity to law” for Roy W. Alexander by Woodrow Wilson.

Suzanne (Hunter) Walker recalled cattle drives of Tom Hunter’s to and from the home place at Cottonwood Creek north of Clyde Park to the the Bush Quarter and then the Lane Quarter northwest of Sedan, “Dad never had too many problems getting “cowboys” (if that is what you might call some of us!) especially after the grandkids got old enough to sit a horse. What a deal for those grandkids!-you got to ride a horse for two days, heels calves on drag till your arm about dropped off, camp out overnight, swap lies and curse like a mule skinner cause Grandpa couldn’t hear too well (but grandma could, so if she was bringing the pick up along behind–you needed to watch your mouth).”

“The first day would put the drive to just above Wilsall where it stopped for the night up the road from the old dump. At first light the next morning the cows were headed on up the road, for the night up the road from the old dump. At first light the next morning the cows were headed on up the road, then headed out across what was known as the Tacke place (Battle Ridge Ranch) then across Armstrong’s (now Waddells) and into the back side of the Bush Place. Breakfast that morning might have been Spam slapped on a piece of bread if Grandma had gone home the night before instead of staying in camp and Grandpa was “cooking”. (Not the grand kids’ favorite meal for sure). When the cows finally got to the Bush Place, someone was usually waiting with the pick up, horse trailer, and LUNCH! Always a welcome sight for those saddle sore, weary kids. They have some great stories and wonderful memories of moving cows to Sedan with Grandpa!!”

Myron Huntsman – Worked in the area as a teenager

Hyers – Lived across from Joye Waddell’s place – Made dandelion wine, which was sold to Warren Reichman as a child.

The Inabnits were a large Sedan clan with much history to add to this project so the Inabnit Family is grouped by members of the head of the family then birth order within each family:

John “Dade” Riley & Rebecca (Radford) Inabnit – John was born November 28, 1874 in Somerset, Kentucky to Daniel Parkinson Inabnit. Rebecca was born October 24, 1869 in Fond de Lac, Wisconsin. Rebecca’s parents were Henry Radford and Josephine Woodruff. John & Rebecca were married in December of 1900, homesteaded, and started their family in Anceny (west of Bozeman). They came to Sedan around December 1912 or January of 1913. John “had a fine threshing machine” which he owned with Phil Lamson of Sedan.

John “Dade” & Rebecca Inabnit bought some land from Davidsons along Flathead Creek on what is now Guy Chriske’s Place. John taught Sunday School at the Methodist Church on the old Inabnit Place in the early 1920s.

Rebecca was a former schoolteacher at Chestnut west of Bozeman and Lower Bridger Schools in Bridger Canyon, so it was thought that she may have organized a school in their home for their three oldest sons; Wade, Lloyd and John while they lived in Bozeman.

All five of the Inabnit boys; Wade Parkinson born 1902, Samuel Lloyd “Lloyd” born 1903, John Radford “Jack” born circa 1905, Henry Laurel 1907, and Wesley Lowell born 1908 attended East Flathead School (later known as Pass View School) District #66. 

Ardyce Josephine (Inabnit) – The only girl born to John & Rebecca on March 5, 1914. Ardyce attended Pass View School but only for 1^st and 2nd grades during the years of 1920-1922.  See more information about Ardyce in Other Sedan Area Schools. Ardyce attended Sedan School in 1925.  Ardyce Josephine (Inabnit) Ford died June 26, 1998. 

Ardyce and Wesley were the only children from this Inabnit family to attend Sedan School. The younger children attended Pass View School District #66. See Other Sedan Area Schools for more information on Pass View school.

Wesley attended Pass View School from 1^st grade through 7th and attended Sedan School during 8th grade (1921-22). Wesley went to Bozeman High School for one or two years and boarded with his relatives at the Bob Todd farm by Gallatin Gateway where he helped milk cows for his “keep.”

Adrian recalls John & Rebecca’s home having been heated using a carbide pit and remembers seeing a pit which was built partially under the home. When water was added to this it created steam and was piped into the home.

In 1932 the East Flathead Telephone Company (E.F.T.C.) installed lines in the area.  Laurel aka J.R. Inabnit acquired shares, managed the books and collected fees.  See Misc. Section for more information on the E.F.T.C.

John Riley Inabnit lived in Sedan from 1912 – 1936 or 1937.  Joseph Morford Inabnit, brother of John Riley lived in Sedan for a short time.

John died on June 10, 1942 and Rebecca died January 31, 1963. Both were buried at Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman, Montana. John Riley and Rebecca Inabnit were Adrian Inabnit and Anita (Inabnit) Petterson’s grandparents. 

Wade Parkinson & Frances (Orth) Inabnit – Wade was the eldest of John “Dade” and Rebecca’s children and he lived on the south side of the “Pass Road” (Flathead Pass Road) south of the Pasco(e) Place where he grew barley and corn, raised sheep and helped with the ­­­threshing.

Miss Frances Orth taught at East Flathead School in 1924 and 1925 and later taught at Sedan School from 1928 – 1930.  Frances and Wade married but kept this a secret for a while since schoolteachers “were not supposed to marry.”  Frances died in 1936.

After Frances’ death Wade sold his cows and left the area.  He worked at the pea cannery in Bozeman before moving to Oakland, CA where he joined air force.

Samuel Lloyd “Lloyd” Inabnit – Second son of John & Rebecca – married Grace Hoadley.

John Radford “Jack” & Gladys (Holgate) Inabnit – Third son of John and Rebecca. Gladys was a teacher at Sedan School in the 1930s.  She and her brother, Dean lived in a shack where the Pergandes lived. It is thought that Jack and Gladys left the area after they got married.

Henry Laurel (aka “Laurel” or “H.L.”) & Ruth V. (Christie) Inabnit – Laurel is the 4^th son of John & Rebecca Inabnit – Laurel built this house on skids on land that was owned by the Davidsons. He did this thinking he would later move the house but never did. This is the house on the south side of Flathead Creek where the Chriske family lived.

Ruth V., whose parents were Alexander “Sandy” (A.S.) & Christina Christie lived with her parents on the Waddell Place in the late 20s and early 30s.  The small house has since burned down. 

Laurel & Ruth’s children are Elden, Leslie (son), John, Burton, Barbara, and Charlotte. Elden was the only child of Laurel & Ruth’s to attend Sedan School (1^st grade). 

Elden Inabnit had this to say of Sedan at the time of writing, “I have mixed emotions when I reflect back to Sedan. Some emotions of joy, sorrow, frustration, and disappointment. Most of all I recall the strength borne out by my family, be it Grandpa or Grandma, aunts, uncles, Mom, or Dad. Tough pioneers in a tough time. My Dad, H.L. Inabnit, built a cabin on the north side of Flathead Creek above Sedan (currently Helen Chriske’s home) prior to his marriage to Ruth V. Christie. This cabin still stands and was my first home. Having been born in Livingston on January 26, 1933, which was said to have been the coldest day in Livingston prior to record keeping (-72 degrees), my parents started home to Sedan with a new baby. At Wilsall they called the old home place and asked if someone might come with a team of horses to meet them and assist them to their home. My mother still marvels at the wisdom of that trip. It was extremely cold and windy with deep drifting snow. My Uncle Wesley met my folks at the old Lamson Place with a sturdy team and the front bunk of a sled upon which he was riding to help pull the car home.”

“We all made it through that first winter quite uneventfully. A short time later my folks moved to Denver where my father enrolled at the Denver Bible School. Upon completion of school, about four years later, we returned to Sedan and lived in a small house across the street from the present school house. Dad had no job, the car broke an axle in the front yard and my folks had $1.50 to their names. To settle in this cabin they had taken furnishings from an old abandoned saw mill camp on Brackett Creek. We always had heat, clothing, and food in our modest little home. I have no idea how and where my dad got wood, how he repaired the car, nor what we ate, but I never remember going hungry. My dad was an extremely bright and talented man, who could fix almost anything and he loved to hunt and fish.”

“I went to first grade at the Sedan School. My mother read many books to me and we worked on Christmas decorations for months. We made trinkets, paper cut-outs, strung popcorn, and on and on. To this very day my mom (nearly 90) is still cheerfully helping others and doing the few special things she enjoys with her friends; like playing board games, having coffee out, eating a hamburger and a milk shake on Saturdays and going off to church on Sunday.”

“Christmas finally came that December in 1939 and to this day I can remember it well. Of course, it was snowing, blowing, windy, and cold. My Uncle Wesley and Aunt Myda came to our house with their three kids; Adrian, Anita, and Damond, all riding in a load of hay on a sled drawn by a team. For a present they brought a sack of potatoes. We kids all had a great time playing. My parents gave me a pocket knife for Christmas and I cherished if for years. By today’s standards it was a nothing knife, but in Sedan in 1939, it was a treasure. To this day, Christmas is a hard time of the year for me. This current generation is so spoiled and mostly by us that had so little.

I still remember the “Old Home Place” above Sedan and can see Grandma standing on the porch and her white apron blowing in the wind. She was such a small witty lady and Grandpa John was such a big, gruff old guy. To me, they were two complete opposites, yet they got along great and raised a great family. There was no question I was afraid to ask Grandma…And the stories and history she could tell and the books she read. I didn’t need to read “War of the Copper Kings,” because Grandma told me all about it. I followed World War II with Grandma by means of radio and maps with the fronts outlined with colored pencils.

Grandpa didn’t say much but his big rough hand on your head or a big rough hug said volumes. He was a gentle giant to me. I spent hours riding with him in the buggy with one of his favorite horses running along out front. Many are the days that I hunted with his single shot 22 and the one bullet he would give me. Never two bullets, only one. The story is told of Grandpa hearing of a family that lived up in Sixteen Mile country and they were totally out of food. Grandpa loaded up a couple of bags of potatoes and a half of a hog and took it up to the family. The husband was so taken with emotion that he left the cabin, leaving the wife and children to show appreciation. They were extremely grateful.”

“Later, as a grade-schooler, I would come to Sedan to visit my cousins and stay with Uncle Wes and Aunt Myda. Even after I was married, we returned to Sedan and visited Wes and Myda and we picnicked at Fairy Lake. Sedan is never far from mind and with advanced age it seems to come even nearer.”

“Now, as I reflect on Sedan, with white hair and many notches in my belt, I marvel at those people, the scenery, the elevation, the weather, the droughts, the early snows, the depressed crop prices, the bank failures, the excessive purchase prices, the frustrations, the taxes, the few good years. To work so hard and to have so little to show for it is depressing…But what lessons can I draw upon from having lived in Sedan? How about the unrelenting perseverance of those old-timers, the courage to forge ahead against endless odds, the ability to smile through each and every day rather than complain or become bitter, the thankfulness for health and the few good things of life, the compassion toward family and neighbors, the frugality of a saved ball of cotton string and the unwavering faith their God. Grandma’s favorite hymn was “Trust and Obey” and she gave me ample opportunity to learn the words as she read or sang that song. I can still quote the five verses and the chorus.”

“Before they dig my final resting place and start throwing dirt in my face, I would like to go back to Sedan with a grandson or two and watch the sun go down from the knoll above the “Old Home Place.” The Bridgers and the Crazy Mountains are impressive and I know they won’t be as I remembered them, but my grandsons need to hear about depression days, hard times, hand to mouth, spring boxes, black dirt under your fingernails, buggy rides, deep snow, and strong people. They just need to hear it from their old grandfather.”

Wesley Lowell born 1908 & Myda (Christie) Inabnit born 1915– Wesley, the 5^th and youngest son of John & Rebecca, attended Pass View School from 1^st grade in 1914 through 7^th in 1921 and attended Sedan School during 8^th grade (1921-22). Wesley went to Bozeman High School for one or two years and boarded with relatives at Bob Todd farm by Gallatin Gateway where he helped milk cows for his “keep.”

Laurel & Wesley Inabnit bought a sawmill in 1929 from Austin Swandal, who lived on the Shields River, and set it up on Sandy “Alexander” Christie’s place, now owned by Butch Waddell.  Laurel & Wesley sawed in the fall and winter and farmed the rest of the year. The sawmill was first powered by steam and later converted to gas.

The mill was also used on the Burns Place where the men sawed out logs for Laurel’s and Wesley’s houses along Flathead Creek. They also sawed the logs for the Inabnit Store. Laurel & Wesley ran the sawmill off and on from 1929 – 1955/56.  Laurel took it and set it up at Dry Creek in Gallatin County in 1939/40 and used it there for 3 or 4 years. It was then stored in a potato storage cellar until 1946.

Myda Christie was born on October 22, 1915 in Clyde Park and attended grade school at Sedan in the mid1920s and high school in Wilsall.  Myda and Wes were married on June 17, 1933.  The Inabnit children; Adrian born 1934, Anita born1935, Damond born 1937and Linda born 1950all attended Sedan School as did their parents. 

Wesley ran the Inabnit Store (& gas station) and was a “Rawleighman.” A quick search on the internet at https://www.wtrawleigh.com/ yielded this information: The W.T. Rawleigh Company has been a friend of the family since 1889 and today customers around the world continue to rely on our quality products, excellent service, and the exceptional ideals and principles on which the company was founded.  In the 1800s, William Thomas Rawleigh established a goal for himself. With only $15, a borrowed horse, a mortgaged buggy, and four types of “Good Health Products,” he set out determined to become a successful businessman. Rawleigh secured a large number of customers with his dependable service, honest methods, and free trials. He would leave products on “time and trial” knowing that the products would sell themselves. So, it is thought that Wesley’s customers ordered soaps, ointments, and salves via catalog.

The store was only in operation about 1 1/2 years (1936 & 1937) due to the fact that most of the Inabnits’ customers paid in IOUs.  Wesley moved to Livingston to work at the flour mill and later moved back to the Inabnit Place on Flathead Creek in 1938.

Lester “Shorty” Faw later bought the store and moved it to the Pasco(e) on what is now near the corner of Fastje and Flathead Creek Roads. 

Wes and Myda moved to Gallatin Valley in 1938 “through the World War II years” and moved back to Sedan in 1946 when they bought the Clark Place on Flathead Creek on property that housed the Sedan Church. They lived on this property for 18 years and sold it to Tim & Anita (Inabnit) Petterson when they moved back to Bozeman in 1964 or 1965. 

Wes served as a trustee of Sedan School for the 1950/51 school year, and Myda was the clerk from 1958-60. 

Myda passed away on January 8, 2000.

Adrian & Betty (Cowan) Inabnit – Adrian, born March 2, 1934, the eldest child of Wesley L. & Myda (Christie) Inabnit arrived just in time to move into the new home his father built for their family on Flathead Creek. Siblings soon joined Adrian; Anita was born in 1935, Damond in 1937 and Linda was born in 1950. Adrian was baptized at the Sedan Church by an “itinerant” Methodist pastor from Wilsall.

Due to the hard years of the depression the Inabnit family moved to a rented farm in the Gallatin Valley in the spring of 1939 “known as the Rash Place near Central Park.”  Here Wesley worked the land with a “fairly new” Oliver ‘99 wheel tractor that he purchased.

The Inabnit family returned to Sedan in 1946 and bought the Old Clark Place southwest of the Sedan Church.  Adrian and all his siblings, like their parents, attended the Sedan School.  Adrian attended 6^th through 8^th grades from 1946-1948 and graduated from Wilsall School in 1952.  After graduating Adrian worked on 7 different ranches in the Shields Valley.

Adrian was hired to haul mail to and from Sedan on a pack horse when the weather was bad in 1948 and 1949.

Adrian & Betty Joanne (Cowan) Inabnit – Adrian was born in March 2,1934 & Betty of Wilsall, was born June 7, 1937.  Adrian & Betty were married in 1955 and welcomed daughter Cathy in 1956.  In 1958 daughter Julie joined the family. 

The Inabnits rented the Sedan School teacherage temporarily living there for only a few days before moving to the Nollmeyer house on what became known as Seitz Road. Betty & Adrian told of the water freezing in that home during the winter due to the ice cold water being pumped from the nearby spring.

Adrian and Betty moved to Livingston while he worked at Downer Lumber Company.  In 1961 Inabnits moved to Bozeman where son Bill was born, and Adrian drove trucks for Darigold.  Adrian & Betty bought a home on Bozeman Avenue in 1966 where they raised their family.  Adrian later worked for a trucking “outfit” hauling milk for Darigold and retired from working in the Darigold plant in 1996.

Adrian and Betty were married for 64 years.  Betty passed away on Friday, September 13, 2019.

Adrian is a treasured Sedan historian of his era and has contributed many photos to this collection.

Anita Inabnit’s memories of Sedan: “I have very few early memories of Sedan, seeing as how I was born in 1935 and left for the Gallatin Valley some 3 or 4 years later. One memory though was in the old store / gas station across from the school. I remember climbing up on a chair to pound on the ivory keys to Dad’s cash register. Next thing I knew I was told quite firmly to “get down from there!” One other memory also involved my misbehavior at a Sedan Club meeting being held at Grace Blattie’s (where the men, as well as the ladies, came for the day and a noon meal was served). The dishes were done and the Club members were busy at their meeting in the living room and I proceeded to climb up onto the kitchen table where Grace had placed her beautiful white cake. Yes, I got into it with both hands! Grace was a gracious hostess though, she laughed as she called, “You little monkey!” Mom was horrified! “

“My early school years were in the Gallatin Valley at different schools and we returned to Sedan in 1946. I was in the 5th grade here at Sedan School and Mrs. Lulu Weber was the teacher for all 8 grades. There was no monkeying around in her classroom! I finished the 8th grade here and enjoyed the country school and the camaraderie of my school chums. We lived in the old Clark Place, only 2 miles from school, and in the spring and fall my 2 brothers and I would walk or run, as the case may be, to school. In the winter we had a spoiled old saddle horse to ride (they get very wise to kids and he was a bit hard to catch on cold mornings). His other trick was to walk just as close to the barbed wire fence as he could, so as to catch our Levis on the barbs and pull us off!”

“Graduating 8th grade, I went 4 years to high school in Wilsall. The following year Tim Petterson and I were married and in due time we had a family of 3 daughters and a son. We’ve made our home here in the Sedan area for some 46 years now (at the time of writing), and personally, I wouldn’t trade this place with its scenes of the Bridger and Crazy mountains for all the rice in China.”

“I’m rather proud to say both my parents, Wesley and Myda, my brothers Adrian and Damond, myself, my little sister Linda, and our 2 older daughters Patricia and Victoria all attended Sedan School.  I think we could all agree it was a more peaceful, easier time to be a kid going to school back then. The recesses were filled with good, old-fashioned fun such as baseball on the south side of the school (no windows), winter games such as Fox & Goose in the snow, or sliding down Koch’s hill with our Flexible Flier sleds…clear past Miller’s house (now Landis’s) on to the county road! Could you beat that for fun?”

Anita attended Sedan School 5^th through 8^th grades from 1946 – 1949 and graduated from Wilsall after attending there for 4 year.  She married Tim Petterson of Sedanin 1954.  See Tim & Anita (Inabnit) Petterson below for more information.

Damond & Maryellen (Gibson) Inabnit – Maryellen was from Clyde Park.  Damond attended Sedan School in the late 1940s. They also lived on Nollmeyer Place while working with Wes Inabnit.

Linda Inabnit – Linda attended Sedan School from 1955 – 1962 then attended Wilsall School for a few years before attending Bozeman High School.  Linda married Steve Walton from Bridger Canyon. 

Joe & Fern Inabnit – Joe was a cousin of John Riley Inabnit. Their only son was Kermit and he attended Sedan School.

Kermit & Alice (Beebe) Inabnit – Their children were Inez, Iris, & Ted. Both parents and all three children attended Sedan School.  The children attended in the 1940s.

Ray & Cora Virginia (Carr) Isbell – Ray was born October 29, 1892 in Pleasantville, Indiana. He was born as a twin, but his twin brother died at 6 months of age. Ray came to Park County in 1914, from Decatur, Illinois, in a freight train full of shorthorn cattle belonging to Bill Carr (Ray’s father-in-law). The reason he came to Montana was, to marry Cora. He was told by Cora’s father Bill, that if he wanted to marry his daughter, that he had to move to Montana, because she was moving with the family. When Cora arrived she was said to be the prettiest girl in the valley.

Ray and Cora were married in Livingston in April 1918. Shortly after their wedding, Ray left to go in to the Army in Fort Lewis, Washington. While Ray was in the service Cora had a daughter named Mary. Cora sent Ray a letter saying they would meet him in Illinois when he was discharged, but he didn’t get the letter in time. So Ray came home to Wilsall only to have to turn around and go back to Illinois to meet up with his family.

In April of 1922 Ray and Cora had twins; a girl Cora Fae (goes by Fae) and William Ray, but William Ray died shortly after birth. They moved from “Horse Camp” to “Sheep Camp” where Ray did all the haying and Coral did all of the cooking. This camp was owned by Austin Swandal. After the sheep camp they moved to Meyersberg which is located between Sedan and Wilsall. Their son Virgil was born in January of 1925 in one of the two hospitals in Wilsall, presently the home of Ed and Jane Wilson. While at Meyersberg Virgil was in first grade and was said to be the only one in the class, so he spent the year playing in the sand box according to “Tracks Volume II.”

While living in Meyersberg, also according to “Tracks Volume II,” Cora lost her wedding ring while throwing out some dish water. However according to “History of Park County, Montana,” she lost the ring while feeding the sheep some hay at the Donnell Place. In 1954, 29 years later, The Donnell boys found Cora’s ring while playing in the dirt on what is now Dan Lander’s Place (where his son Herb lives now). The ring was engraved inside with “To CC from RI” (To Cora from Ray – 1918). One of the boys’ mother’s recognized the names and returned it to her.

During the depression (1933) Ray had to give up the place where they lived and rented another further up the creek, starting over with just the bare necessities. Ray did different things to get back on his feet again including taking Flathead Creek kids into Wilsall for school. In December of 1933 their last child, Joan, was born at the Robinson Hospital in Livingston. In 1935 Virgil got his first 4-H steer which created Ray’s interest in 4-H and purebred Hereford cattle. He was a 4-H leader for 34 years and helped form the Wilsall Wranglers 4-H Club. Ray and Virgil worked together on a registered Hereford herd. Virgil bought the ranch from his father in 1962 and was recently honored for his accomplishments (1999).

Ray and Cora’s ranch is on land earlier purchased by John W. Van Doren (December 15, 1894) and William D. Coulter (June 13, 1901). Ray leased the ranch in 1932 from Addie Kimpton Conrad who inherited it in 1923 at the age of 38. Ray later purchased the land from Addie in 1947.

In 1960 Ray and Cora bought a home in Wilsall and retired from ranching. Ray helped at Bates Implement putting machinery together and painted pictures for his grandchildren in his spare time. He was active in Odd Fellow and Masonic Lodges. In 1968 Ray and Cora celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Ray died in April of 1969 and Cora died in 1984.

Virgil & Gerry Lu (Olsen) Isbell – Virgil was born January 6, 1925 in Wilsall the third child of Ray and Cora Virginia (Carr) Isbell. He grew up on the family ranch and attended Meyersberg country school through the fifth grade. He rode Shirley, his Welsh pony, to school until Meyersberg was the first country school to consolidate with Wilsall. From 6th grade on Virgil attended Wilsall schools.

Virgil became involved with 4-H when he was 10 years old receiving many awards and a trip to the Chicago International Livestock Show. 1938 Virgil bought his first registered Hereford heifer and he and his father continued to build their herd.

In 1945 Virgil entered the U.S. Navy and served with the Sea-bees in the South Pacific during World War II.

Gerry Lu was born “a city girl in Livingston” who, “just about hadn’t been off the cement when she married,” as noted on the May page she is featured on in the “Ranch Women of Park County 2003-04” Calendar sponsored by the Alliance Development Corporation of Park County.

She and Virgil married April 3, 1949 in Livingston and ranching was completely new to Gerry Lu. In the calendar it states, ” She had to do without some of the modern conveniences that she had grown accustomed to in town. The house they lived in did not have a septic system or electricity so she learned to cook on a wood strove, and being located so far from Livingston meant she could only make it back once a week, if that. Laughing, she remembers making Virgil escort her to the outhouse in the middle of the night so she wouldn’t have to worry about running into any wild animals!”

Their children are: Loren, Wade, Shelley, and Garth. All the Isbell children attended school in Wilsall as the Isbells live in Park County just past the Sedan/Gallatin County line.

Gerry Lu said their house was haunted by previous owner Emma Coulter. The original home of the Coulters burned and when Isbells were doing some remodeling on their home they found a little alligator purse with a silver dollar in it. Isbells decided Emma was looking for her purse, because once they found the purse all the banging quit. Gerry Lu still has the purse. Coulters are buried in Livingston Cemetery.

Through the years Virgil built one of the premier registered Hereford herds in Montana selling seed stock to ranchers to many other states as well as Brazil, Canada and Mexico. He was honored for showing cattle at the Montana Winter Fair for 50 consecutive years, named Montana Hereford Man of the Year in 1983 and inducted into the Park County Ranchers Hall of Fame in 1999.

Virgil died at his home in Wilsall on April 16, 2006. A quote from his obituary reads, “Now when I’m dead and gone, and you hang my old worn tack, I want you to remember, I never sold my saddle or harness and I never bred ’em black.”

Wade & Sue Isbell – Ranched with father Virgil, moved to ND, children, Camri, Blake, and Jerid.

Miss Jenson – Was Anita (Inabit) Petterson’s Sedan School 8th grade teacher 1948/1949.

Andrew & Annie (Polson) Johnson – Later used the last name Kannegaard. Kannegaards accepted the name Johnson when they arrived in the United States from Denmark in 1881. See Kannegaard info below. Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909, 1910 children Raymond T. and Elmer Johnson.

Denver Johnson – Attended first term new Sedan School 1901/1902.

Herb & Thelma Johnson – They ranched in Sedan from the early 1950s to the late1970s at what was known as the Johnson Place, which is where Lyle & Tara Swandal lived on the Park & Gallatin County border before moving to the Tacke Place. The Johnson children were Charley and Cindy. The children did not attend Sedan School.

Miss Johnson – Mildred Kurk recalled her having taught at Sedan.

Chester Jones – Lived on the road which was the original road to Fairy Lake.

Floyd Jones – Homesteaded here and worked as a ranch hand. He served in World War I. He homesteaded in Skunk Basin and worked a great deal in sawmills.

L.M. Jones – Settled here in an early day and is noted on the 1912 Ownership map of Gallatin Valley.

Lawernce A. & Katherine J. Jones – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #66 in 1911, child Verdia (?) L. Female.

May E. Jones – Sedan School teacher during the 1929/1930 school year.

R.F. & Ora M. Jones – Listed on the 1913 School Census Report for Sedan. Child: Chester D.

Robert & Virginia Jones – This is the family for which Jones’s Corner is named (formerly known as Korde Corner). They lived 1/2 mile north of Jones’s Corner. Children; Dorothy, Frances, Florence, Dwayne Bob, andBud.

Roy Jones’s girl – Buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Jorgenson – Sold land to Armstrongs, who in turn sold to Butch Waddell.

David Jorgenson – Student at Sedan School in the mid 30s.

Ellen Jorgenson – Attended Sedan School

Ralph Jorgenson – Came to Sedan from The Big Hole.

Russell R. “Russ” & Wanda (Landis) Julian – Russell was born on May 26, 1916 near Chadbourne, Montana the son of Robert & Georgia Julian. Russell was raised on Horse Creek and attended school in Clyde Park. Russell’s siblings are Betty and Bonnie (Julian) Pinkerton and foster brother, Robert.

On March 22, 1939 Russ married Wanda who was Wayne Landis’s sister and had daughters Roberta Jean, Debra and Donna. They rented the Carpenter Place on what was known as Johnson Road just over the Park County border. They retired from ranching in 1975 and moved to Livingston.

Russ was one of the founders of the Wilsall Rodeo Association. “His greatest love in life was his horses, blue heeler dogs, ranching and working cattle,” according to his obituary. He also loved to dance and visit with his many friends and was a devoted family man. Russell died May 17, 2003 at his daughter Donna’s home in Livingston.

Bill Kaiser – Homesteaded in this neighborhood. He ran sheep for years then sold the sheep and went into purebred Holsteins. He did a great deal of work to get the Meyersburg canal dug.

Ed Kaiser – Homesteaded, ran cattle, and had a steam plow outfit for years. He raised a large family and also had the post office in Meyersburg for years. He lived where Art & Kari (Swandal) Wiltgen lived. This was known as the “Halfway House” as the mail for Sedan came here from Livingston. It was said that Ed Kaiser married Mrs. Lucrita Bowen after his first wife died.

Henry Kaiser – Homesteaded and was believed to have sold his ranch to Coulter.

W.J. Kaiser – Noted on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Andrew Johnson & Anna (Polson) Kannegaard – Andrew was born April 11, 1864. Andrew and Anna came to the United States as immigrants from Denmark in 1881. They could not speak English, so upon entry to the United States they were given the name Johnson. They used the name, Johnson, for several years until adult children did some research and discovered the real family name. They came to Montana in 1888. Their name is spelled on some records as Kinnegard also Kannegard. Kannegaards homesteaded on Elk Ridge and ran cattle and horses for years. They had four sons; Clark, Denver, Raymond, and Elmore / Elmer (name spelled differently on various records) and an adopted son by the name of Harry Davis.

Andrew & Annie Johnson are Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909 & 1910; children Raymond T. and Elmer. Gallatin County School Census Records for 1912 lists this family in the #65 Sunnyside School District; Raymond A. 19 yrs and Elmore T. age 17.

Clark Kannegaard – Homesteaded in this community but lost his ranch and went to Idaho to work as a miner where he raised his family and is buried.

Denver Y. & Marion Kannegaard – Denver was a son of Andrew & Anna (Polson) Johnson Kannegard. Denver was listed on the 1913 Gallatin County Sedan School Census Report with an adopted son Harry Davis. Harry Davis is also listed as the adopted son Denver’s parents. Denver had an adopted daughter named Helen Kannegaard who lived with her grandmother. Helen attended Sedan School. Denver moved to Oregon and lived there most of his life.

Elmore / Elmer Kannegaard – Son of Andrew & Anna (Polson) Johnson Kannegard born April 4, 1892. Note first name spelled differently on various records). Homesteaded here and ranched for several years. He sold his ranch, moved to Bozeman, and worked at MSU for years. He and his wife raised one son named Linsley who attended Sedan School.

Ray & Sadie Kannegaard – Sadie died in 1918 flu epidemic. Ray & Sadie had a daughter named Cleo.

Raymond Andrew & Dolly Mae (McNamer) Kannegaard – Son of Andrew & Anna (Polson) Johnson Kannegard. Raymond was born January 19, 1893. In 1914 Ray drove an exceptionally large grain tank which held 9000 pounds of wheat. Ray also served as rodeo announcer during the Sedan rodeos staged at the Woosley Place in the 1920s. Bill and Becky Landis’ Place stands now where the rodeo corrals once did. Raymond Kannegaard was described by Edgar Rexroat former Sedan resident as “The last of the old time cowboys.” Ray was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2014.

Lyle Woosley recalls riding “Out north” at the age of about 8 or 9 with Raymond Kannegaard. Ray told him he had stolen a bunch of horses from Ringling/White Sulphur area and brought them back to what is known as Tim Pettersons Cow Camp to rest them. The same horses were then stolen from Kannegaard by Jack Daugherty. Raymond was quoted as having said, “That goes to show you, there’s no damn honor among thieves!”

Raymond & Dolly raised four girls; Cleo, Shirley, Alice “Jane” & Dolly Jo. Shirley attended Sedan School.

Shirley R. was born January 15, 1926 in Bozeman. Jane was born March 11, 1935.

In 1951 Kannegaards sold the ranch to be near the Wilsall School. In later years the spelling of the last name used was spelled Kannegard as referenced in Shirley R. (Kannegard) Pippy & Jane (Kannegard) Wilson’s obituaries.

Kelly Family – Homesteaded here at a very early date and had the first place of worship in this area. It was thought they were Mormons. The Bernard family owned this place next and it is now owned by Tim & Anita Petterson.

Arthur Kennedy – Attended first term new Sedan School 1901/1902

Boon & Bert Kennedy – Homesteaders

L.N. Kennedy – A family who settled in Sedan at an early date.

Lew Kennedy – An early homesteader, who ran horses by the hundreds.

Lewis N. Kennedy – Children attended first term Sedan School – Trustee 1897/98, first term new Sedan School also served 1900-1903 terms.

L.W. Kennedy – A family who settled in Sedan at an early date. Children attended first term Sedan School and he served as a Sedan School trustee during the 1898/1899 and 1900-1903 terms.

Fred & Mary M. Keyes – Homesteaded and ranched here for several years. Mary’s name is listed on the Gallatin County Ownership Map of 1912. They had several girls, who all married. Gallatin County School Census Records for 1909 – 1911 for Sedan District #38 area list this family with 2 girls at that time; Millie E. born 1893 and Pearl born 1896. Fred left Sedan and moved to Anacortes, Washington.

Ross Kime – Bachelor who served in WWII during the invasion of Pearl Harbor where he received many medals. When he was drafted for the war it is said he told them he couldn’t go, because he had a “hen setting who would hatch in two weeks.” He was given a medical discharge due to bad health as noted by Warren N. Reichman in a paper he wrote about some of Sedan’s bachelors entitled, “The Valley of Unmarried Men.” Ross lived on what is now Dave Dearman’s Place on Flathead Creek Road East. Verna Lu Landis found Ross dead in his home. He was from Pennsylvania and had no family here.

Kincaid Family – Children Veda, Velva, and Harley attended Sedan School during the 1920s and 1930s. Not known if son Charles attended Sedan School.

Ed W. Kirk – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

F. Kolble – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Kirk & Leona (Christie) Koch – (pronounced Cook) – Kirk came to Montana from Kansas in 1917 and lived east of the Crazies and never went back to Kansas. Leona was born at the family place in Brackett Creek. Kirk moved to Sedan in 1930. Kirk and Leona were married in August of 1934.

They moved to Sedan from Park County in 1943 and moved to the place west of the school in 1944 with three children; Lois, Jim, & Betty. Dela and Kenneth were born in Sedan. All of the children attended Sedan School: Lois (Koch) Riggs, Jim, Betty (Koch) Ryan, Dela (Koch) Rider, and Kenneth. Leona, who was born in the area, also attended Sedan School.

The family dairy farmed and ranched until the place sold in 1970 when they moved to Oregon for a couple of years and later settled in Manhattan, Montana. Ken and Jim never married anyone from the Sedan area. Lois’s husband, was from out of state and not related to Mike Riggs of Sedan. Betty and Dela’s husbands are from out of state as well.

Oscar & Marie (Taylor) Koch – Oscar and Kirk were brothers. Oscar and Marie moved to Sedan from Kansas in 1948. Oscar bought the Cheese Factory after it closed in 1936 and this is where they lived in 1948. They lived in the basement of the Cheese Factory and rented out the upstairs for dances for $10.00 to various organizations. Their children are Margaret and Jane. Jane and Margaret did not attend Sedan School, but Jane’s husband Mike Riggs did. Kochs moved to Bozeman in 1950. Margaret did not marry anyone from Sedan area.

Herman Korde (Pronounced Kordey) – Herman was a bachelor who homesteaded where Allen and Alta Woosley’s home is. He ran Holstein cattle and some fine horses. What is now known as Jones’ Corner, was first called Korde’s Corner after Herman. Bachelors Tom Broadway and Fred Pasco lived there on the place after Allen’s father Henry owned it.

Kirk & Leona (Christie) Koch – (pronounced Cook) – Kirk came to Montana from Kansas in 1917 and lived east of the Crazies working on different ranches. Kirk never went back to Kansas after his marriage to Leona in August of 1934. They moved to Sedan from Park County in 1943. They moved to the place west of the school in 1944 with three children; Lois, Jim, & Betty. Dela and Kenneth were born in Sedan, but of the children attended Sedan School: Lois (Koch) Riggs, Jim, Betty (Koch) Ryan, Dela (Koch) Rider, and Kenneth. Leona, who was born in Sedan, also attended Sedan School. The family dairy farmed and ranched until the place sold in 1970 when they moved to Oregon for a couple of years and later settled in Manhattan.
Ken and Jim never married anyone from the Sedan area. Lois’s husband, was not related to Mike Riggs of Sedan. Betty and Dela’s husbands are from out of state.

Oscar & Marie (Taylor) Koch – (pronounced Cook) Oscar and Kirk were brothers. Oscar and Marie moved to Sedan from Kansas in 1948. Oscar bought the Cheese Factory after it closed in 1936 and this is where they lived. Their children are Margaret and Jane. Jane did not attend Sedan School, but her husband Mike Riggs did. Kochs moved to Bozeman in 1950. Margaret did not marry anyone from Sedan area.

Herman Korde (Pronounced Kordey) – Herman was a bachelor who homesteaded at what is now Allen & Alta Woosley’s Place. This area, now known as Jones’ Corner by some, was named Korde’s Corner after Herman. He was also a homesteader who ran Holstein cattle and some fine horses. Bachelors Tom Broadway and Fred Pasco live on the place after Allen Woosley’s father bought it.

August & Mary Kunge – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1914, children Mable, John E. and Earnest A.

Arthur James Kurk– Born May 15, 1927 in Bozeman, Montana. He married Erma Hoell, had two children and they reside east of Bozeman as of September 1997.

Arthur “Skip” & Emma (Maddox) Kurk – Arthur was born June 20, 1885 in Missouri. Emma was born in Sedan March 6, 1892 of early homesteaders John C. Maddox and Sarah Ellen (Woosley)Maddox. She was the granddaughter of James and Martha (Pratt) Woosley also early homesteaders. Arthur and Emma were Married December 4, 1910. The Kurks ranched in this area for several years. They lived at Little Muddy Creek and had seven children; Margaret (1913), Lester (1915), Myrtle (1918), Mildred (1920), Lavina (1923), Arthur James (1927), and Harold Lee (1930), so Arthur requested that the “Sunshine School” or “Sunnyside School” his children attended be moved closer to his home. It was moved about two miles closer. Margaret, Lester, Myrtle, and Mildred attended Sedan School. Lavina and James lived in Sedan but were not of school age when the family moved to Bozeman in March 1928. Harold Lee was born later in Bozeman. The Arthur Kurk family moved from the homestead to what was known to them as the “Barnard Place” before moving to Bozeman in March of 1928. John died November 11, 1966 and Emma died May 13, 1985.

Ed “Dick” Kurk – Brother of Arthur “Skip” and Fred. Homesteaded in Sedan area. He married late in life to Edna Saunders. Ed is deceased.

Fred Kurk – Brother of Arthur “Skip” and Ed. Homesteaded at Sedan and married a widow Mae Urquart who had a daughter. After Mae’s death Fred remarried and lived in Coos Bay, Oregon.

Harold Lee Kurk – Born in Bozeman January 4, 1930. He married Barbara Jenni and had three sons. They later divorced and he married Laura Lees and had two sons. Harold died February 24, 1995 in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

Lavina Barbara & John R. Kurk – Lavina traveled here from Missouri to homestead with her sons; Arthur (Skip), Fred, and Ed, after John passed away.

Lavina Ellen Kurk – Born May 8, 1923 at the homestead in Sedan. She married Vaughn Chadbourne. They had one child and reside in Bozeman, Montana as of September 1997.

Lester Joseph Kurk – Born February 13, 1915 the son of Skip and Emma Kurk. He was a student at Sedan School. Lester was a tail gunner in a B-17 during WWII which was shot down over Germany and, he was taken prisoner for nearly two years. Lester received recognition at Malstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana for P.O.W.s and M.I.A.s. Upon returning home to Bozeman Lester farmed and remained a bachelor until his death December 16, 1995.

Margaret Jane Kurk – born March 31, 1913 to Arthur and Emma Kurk. She married Dale Williams and they lived in Belgrade. Margaret died November 26, 1996.

Mildred Elizabeth – Born in a log cabin with a sod roof on June 26, 1920 at the homestead in Sedan. She married Jesse Ward and they had six children. Jesse is deceased and Mildred lives in Willow Creek, Montana as of September 1997.

Myrtle Helen Kurk – Born in Wilsall May 9, 1918. Married William McLaughlin. They had five children. He is deceased and she lives in Bozeman, Montana as of September 1997.

Mary Kurtz – Sedan School teacher – September 1951 – January 1952

Ella Mae Kurtz – Student at Sedan School

Eva (Erickson) Lachenmaier – Born June 29, 1910 in Foley, Minnesota and moved to Ryegate, Montana as an infant. She graduated from Ryegate High School as valedictorian. She had a degree in nursing and later became a Sedan primary grade teacher from August 1947- April of 1948.

She and her children Sonja, Ralph, and Irene moved to Sedan during that school year while her husband stayed behind at the Flaming Arrow ranch. Eva stated she was immediately accepted for the position “as teachers were in short supply in that post war era and no one seemed worried about my lack of experience or temporary license.” Her reason for seeking the job was to enroll her own two. They bought the Flaming Arrow Ranch near Bridger Bowl in 1946 and found the roads to the Upper Bridger School were impassable during the winter months.

Sonja and Ralph Lachenmaier were in Eva’s class that year in the first and second grades. Eva wrote “my experience with teaching was delightful. Rural children are fine students and the parents were so cooperative. There were fifteen students in the first four grades…I was pleased with the scores on the national achievement tests…We averaged better than the national scores when the year ended.”

The teacherage was already occupied by Mr. Wilson and his family. (Mr. Wilson’s wife “took in” Eva’s pre-school daughter, Irene.) The school board rented the old Beebe place (which was about three quarters of a mile east of the school) for Eva. She and the children used to walk to school during the “beautiful autumn weather.”

On Friday nights Mr. Lachenmaier would come for his family and they would spend the weekend at the Flaming Arrow. This worked well until Halloween when they went to the ranch for the weekend. It started to snow and a trip over Battle Ridge in a new Jeep found them pushing snow up to the windshield. Since the only way back to Sedan was the 88 mile journey through Bozeman, Livingston, and Wilsall the snow brought an end to weekends at the Flaming Arrow. Eva’s husband joined them in Sedan as soon as he was able to close up the ranch. The winter of 1947 was severe and it was April before they were able to go back to the Flaming Arrow.

Eva has fond memories of the Sedan community and its people. Her school term was cut short when she gave birth to their fourth child Janis mid-April and Ina Denton finished the school year for her. Click Sedan School History to read more about Eva Lachenmaier’s Sedan School experience.

Phelan “Phil” Leroy / LeRoy Lamson & Eliza Ann “Liza” (Cook) Lamson – Eliza (also spelled incorrectly as Aliza, Elisa, Elisha and Elaza on some records) was born Ontario, Canada in 1871. Phelan was born March 20, 1873 to parents James & Lucy Lamson in Goldfield, Iowa.

1880 Census records from Umatilla County, Blue Mtn, Oregon list Phelan as a member of the Thomas & Lucy Ryan family with siblings Cora and Jane. All children listed with the last name Ryan. Cora & Phelan’s father James was born in NY and their mother Lucy was born in MO. Jane’s father Thomas’ parents were born in Ireland.

Phelan’s obituary states, “At the age of four years he came with his parents across the plains by covered wagon to Oregon, where he grew to manhood.” In January 1896 he came to Montana. Eliza’s family arrived in the early 1900s.

Phelan & Eliza both worked in Yellowstone National Park circa early 1900s. Phelan Lamson drove stagecoach from Gardiner to Old Faithful. Eliza Cook was one of the original cooks at the Old Faithful Inn which is where they met. Some photos of the era that were later lost were of the “pet” black bear the kitchen staff had. They let the bear come into the kitchen and wander around making itself at home, or so the story goes…

Phelan & Eliza were married in Bozeman on December 31, 1902. Phelan’s obituary states, “They lived on the W.W. Wylie Ranch near Bozeman until the autumn of 1906 when they moved to the Sedan district.”

Daughter Grace Irene Lamson was April 4, 1909 in Bozeman.

Phil was a rancher in Sedan who previously owned the Fastje Place along Flathead Creek. He and a neighbor, John Inabnit, had a “fine threshing machine.” Liza, Mrs. Allison and Mrs. Foreman were sisters. Lamsons were said to have had goats and turned them loose on all the brush around their place and the goats killed it off.

Lamsons are listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910 and District #66 in 1911 and 1912. Phelan L. Lamson is listed as the clerk on both of those reports.

P. L. Lamson – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Genealogy Trails History Group references Military Records stating Phelan obtained a WWI Draft Registration Card in 1918 at the age of 45.

Genealogy Trails History Group states the Lamson family was also listed on the 1930 Federal Census in Gallatin County, Sedan, Montana with Grace age 21.

Sedan was the Lamson’s home until 1942 as stated in Eliza’s obituary, when they returned to Bozeman.

On the website http://genealogytrails.com/mon/gallatin/lamson.html the following information can be found:

“P.L. Lampson (misspelled) is first listed in the Polk directory in 1906 as a livestock breeder in cattle living in Sedan (formerly known as East Flathead Township) Sedan was a country postoffice 30 miles N.E. of Bozeman and 12 miles west of Wilsall, Mt.  The town of Sedan no longer exists. (in future directories 1907-1925 he is listed as P.L. Lamson). He continued to live in Sedan raising livestock until 1922. His residence is then listed as Wilsall where he paid taxes on 1200 acres of land. He is listed in Wilsall from 1922-1925 and then he disappears from the tax rolls and directories. There are no listings in the cemeteries around Bozeman for any Lamson’s. Chances are if he died he is buried in some little plot around Wilsall.”

Records included on the genealogy site show obituaries for Phelan & Eliza stating both were buried in the Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman.

Phelan died June of 1946 in Park Hospital in Livingston and was interred in Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman. The exact day he died is unknown since it is listed on Genealogy Trails as June 21, and referenced there in the Independent Record, Helena as June 30 and also on June 29.

Eliza’s obituary states she died March 6, 1957 (3/6/57). Her date of death is also listed on Genealogy Trails as June 3, 1957 (6/3/57) apparently a typo.

Bill & Becky Landis –Bill attended Sedan School and is still ranching in Sedan with his parents. Their children are KayCee and C.J.

C. J. & Lindsey Landis – C.J. Shields Valley School teacher. Children, Kristian & Shaylee.

Wayne & Verna Lu (Gjerde) Landis – Wayne was born July 12, 1924 in Wilsall, the son of Ray and Kathryn (Liek) Landis. He attended school in Clyde Park. In July of 1943 he entered the U.S. army and served in the South Pacific. Following his discharge he returned to the Shields Valley.

Verna Lu was born to parents John and Hattie Gjerde at Powder Basin, Montana. The Gjerde Place, where Verna Lu grew up, was in Meagher County,15 miles north of Wilsall next to Highway 89 on the Meagher and Park County lines. Verna Lu started to work sheep at the age of 6 and they summered their sheep on Flathead Pass. She remembers riding from Potter Basin to Flathead Pass and only going through one gate. When Verna Lu’s father passed away in 1936 her mother took over the ranch and became a terrific role model for Verna Lu and her brothers as Hattie was said to have learned quickly and did a good job. Eventually the family moved to a little house in Ringling which was about 7 miles from where Hattie would be working on the ranch. In the “Ranch Women of Park County” (calendar noted below) the home is described, “One winter it was so cold that the nails inside the house had frost on them, and the water in the tea kettle on top of the stove froze.” Verna Lu went to school in Ringling, White Sulphur Springs and Wilsall. She lived on Horse Creek Road when she went to Wilsall School.

Wayne’s grandfather, Frank built and operated the Landis Hotel in Wilsall and later turned it over to his on Ray (Wayne’s father). The hotel was torn down in 1937. Wayne’s other grandfather, Grandfather Liek had a bar in Wilsall about the same time as the Landis Hotel was in operation.

Wayne and Verna Lu were married January 11, 1948 and ranched on her family’s land in Potter Basin before moving to Sedan in 1950 where they purchased their own land. They raised sheep in Sedan until they had ongoing problems with coyotes then they switched to raising commercial cattle. Their children Beverly (Landis) Baker and Bill were right by Verna Lu’s side doing everything she did. In the calendar noted above it reads, “These were the days before daycare, when no one knew what a babysitter was. If it was time for calving, the kids went along.” The Landis children attended Sedan School and Wayne served as a trustee during the later years of its operation.

Verna Lu told of the time she remembered the battery falling out of her father’s truck as he was driving it on the swampy area of the road near Jones’s Corner. The battery shook loose due to the mud and washboard roads before they were paved.

Verna Lu recalled the Quake Lake earthquake in 1959 when the earth “rolled from west to east” through Sedan. Verna Lu said they had sheep camped out on Flathead Pass with a herder and went to check on them afterward. She said the sheep were bedded down prior to the earthquake and then just got up an moved to another spot afterwards and never ran off.

Wayne was an active rancher until died on July 25, 2001 at the age of 77. He was buried in Wilsall Cemetery with military honors.

In 2003 Verna Lu was honored as Outstanding Senior Farmer/Rancher of the Year at the Gallatin Valley Agriculture Appreciation Banquet on March 7. In the March 6, 2003 article in the High Country Independent Press when Verna Lu was interviewed for her award it states that “In 1993, she traveled to Washington D.C. to try to save her water rights and those of her neighbors. The Forest Service had traded out seven sections of the northern Bridger Mountains to be heavily logged.” Landis explained in the Press, “That is our water shed up there.” The article goes on to state, “Though her actions in Washington did not initially stop the land trade, she did convince the Forest Service to have a hydrologist analyze the water quality. The hydrologist’s findings agreed with Landis’ assessment of the logging’s impact on the local water supply, she said. Ultimately, the land went back to government ownership.” The article also mentioned, “Her views on the land are stated clearly on her truck’s bumper, where a sticker reads, “Ranchers – the First Environmentalists.”

Landis was nominated by neighbor Myrt Woosley who was quoted in the above article as having this to say about Verna Lu, “She is as comfortable on a horse, a tractor, or at the barn as she is all dressed up supporting our community, our county, or our state. (She) is a truly remarkable lady, a very knowledgeable rancher, and an honest, strong citizen with great values.”

Verna Lu is featured on the January page of the “Ranch Women of Park County 2003-04” Calendar sponsored by the Alliance Development Corporation of Park County.

Verna Lu and her son Bill still ranch in Sedan.

Ms. Evelyn Lane – Grades 1-4 teacher at Sedan School in October 1935 of First through fourth grades. She later became Mrs. Everett Hunter.

Jack & Marie Lane – Lived on section 16, now owned by Brogans

Lane Quarter – This is land referred to as the “High Quarter” by Tom Hunter. It is the SW Quarter of Section 12 in the Township 3 N Range, 6 E m.p.m. According to the abstract as noted by Suzanne (Hunter) Walker: “In March 1920, The United States of America deeded the land to Roy W. Alexander, a single man of Wilsall, Montana. “To secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers of the Public Domain,” and the acts supplemental thereto claim of Roy W. Alexander, has been “established and duly consummated, in conformity to law.” By the President: Woodrow Wilson.”

In April 1920 Roy W. Alexander transferred the land to John A. Sorrell of Wilsall, MT. In June of 1926, John A. Sorrell transferred the land to Sarah A. Sorrell of Wilsall. In January of 1940 Sarah A. and John A. Sorrell transferred the land to Lee F. Lane of Wilsall, MT. Sorrell’s address at the time was Nampa, ID.

“In June of 1945, Lee F. and Marie Lane transferred to Wendall and Juanita Francis and Mark Cowan. Taxes for the year 1946 were $5.68. In March of 1947 Wendall and Juanita Francis and Mark and Florence Cowan transferred the land to Thomas R. Hunter of Clyde Park, Montana. In 1993, the deed was transferred to Nancy E. “Betty” Hunter from the estate of Thomas R. Hunter. Suzanne (Hunter) Walker inherited the land from Betty in 1995.”

This land became known as Tom Hunter’s summer cow pasture. See Hunter family information above.

LaRue – He killed Mr. Miller in Miller’s home with a piece of stove wood.

Paul & Mary Larson – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #66 in 1911 and 1912 with children Charlie, William and Mary M. Paul and Mary were listed on the School Census Report as residing in Sedan District #38 in 1914 with child Charles A.

Thomas A. & Mable Lauderbeck – Listed on 1911 School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38, child Ray Lenord. Mable Lauderbeck was listed at age 20, residing with Lenord and Nellie Trippletton the School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909.

B.B. Law – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Henry H. & Alta M. Leffingwell – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1914, children Irene H., Samuel M., Eugene H., Erma A. and Myron. They apparently had two other children, Virgil and George, who were not listed on the report.

Wally Lester – Was a student at Sedan School in the mid 30s.

Len Lewis – Early settler, had horses by the hundreds, sold ranch, lost all his money in the Castle Mines.

Halgrim Lien – Was born in Norway and came to Big Timber in 1929. He ranched in the Sedan area during the 1940s. Survived by his wife Borghild at the time of his death. He Halgrim died November 28, 1997 in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota.

Larry & Cindy (Zupan) Lippon – Own what is known as the King of Hearts Ranch on Flathead Creek Road West. This ranch used to be the Seitz Ranch, Wilderness Treatment Center, Trinity Bridger Cattle Company, and I AM Third Ranch. Daughter Lucy. Cindy’s brothers Tim and Dewey run the ranch.

Wiley James & Mary Edith (Woosley) Lockhart – Mary was the first child of Josh & Josie Woosley born September 1, 1888 in Sedan. She attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902. Wylieand Mary were married on January 1, 1911 in Sedan. They homesteaded and ranched where Robert Fastje ranches now near the Chriskes’ Place – nothing is left. Mary & Wylie had five children: Harold born October 1, 1911 died October 11, 1911 buried in Sedan Cemetery listed as “Lockhart’s baby” in Josie Woosley’s bible of persons buried in the Sedan Cemetery, Raymond married Mary, Glenn married Jo Warner, Hazel married Carl Fletcher, Mildred married Ralph Ramsey.

Mary is the aunt of Allen Woosley. Wylie and Mary later moved to Bozeman. Mary died January 20, 1960 in Upland (San Bernadino County), California and is buried in Bozeman at Sunset Hills Cemetery on January 25, 1960.

Richard “Scott” & Susan (Ostlind) Lohmuller – Own the old Clark Place and Sedan Methodist Church property on Flathead Creek at mile marker 28. Children Hannah, Luke, and Mariah. Susan was one of the many Sedan residents who was on the Sedan Community Club Cookbook Committee and who was instrumental in gathering recipes, photos and information for the Sedan, Montana Community Cookbook Collections and Recollections 2001.

Frank & Elaine Long – Live on old Warren Reichman Place

MacSelone ? – Homesteaded here and was a find country fiddler.

Fredrick J. (F.J.) Maddox – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County. He homesteaded here as a single man, never married. Alta & Allen Woosley still have his homestead south of their place.

Harrison Maddox – Attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902, Sam Maddox’s grandson. Josie was present during his birth. His mother, Ellen, was in labor so long the baby was blue when born and delivered before the doctor arrived. Josie nursed him as her own as Ellen did not have the milk to do so. Harrison suffered from a nervous affliction which was called Saint Vitus Dance by the family (diagnosis today might be cerebral palsy), as noted in “Woosley Family Histories.”

John Calhoun (J.C.) & Sarah Ellen “Ellen” (Woosley) Maddox – He was a son of Samuel and Mary Ann and homesteaded in this area. John is listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County and was a trustee at Sedan school during the second school term (1896/1897). Their children were Emma (born March 6, 1892) & Harrison (born November 26, 1889). John and Ellen and children were listed on the 1909 and 1910 School Census Reports of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38. Annie E. (born July 17, 1909) and Josie M. are also listed (possibly incorrectly recorded by school clerk). They are also listed on the 1912 report.

Josephine Maddox – She was born March 18, 1866, to Samuel Maddox and Mary Ann Ellis (Poage) Maddox in St. Joseph, Missouri. She married Joshua Young “Josh” Woosley March 23, 1887 in Livingston (Montana Territory by Reverend J.W. Kelly. Josephine was known as “Josie” and suggested the name “Sedan” shortly after she arrived here in 1885 after the county seat of where the Maddox family came from in Kansas. When asked, “Why Sedan?” Josie replied, “There was so much grass!” Alta Woosley said Sedan wasn’t all sagebrush until people plowed for grain and hay.

Josie died March 9, 1950 and is buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman on March 13, 1950. She was Allen Woosley and Warren Reichman’s grandmother. For more information on Josie see the Josh & Josie Woosley Section below.

Madge “Emma” Maddox – She attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902.

Robert A. “Bob” Maddox – Was the son of Samuel and Mary Ann Maddox, and he married a Morrison girl. He homesteaded the land next to Fred Maddox.

Samuel R. & Mary Ann Ellis (Poage) Maddox – They were the parents of ten children, including Josephine (Maddox) Woosley, who was the fourth. They arrived in the Flathead Valley in 1878 or 1879 then returned to Kansas and settled here in 1885. Samuel was a buffalo hunter, who is buried in the Sedan Cemetery.

They arrived in the Flathead Valley in 1878 or 1879 then returned to Kansas. Maddoxes first arrived in Sedan in 1884 and made trips back to Kansas before settling here in Sedan in 1885. Samuel was a buffalo hunter. Woosleys put up hay with a scythe.

The Samuel Maddox left Montana Territory on one last trip back to Chautauqua County, Kansas to get cattle. Josie went back with her family (Josh did not. NOT go back to Kansas after arriving in Sedan). On this trip there was a horrible flood in the middle of the night of April 20, 1885.

The bodies of those who died are buried in Medicine Lodge, Kansas where the floor occurred as noted in the book, Medicine Lodge The story of a Kansas frontier town by Nellie Snyder Yost printed in 1970. Alta Woosley has a copy of this book and a photo of the cemetery with a large tombstone of the mother’s and the smaller tombstones of her children around hers.

Yost (1970) describes the events, “The family was sound asleep in the tent under the trees when the first onrushing wave of water struck. Wakened by water flooding into the tent, they all ran for the wagons. The older members boosted the smaller children into the wagons, then tried to turn the rigs against some of the big trees to keep the from being swept away, but the water rose so quickly and dashed against them with such force that they had to give up and climb the nearest trees to save themselves.”

“The wagons whirled away in the darkness. One lodged against a cluster of trees in the grove, but the other was carried to a point just south of town, where it overturned, flinging its human freight in to the flood. The oldest girl (Josie), a pretty lass with long golden hair, caught hold of a tree, climbed it, and stood high among its new-leaved branches, screaming in utter fright. Her terrible shrieks, it was later said, could be heard a mile away, bringing hundreds of people to stand on the opposite bank, helpless and sick at heart. About a hundred yards below, her thirteen year-old brother held onto the branches of another tree, likewise crying piteously for help.”

Josie’s mother and 5 siblings drowned (three boys; William, Henry, and James and two girls; Adeline and Laura). The remaining children were John, Jane, Fred, Bob, and Josie.

The tombstones were elaborately decorated. William’s has a hand pointing upward, Laura’s a dove, James’ a lamb. All of the stones listed their ages in years, months, and days. Being able to afford all those tombstones at one time indicates that Sam must have been fairly wealthy as a buffalo hunter. He was also said to have shot wolves as well. He also must have cared deeply for his family to have so much detail included.

On Mary Ann’s tombstone an inscription reads, “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided.” Another reads, “They are not lost but gone before.” On the portion of William’s which can be read, “By strangers honored and be strangers mourned.”

Alta Woosley stated there was a trunk of the Samuel Maddox family that got washed away in that flood which contained $1500 which was GREAT deal of money back then. Alta has a trunk which she believes to have been the trunk containing the money as the trunk was retrieved but NOT the money as Yost’s book states.

Samuel died January 23, 1915, as his obituary notes, “after a lingering illness, infirmities of old age being the cause of death.” He is buried in the Sedan Cemetery and his is the first entry in Josie’s Bible listing those who rest there.

Josie went to the World’s Fair in Chicago with her sister Jane’s grandson, John Seidensticker. They traveled in a 1925 Buick and stopped in Medicine Lodge, Kansas to visit the cemetery were her mother and siblings were buried.

Sarah Jane Maddox – Did not go on the fateful journey of 1885 with her family. She stayed home and married a man name Seidensticker from Twin Bridges.

Mrs. Manson / Monson – First teerm Sedan School teacher in 1901/1902 for salary of $50.00/month.

Mr. Gary Maroney – Sedan School teacher during the 1965/1966 school term – Nephew of Margaret (Carr) Tuttle.

Ray & Diana Martin – Worked for Robinsons and rented the Petterson Place. Children Amy & Ann.

Getta Mason – She was a Sedan School teacher for the 1896/97 school term.

Bill Maxwell – He was a bachelor who lived in the Sedan area. Allen Woosley said that he remembers going to the Maxwell Place with his father, when he was nine or ten years old, to visit Mr. Maxwell. They looked through the door and found him laying behind his stove dead. No one else has lived there since.

Maybill Children: Francis J., Millie or Nellie, Alford E., Nelson O., Lewis B., and Alice are listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 1909 and 1910 with parents Thomas S. & Gladys Humphery. This family is listed on the 1911 report as residing in the #66 district.

McAllistor’s baby – Buried in Sedan Cemetery.

A.F. McDonald – Served as a trustee for the 1900/1901 school year.

Alex McDonald – Attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902.

Bill McDonald – He homesteaded here, ranched, raised a large family, and was a country fiddler for years.

Henry McDonald – He homesteaded, ranched, and raised a large family here.

Hugh McDonald – He homesteaded, was a blacksmith, and raised a large family here.

Lew McDonald – He was a freighter and raised a family.

John McDonnell – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

William Arthur “Bill” & Viola (Adkins) McHenry – Bill came to Butte, Montana from Illinois at the age of 16 eventually returning to Illinois when his brother died. In 1902 he came back to Montana and was employed on the Jimmy Parker ranch near Gardiner, Montana. From 1906 until 1911 he was a blacksmith in Yellowstone National Park.

Bill and Viola were married November 30, 1910 at Gardiner. Viola was the first born of George and Nancy (Roup) Adkins. She came from Kentucky to Montana via railroad to Aldridge and Gardiner. She was a skilled seamstress, cook and homemaker.

In 1916 they moved to Sedan and Meyersburg communities where they lived until 1934 when they moved to Athol and Hayden Lake, Idaho.

Bill and Viola McHenry had 12 children: Walter “Warren,” Olive Maxine, Elwood Arthur “Mac,” Wallace Elmer “Wally,” Nancy Elizabeth “Betty,” William Richard “Bill,” Timothy Allen “Tim,” LeElla May, Frank Edgar “Frank,” Merle George, one daughter,
Marjorie died 7 days after her birth in 1930, Oliver James “O.J.” LeElla was the only child born in Sedan the others were all born in Park County with the exception of O.J. who was born in Idaho.

Bill and Viola owned a farm and he was a blacksmith while living at Sedan. They homesteaded on Muddy Creek. The 1920 census shows them at Meyersburg and lists him as a farmer but he also worked for a number of years as road foreman for Park County. Six of the McHenry children were living at home with Bill & Viola in Meyersburg at the time they were listed on the 1920 census. The McHenry children of school age at that time attended Meyersburg District #37 which held classes through the 8th grade.

Around 1921 the McHenry family moved to Sedan and lived East of the school up a coulee about a mile. The buildings are all gone now. Wally McHenry recalls he was five when he went to the Sedan School. The McHenry kids that Wally thinks attended Sedan school were, Warren, Olive, Elwood and Wally. Nancy “Betty” would have been too young to attend the Sedan School as she
was born in 1918.

Bill & Edna (Palmer) McHenry – Lived in the teacherage for a short time in the early 50s and had five children; James Russell, Kenneth Richard, Ronald, Wallace Arthur, Linda Kay.

Olive Maxine McHenry – Olive attended Sedan School, married Wilbur “Bill” Heiser who worked on the ranches around Sedan for a time. They later moved to Washington.

Wally E. & Elinor R. (Boegli) McHenry – Wally was born on December 19, 1916 at his family home on Flathead Creek in Wilsall to William and Viola McHenry. Wally attended Sedan School where he graduated from the 8th grade. Elinor was the daughter of Walter and Louise (Schaeppi) Boegli and she also attended Sedan School.

In June of 1941 Wally and Elinor married in Livingston and lived in a bunkhouse on the Cowan Ranch where Wally worked. Wally participated in local rodeos. In 1945 the family moved into the Gallatin Valley where Wally farmed until 1950. In the early 1950s he worked for Robert’s Cabinet shop in Gallatin Gateway. He then worked at Edsall’s Construction until they purchased Burrell’s Grocery at Four Corners in 1968 they later named “Mac’s Corner” which became the morning coffee clutch, center of fishing contests and impromptu day care.

Elinor died in 1987 and is buried in the Woosley Cemetery. Wally married Pearl D’Ewart in 1989; they divorced in 1990. Wally passed away while actively working at his farm in the Four Corners area on April 18, 2005. Wally is buried in the Woosley Cemetery.

Eunice McKeown – Eunice was the only child of “much older parents,” Jack and Beulah McKeown when they moved to Sedan. She was a seventh grader at Sedan School in October 1935 who transferred here from Billings. Eunice wrote, “The school was five miles from my front door and transportation was via my trusty mare, Butterfly. In fact all students walked, rode, or carted to school. Besides being a city slicker I was red headed. Believe me I had to earn my way with my school mates.” She recalls her teachers being Mary Bryant and Evelyn Lane. See Sedan School History to read more about Eunice’s Sedan School memories of the Christmas Program, -50 degree weather, and receiving Tick Fever shots.

Eunice graduated from Wilsall in 1941 and her parents sold their place to Ann & Stan Wilson in 1942.

Eunice married Lawrence Cantwell who died in 1974. Eunice & Lawrence’s oldest daughter Judy married Harold Hunter who is the son of Everett and Evelyn (Lane) Hunter – former residents of Sedan. They share three grandsons. Eunice was a Park County Extension Service Secretary for 18 years, so she got to stay in touch with many Sedan residents over the years. Eunice married Martin Nelson in 1980.

Jack & Beulah McKeown – Moved to Sedan in October 1935 with only child Eunice. Jack & Beulah traded Mr. & Mrs. Gerrard their home in Billings for the Gerrard Place. Eunice transferred in as a seventh grader from Billings to Sedan School which was five miles from their front door. Eunice graduated from Wilsall in 1941 McKeowns sold their place to Ann & Stan Wilson in 1942.

Mrs. A. McMullen / McMullan – Sedan School teacher, who started teaching on December 4, 1951. She had a heart attack at Christmas time and did not return.

Lloyd Earl “Bill” & Iona Kelley McNamer – Bill was born and raised in the Gallatin Valley and around Big Timber, Montana. Iona is a native of Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. McNamers moved to this area from Southern Idaho in the spring of 1947 and lived on the old Kannegaard Ranch at the foot of Elkhorn Ridge from then until the spring of 1951. Their daughters Anita and Eleanor McNamer attended Sedan School in the fall of 1947. They continued their schooling in Sedan until Anita graduated 8th grade in 1950 and Eleanor moved with the family in 1951. One of Eleanor’s teachers was Eva Lachenmaier. Anita’s teachers were: Mr. Wilson, 6th grade (1947-1948), “then we had a lady who didn’t last too long, and a very nice man teacher took her place” for 7th grade (1948-1949), and Mrs. Frances Hewitt, 8th grade (1949-1950).

Anita recalls “those years (at Sedan) with great fondness.” She recently wrote about the weather in Sedan, “Mom has a picture of Eleanor and me, along with Marvin Miller, who was also a student of the Sedan School, after we had made a snowman the middle of September 1947 or 1948. We got 16 inches of snow on the 16th of September!”

Anita also wrote, “I especially remember the winter of 1949-1950. That was the year we had such a bad winter with lots of snow. So much so, the Dakotas, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana were declared disaster areas and the U.S. Air Force had what they called “Operation Hay Lift.” Luckily we didn’t have to have help, but it was nice to know it was there if it was needed. We were snowed in from mid December to late April, when one of the local men from the Sedan area, who had a big Caterpillar tractor, was hired by the Gallatin County Superintendent of Schools to plow us out. It seemed like every time we got a forecast for snow flurries, we’d have a three day blizzard. Once Mom told Dad that if they ever forecasted a blizzard, we were getting out of there!”

“We would go out once a month, stop at the school to drop off old lessons, pick up new ones, then go on to Wilsall to buy the next month’s supply of groceries and other supplies…especially reading material for those loongwinter nights! We’d spend the night with Dad’s sister and brother-in-law, Dolly and Raymond Kannegaard, then head back to the ranch the next morning. These trips were sometimes quite harrowing, and even life threatening one time. We got lost in a blizzard and wandered all over the countryside until we came to the edge of Muddy Creek Canyon. Then we followed it west to the Kannegaard Ranch and home. Even with a four-wheel drive Willy’s Jeep, we still had to walk the last half mile to the house and it was so cold as well as snowing and blowing. Eleanor wanted to lay down and go to sleep, but Dad couldn’t let her do that so kept her going…Mom and I hiked on ahead and got the fires going to warm up the house. Our fingers and toes were slightly frostbitten, but no adverse problems occurred from it. Thinking back to that time of my life, I’m often surprised we arrived home safely every time.”

See Sedan School to read about Anita’s memories of Sedan School. Bill McNamer died August 2, 1969 and Iona will be 88 November 5th of 2000.

Mr. McPheran – Anita Inabnit’s 7th grade teacher at Sedan School 1947/1948 academic year.

Mrs. Meeker – She and her son homesteaded and ran cattle here. Bernet ? Meeker died in 1919 of the flu.

E. A. & A. N. Melvin – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Gus E. Melvin -He served as a trustee during the 1910/1911 school term.

Jennie Melvin – Listed as clerk on 1909 Sedan School Census Report of Gallatin County District #38

Mrs. Melvin – She had Henry Woosley arrested for stealing sheep from a barn the sheep wandered into on the Woosley’s land. Court documents have this information jumbled. Mrs. Melvin was a trained actress. She and her husband ranched and raised fine horses.

Al & Leo Meyer – Served as cheese makers in the early 1920s

Alfred Myers – Came to this country in the early seventies and was among the largest of the pioneer ranchers.

Lester George & Imojean Gwendolyne (known as “Jean or Jeanne”) Miller – They had three children; Margaret Adair, Gail Wayne, and Marvin Louis. All three attended Sedan School. The Millers lived in the Sedan Store during a time it was used as a residence and they also lived in the old log building next to the Sedan Store building., which is where Marvin was born. The Miller family later moved to the Merle Henry Place.

In September and part of October 1943 there wasn’t a teacher in Sedan School. So, the children just didn’t go to school or some went other to other schools until a teacher was found for Sedan School. Marvin was starting school that year and went to Bozeman Schools for about 6 weeks while waiting for class to start in Sedan.

Imojean replaced Ina C. Wyatt as Sedan School Teacher on March 7, 1944.

Marvin recalls how bad the mud roads were in Sedan during the time he lived here and tells of how it used to take people an hour or so to go about 1/2 mile up the main road in front of the Sedan School as they kept getting stuck in the mud. The Road Department for Gallatin County didn’t have much money for modern road graders in the those early years, so Lester and Imojean used to use horse-pulled graders and a drag. The drag was made of planks that hit the road. It was built in the shape of an “H” and in the middle of the drag was a box of rocks to hold the planks down. They spiked the grader blades to the bottom of the planks and dragged them along the road.

In 1949 Meryl Henry sold the place and Lester Miller’s family was forced to move. They ended up moving to Bozeman.

Lloyd Miller & Family – Lester and Lloyd Miller were brothers. Lloyd’s wife died in a fire when their children were really young. Their children were Dorothy Faye, Norma, and Lloyd and all three attended Sedan School. The children either rode horses or drove a buggy to school.

Dorothy stated she had “appendicitis one year and stayed with the teacher at the school for a while.” She also remembered how she and the other Sedan school children “had a great time going across the road to the Cheese Factory and having fresh curd that Mr. Boegli would save for us.”

Lloyd and his family lived on the Lloyd Shelhamer Place north of the “Four Corners” area against the mountains and then moved down to Ross Kime’s Place. They later moved to Billings when Dorothy Faye was in 7th grade.

Miller – He was killed in his home by LaRue. According to Marvin Miller this is not someone related to his family or something that he remembers.

Miller’s baby – Buried in Sedan Cemetery. This baby is not related to Marvin Miller’s family.

Mrs. W. Monson / Manson – She was a Sedan School teacher in 1901/1902.

Oliver P. & Pearl Morgan – Was designated as having water rights on Flathead Creek July 1, 1898. Children Harold and Iola listed on 1909 Gallatin County School Census Report for Sedan District #38.

W. O. Morgan – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Judy Mornstein – Judy lived with Alta and Allen Woosley for a year or two and attended Sedan School. Now known as Judy Martz, first female Lieutenant Governor then Governor of Montana early 2000 term.

Cashus M. Clay Morrison – He was an early settler here, who raised a family and ranched. Clay the father of Bill Morrison and was on the building committee for the Sedan Methodist Church. While living in Sedan he laid the foundation for the church and put a bible in the corner stone. The bible is now in the Park County Museum. It is thought there is a Cash Creek named after Mr. Morrison. Cashus is buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Morrison girl – She was married to Bob Maddox.

John Morrison’s baby – Buried in Sedan Cemetery.

William F. “Billy” & Daisy D. (Chrisman) Morrison – When Bill was 16 he freighted oats from Sedan to the White Sulphur Springs area. The trip would take 2 days driving his 4 horse team. When it got cold, he would wrap the lines around the dashboard and get out and walk. On one trip it was reported to have been 54 degrees below zero when he arrived in White Sulphur Springs.

Daisy came to Bozeman from Kansas to visit four aunts. She received her teacher’s diploma from Montana State College in Bozeman. Daisy was one of the first teachers in Sedan and taught Henry Woosley. She was the same Daisy Chrisman noted as a teacher at Sedan School from 1898 – 1901. She was said to have been almost the same age as some of her students. Bill and Daisy were married in 1900 and in 1901 moved 8 miles east of Wilsall. In 1903 they had a son named George Everett his twin sister was born dead.

In A History of Sedan, (Seitz 1962) it reads, “The Sedan Cemetery was started in 1891 when Bill Morrison died and the roads were too bad to travel to take his body to Bozeman, they had to bury him someplace, so Joshua Woosley told them they could use his land.” However Josie Woosley’s Bible lists persons buried in Sedan Cemetery and Morrison’s name is not listed. “Grandpa” Samuel Maddox is the first entry. Samuel died in 1915.

George Everett & Isabella Morrison – He was the son of Bill and Daisy Morrison. George and Isabella lived up Horse Creek.

R. Morrison – A family who settled in Sedan at an early date and their children attended Sedan School. Robbie Morrison – Attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902.

George Newman – He homesteaded and farmed in the Sedan area for several years. He had one of the first gas engines to farm with in our part of the country.

Richard H. Nicillison / Nicolson – Homesteaded the 160 acre Thompson Place. Old timers claim Nicillison / Nicolson committed suicide.

Matt Niebel – He was listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Duey & Sarah Nollmeyer – Ranching original Nollmeyer Place along Carroll Creek.

Floyd & Leah Rae Nollmeyer – Moved to Sedan from Melville in 1950 to “Pegleg” Haley Place (on Section 7) known as the “Sacajawea Ranch.” Daughter Susan was born in Bozeman on January 13, 1951 and brought home from Sedan on sleigh and team as there wasn’t much of a road to their place at the time. The road was later graveled by the county up to Nollmeyer’s place at Floyd’s request and using gravel he supplied from his gravel pit. Susan was a student at Sedan School for part of one year and was the only Sedan School student of the Nollmeyer family. Son Ed was born on February 11, 1953 in Bozeman. Floyd raised sheep and farmed in Sedan until it became necessary to find another way to make a living.

Floyd was later a pharmacy student at U of M, so the family lived between Sedan and Missoula for 3 years. Daughter Nancy Ellen was born in Polson in 1957. After he graduated, Floyd had a pharmacy in Bozeman and the family lived between Bozeman and Sedan. Daughter Kathryn was born in Bozeman.

Sometime around 1960 Floyd’s father bought a dry land wheat farm in Wilsall. Floyd’s family then lived between Wilsall, Sedan, and Bozeman.

Susan Nollmeyer married Darryl Razzano and later farmed and ranched on what was known to them as the “Upper Place” (up from Wilsall) from 1972 – 1983. Their daughters are Tami and Gina. The house where Darryl, Susan and family lived burned down in the mid-80s. This land was owned by Floyd’s brother Henry Nollmeyer at the time and still belongs to the Nollmeyer family today.

J. Nordquist – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Oates, Mayda H. – Born 1917 in Broadview, MT the daughter of Paul and Ada (Stiles) Oates. According to her obituary Mayda, “Spent her early life in Broadview and when she was 12 drove a horse and wagon and came with her family to the Sedan area of the Shields Valley. She attended Shields Valley schools.” Obituary states Mayda H. Burns died July 6, 2007 in Livingston.

Mrs. Bill Officer -Arrived here with Mrs. Sol P. Heron (Myers) from Missouri on a wagon.

O’Linger Family -Worked for Armstrongs

Frances Orth – Sedan School teacher married Wade Inabnit.

Russ Osmunsdon – Worked for Sam Phares

Bill Palmer – Son of Reed & Evelyn (Beebe) Palmer. Attended Sedan School, lives in Red Lodge, MT.

Harry Palmer Family – He had his wife came to Sedan in about 1945. Their children attended Sedan School during the 1920s and 1930s. Children: Wesley “Wes,” Reed, Russell, Earl “Swede,” Stella, and Kenneth. Swede used to play the drums at the dances at The Cheese Factory.

James Reed Palmer – James was born July 16, 1939 in Auburn, Washington, the son of Reed and Evelyn (Beebe) Palmer. Evelyn later married Lyle Reichman, who was James’ stepfather. He married Freida Reihardt on August 11, 1957 and graduated from Wilsall High School in 1958. They lived in Helena, Bozeman, Lincoln and Wilsall, Montana before moving to Bar Nunn Wyoming then Mesquite, Nevada where he died on April 2, 2005. Pastor Ted Inabnit officiated the funeral services and is James in buried in the Wilsall Cemetery.

Reed & Evelyn Palmer had 3 children: William “Billy,” James Reed”Jim,” and Harriet. All three children attended Sedan School. Evelyn later married Lyle Reichman and had children Patsy Jean Reichman and Raymond Reichman who also attended Sedan School.

Stella Palmer – She was raised in Sedan. Now Stella Olson.

“Swede” (Earl) Palmer – Born at Grannis Crossing in 1919. Educated in Sedan and Wilsall Schools. Graduated from Wilsall in 1940, died August 24, 1998 in Butte, Montana, buried in Whitehall, MT.

Wes & Dorothy (Jones) Palmer – Lived across the creek, north of her parents’ (Robert Jones’) Place

Palmer Sawmill – Located near Battle Ridge. No relation to the Harry Palmer family.

Fredrick W. & Carrie F. Pasco(e) – Listed on the 1909-1910 Sedan School Census Report for School 38 and on 1911 and 1912 for School 66 (East Flathead / Pass View School). Her husband is noted as deceased at that time and she is noted as having a son (or being a guardian for) Fred B. Colburn. It was said that Pascoes were very sick in the 1918 epidemic and there was no one to care for them. It is possible Fred B. Colburn took the name Pasco and is the same person locals later describe as bachelor Fred Pasco.

Fred was a “little guy” who some remembered to be a bachelor and an early settler in the Sedan area. He was described as a good rancher who raised fine horses. He was an English immigrant, who came to the United States when he was a young man. Pasco occupied land which is currently part of the Fastje Place near Petterson Road. Tim Petterson told of how he remembers Barney Fastje stumbling across a letter at the Pasco Place as noted below. Fred lived in the Woosley home when Allen and Alta moved in.

Lester “Shorty” Faw bought the old Inabnit Store building and moved it to the old Pasco Place which is now at the corner of Fastje and Flathead Creek Roads. He moved the building to make it into a house, but it was never finished and Barney Fastje later used it as a lambing shed. Tim Petterson told of how he remembers Barney Fastje stumbling across a letter found (some time after “Shorty” vacated the building) which described how a family member of either Faw or Pasco had survived the Titanic.

Paulene – Homesteaded in this community, sold his ranch, and moved to Idaho.

John Peacock – He was a bachelor who came to the area in 1917. His horse was found hobbled in 1944 by Lyle Reichman. John Peacock has not been seen since. He was always a loner, who ran a horse ranch at the foot of Elkhorn Ridge. He was thought to be a communist. See “The Valley of Unmarried Men” by Warren N. Reichman.

Jene Pergande said there was a story about John Peacock that he died in the Whitehall area. He had taken the train over to Whitehall and had borrowed money from somebody. He got to drinking and ended up getting into a fight and was killed. His dog was found along the road near where he had been killed.

Blair Penwell Ranch Co. – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Arnold Adolphus & Ruby Pergande – Arnold was born November 4, 1894. He came to Montana in May of 1907 from Metropolis, Illinois to meet a friend who worked in Yellowstone Park. This friend had sent him a letter to come and visit. Arnold did not want to come, but his father encouraged him to come anyway to see what it was like and experience new things. According to a story about the Pergandes in “Tracks Volume, ” Arnold worked in the Park for several summers for the “Wylie Permanent Cab Company,” taking firewood to the night camps and driving coaches that took people through the park. During this time there were robbers holding up the coaches and stealing the people’s things. One time, in the Park , for some reason Arnold turned and took a different route. He later learned that he had saved his passengers from the robbers. He was one of the few employees who coach was never robbed. During the winters he worked in Brigham, Utah, in the mines, and he also pulled a hearse with a team of horses in Bozeman when he worked as a nightman for the railroad.” The last time Arnold worked in the park was 1915.

Arnold took up a homestead which he bought from Fred J. Stryker in March 1914. The home was not finished. To fix a corner, Arnold pulled an old grainery into the corner and attached it to the house. He also used lumber he got at Browns sawmill (it is not known if this is the Brown sawmill near Beckner’s place near Flathead Pass or the sawmill on Brackett Creek) and from old homesteads in the area. (Located three miles southeast of Butch Waddell’s place on Seitz Road). According to the story in “Tracks Volume I,” There was never any plumbing or electricity in the house except for a small electric lamp which ran on a six volt battery. He had a root cellar and spring house to store his food…he root cellar had a trap door so that he could go from the house to his cellar without going outside.

Arnold did many jobs among; carpentry, masonry, forge work, welding, pipe laying in L.A., night watchman in a livery stable in Bozeman) but was mainly a farmer and helped others thrash wheat. He also raised cows and sheep until about 1971, when his daughter came to run the farm. The Pergande place was last occupied in 1975, the year Arnold died. Everything in the house is gone except for his bed, which was left in the same spot as when he last slept in it. Arnold died on September 2, 1976, in Billings. He is buried in Wilsall Cemetery.

Ruby & Arnold separated. Ruby moved to Bozeman, died in January of 1975.

Marian “Jene” Pergande – Born in Livingston on July 19, 1926 to Arnold and Ruby Pergande. Jene went to school in Sedan until 4th grade, when it was necessary for her to seek medical help for a condition with her knee. She spent three years in Billings after a surgery and while she attended orthopedic school. After several surgeries in various locations, she returned to Sedan School for 8th grade. Jene attended Wilsall High School for one year and graduated from, Gallatin County High School in 1944. She married Henry Arthur Hendrickson from White Sulphur Springs, June 1951.

Peter L. Peterson – He was an early homesteader from Denmark. He and his wife ran a dairy, sold their ranch, and went back to Denmark. They lived in a cabin on Petterson Road known as the Shelhamer Place.

George & Louisa (Baker) Petterson – George was born in Minnesota in 1897 and moved to Miles City, MT in 1909 with his parents and family. Pettersons were early settlers in the Angela area (north of Miles City) where they farmed, raised cattle and later sheep. George grew up on the ranch and worked for various old time ranches. He later became a professional sheep shearer and traveled the west, in season, from Canada to Mexico for many years.

George met Louisa Baker who was a teacher at rural schools in the area. They were married in 1929. The depression of the 30s drove them to Seattle in 1932 where George worked in the shipyards and American Car & Foundry building railcars. Tim, their only child, was born in 1934 in Seattle.

The Pettersons moved back to Miles City where George sheared sheep and ranched through the second war. They moved to Wilsall in 1944 and bought the old George Shelhamer place northwest of Sedan.

Louisa taught at Wilsall High School for many years while George ranched. Tim graduated from Wilsall in 1952 and attended MSC in Bozeman. In 1955 George and Louisa bought the old Barnard Place a mile south of Sedan and lived there until their deaths. George died in 1976. Louisa moved to a condo in Bozeman and died in 1983.

Tim & Anita (Inabnit) Petterson – Tim was the only child of George and Louisa (Baker) Petterson born in Seattle in 1934. Anita was born October 3, 1935 and was brought home to Sedan where her family lived in the little cabin along Flathead Creek, which was a log cabin built between 1930 and 1933. Anita’s parents were Wesley and Myda (Christie) Inabnit of Sedan. Anita’s family left Sedan in 1940 and rented various farms in the Gallatin Valley until they returned to Sedan in 1946. They moved to the old Clark place when Anita was in 4th grade. Her teacher was Mrs. Lula Weber and there were “20 odd students” at the Sedan School. They had no electricity or running water until 1947.

Tim and Anita were high school sweethearts who graduated from Wilsall High School and married in June of 1954. In 1955 they moved to the Shelhamer Place where they lived until 1965 when they bought the old Clark Place from Anita’s parents ,Wes & Myda Inabnit, who moved to Bozeman. Tim and Anita lived on the Clark Place until 1990 when they sold it and moved to the Barnard Place where they still live. They raised four children; Patricia “Patty” born October 1955, Victoria “Vicky” November 1956, Laura Lee February 1962, and David August 1964. Vicky & Patty, as well as Tim & Anita, attended Sedan School. All four children graduated from Wilsall as did their parents.

Sam & Robin Phares – Lived in old Tacke Place, children John and Lauren.

Jim & Bonnie (Julian) Pinkerton – Jim and Bonnie lived on the Cowan ranch for about three years, one of them during the winter of 1949! (Florence Cowan was Bonnie’s aunt and Juanita Cowan was her cousin) As Bonnie recalls, “Of course, Gallatin County did nothing with the road during the winter and people from around Sedan would come by team to our place, then we would take them on into Wilsall for groceries. One person would buy for all the surrounding neighbors so they wouldn’t all have to go to town. That was one of the worst winters (1949) I’ve ever seen!!!”

Bonnie said, “the phone lines weren’t very good (our’s wasn’t that great, either) and sometimes people would come use our phone – especially for long distance. We received a bill one time with a call on it that we didn’t recognize and had no idea who may have made it. A month or so later one of the men from Sedan stopped in and told us he’d made a call one day when we were gone, so came to pay for it. Everyone was considered to be honest in those days unless proven otherwise and we all left our doors unlocked. I don’t remember the name of that man – wish I did. That was one winter we were all happy to have end, believe me!!!”

Bonnie Pinkerton had this to say about attending only one dance in the Cheese Factory. “I stayed overnight with Betty Woosley – probably when we were freshmen at Wilsall. I think we went to a little rodeo or something of the sort and I got sunburned quite badly. That night we all went to the dance at the cheese factory. I remember how the floor shook and wondered if it would hold up under all that, but it did.”

Bonnie knew all the kids from Sedan who went to high school in Wilsall, but she never knew exactly where all of them lived at the time. When she was younger her parents lived on the ranch where Stutterheims live on – up on the hill above Jerry Arthun’s (between Wilsall and Clyde Park). She remembers, “once Dad said he was going to Sedan and either my sister or I said, “Dan who?”

Tom & Bev Polk – Lived on Sixteen Mile near Flathead Pass for many years.

Polson Family – Lived at Kistner-Hardy dam.

Edward C. & Myrtle Poor – Listed on1909-10 Sedan School 38 Census Report, child Mary Etta.

Marion M. Poor – Listed on 1909 and 1910 Sedan School 38 Census Report, children Mable, Howard, & Marion. No wife listed.

Marshall C. & Nora Maggie Poor – Listed on 1911 Gallatin County Sedan School District #38 Census Report children; Arthur Cecil, Floyd, Enett Lee (male), Rosa May, Maylen, James Robert & Ruby March

James R. & Annie Poore – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1914, children Charles R., Arthur J. and Archie

Rosa May Poor – Born 1902, attended Sedan and Wilsall Schools, married a Hamond, died 1998.

Lark & Lydia Mae (Van Gorder Russell) Porter – Born March 21, 1859 in Oregon. He moved to Montana from Silverton, Oregon while looking for a new home. He & Lydia worked on a ranch South of what is now Sedan Cemetery. Daughter, Naomi, was born February 11, 1911. Lark & Lydia are listed on 1911 School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38. Children Ada Russell (born 1898), Edna Russell (born 1900), and Porter baby (Female). About 1913 they “took up a homestead” about 8 miles North of Wilsall on Potter Creek. He died in 1929 and is buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Porters’ baby – Buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Dorris & Stella Potts – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910, children Orval, Norman, and Jewell W. (Female). Stella is possibly the Mrs. Potts listed below as having been buried in the Sedan Cemetery.

Mrs. Potts – She was buried in Sedan Cemetery but was later moved to somewhere else in Montana.

John Pratt Family – Lived at the Nollmeyer Place

Printz Family – Gary, Johnny, and Lois attended Sedan School. Audrey was their mother.

H.P. & Catherine Railey – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910, child Hamilton P.

H. P. & K.E. Railey – Listed in 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

John M. & Elvue (?) Railey – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909, child Martin R.

Sadie Railey – Listed as clerk on 1908 Sedan School Census Report of Gallatin County District #38.

Mr. L.B. Railshack / Railshask – He was the Sedan School teacher for the 1897/98 term.

S. Randall / Randle – Listed on the 1912 Ownership map of Gallatin county.

Samuel & Janett F. Randall – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910. Children; James A., Donald D. and Russell S., also listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #66 in 1911.

Ranger Station – Stationed on land owned by Pearl D’Ewart, it sits 20 miles Southwest of Wilsall at the base of the Bridgers. The ranger station was built in 1920s, and served as the district forest station. Fred Enger / Anger / Ainger (sp?) kept all the books pertaining to the Bridger Mountains at this station. This was about the only station where a ranger lived year round, most were used only in the summer. The rangers used these stations while they patrolled their land and checked for fires. Land improvement trail crews used the stations for shelter and to store supplies. Ranchers have been known to stay in these cabins while riding the land checking on their cattle.

Tom & Carol Reed – Lived further up Flathead Pass than Bernie & Hattie Beckner. The Reeds were said to have lived with Fred Ainger for a while in the 1930s.

Marie Earldine Regehr – Buried in Woosley Cemetery (near Hunters). She was Tom Hunter’s niece and a cousin of Allen Woosley. Born April 20, 1918. Died March 22, 1993.**Reichman family members are grouped by parents not listed alphabetically**

Sarah Reichman – Warren Reichman’s grandmother. Sarah’s name was listed without her husband’s on the School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909 with child Lawrence Reichmond(incorrectly spelled by clerk).

Harry “Ray” Reichman – Father of Josephine, George, & Daisy Reichman’s; owned land on which the Flathead School was built. He ranched, owned a dairy for years, raised a large family, and served as a trustee for the 1929/1930 term of Sedan School.
His son George and daughter Daisy homesteaded in the same section.

Josephine Reichman – Daughter of Harry Ray. She was Warren’s Aunt, who graduated from 8th grade in Bozeman, and later taught at East Flathead School in 1894 and 1895 with an 8th grade education. Josephine married Lewis Cady.

Daisy Reichman – Daughter of Harry Ray Reichman married Orville Pitts; possibly Orval Potts above?

Ray & Edna Mae (Woosley) Reichman – They both attended Sedan School, homesteaded, ran stock, and dairied in Sedan. Ray spent most of his life in Sedan. Their boys were Everett, Warren, and Lyle. Their daughter was Lois Jean.

At one time Ray had a herd of around 70 head of cattle, 200 head of sheep and 80 horses. In those days horses were used to pull machinery and there was a good market for them, so Ray raised them for farming with and for selling. Quoting from Warren Reichman’s story in “Tracks Volume II,” “You have probably heard of the drought of 1918 and the hard winter of 1919 in the Shields River Valley. Dad said it was so dry there was very little grass in the hills, the crops all failed and there was little hay raised in the country. Well, he knew he couldn’t make it through the winter with his outfit, so he sold his sheep in the fall and turned the horses out into the hills, as there was still open range left. Then he borrowed money to buy hay for the cattle. Hay was shipped in from Minnesota and North and South Dakota (described as bales of swamp grass that had more ice than hay in them). It was worth $50 a ton, which was an awful lot of money in those days, and hay usually sold for $5 or less. Then he had to pay shipping costs above that. He said it started snowing in early September and never let up until May. When spring came a lot of Dad’s cattle had died and when he rounded up his horses, he found only eight head of them alive. He found a lot of dead ones. So there he was, owing a mint of money and with little left to pay the debt with. By 1922, he lost everything he had and was forced to move away. The next spring mother died in childbirth.”

Edna and Ray were Christian Scientists. Edna Mae died in 1923 ten days after giving birth to Lois Jean. A complication arose from an inflammation. Lois Jean was raised by and aunt and cousin; Helen and Kate Hutchinson in the San Luis Obispo, California area. Lois Jean’s last name may have been changed to Hutchinson. Everett, Warren, and Lyle were raised by their grandfather Josh Woosley until they were in the eighth grade. Ray never remarried after Edna Mae died.

Ray eventually started ranching again and rented the Clark place during Warren’s teen years (1934-1939). This is were the Sedan Church is located. Warren also recalls in “Tracks Volume II,” At that time, practically all the land north of highway 86, up Flathead Creek, belonged to land banks and was sitting there unused with fences falling down and old buildings rotting away. Small ranchers didn’t have to own land, as they could turn their cattle out in this area during summers. It was practically like open range all the way over to Ringling. Every year the county would put some of these old homesteads up for tax sales and we were able to buy a quarter section here and there for taxes, sometimes as little as 25 cents per acre. All together we bought two sections and my brother bought another three quarters after I left home for World War II and Dad died. This land was scattered all over. One quarter had been homesteaded by a man named Webber, up on the south end of Elkhorn Ridge. Half a mile below it, we got half a section homesteaded by a family named Foreman. Another half a mile down the the mountain side, we got two adjacent quarters that had belonged to two Hammer brothers. Six miles down in the valley, along Little Muddy Creek, we got three quarters homesteaded by the Kurk family.”

Everett Reichman – Son of Edna and Ray. Attended East Flathead School 1920 & 1921 and Sedan School. He is the brother of Warren N., Lyle and Lois Jean Reichman

Warren N. & Wilma Jean (Johnson) Reichman – Son of Harry Ray & Edna Mae (Woosley) Reichman. Warren was born in Wilsall on September 16, 1918. He was raised in Sedan by his grandparents Josh & Josie Woosley. Warren attended Sedan School and was the oldest living native of East Flathead Valley at the time this history project was begun in 1996. He delivered milk to the Cheese Factory when he was a kid. Warren graduated from Wilsall High School in 1938.

When faced with entering the service for WWII, Warren thought he might get into officer’s training, but he needed a birth certificate which he didn’t have. So, he went to Helena to look up the record and get a copy of it. He states in “Tracks Volume II,” “It was there in the files all right; old Doc Cogswell who officiated my birth in Wilsall had sent it in, but you know, I was down in the records as being a girl! The clerk said things like that happened occasionally in the old days, so she changed the records and I became a boy officially.”

Warren’s college years were interrupted when he served in WWII. Warren served in the U.S. Navy on board the USS Anzio and participated in battles of the Pacific Theater.

Wilma was born December 26, 1923 to Omar and Edna Johnson on a farm 5 miles west of Hume, Illinois the middle child of 13. She graduated from Hume High School in 1940. After WWII started she went to work helping hospitals in Chicago area which is where she met navy sailor Warren.

Warren and Wilma were married on October 5, 1943 in Los Angeles, California just before he shipped out with a fleet. Wilma attended Pepperdine College and worked while waiting 2 years for Warren to return. They ranched in Sedan for two years until they moved to Missoula where Warren received a degree in journalism from the University of Montana in Missoula in 1947.

Warren and Wilma settled in Missoula where he worked as the City Editor for the Daily Missoulian. In 1952 he bought The Madisonian newspaper in Virginia City operated it for 18 years. In 1970 Warren went to work for Artcraft Printers in Bozeman in 1970 until he retired in 1983 to live in Sedan. Warren and Wilma’s children are Roger, Michael, and Tamara.

Warren died September 2, 1997 in Charlo, Montana where he and Wilma and moved to be with family. Funeral services were held at the Sedan School and he was buried in the Woosley family cemetery west of Sedan on September 5, 1997. Wilma died February 26, 2005 in St. Ignatius, Montana. Her funeral services were also held at the Sedan Community Center (old school house) and she, too, was buried in the Woosley Family Cemetery.

Roger & Carla Reichman – Roger is the son of Warren and Wilma Reichman. They Live on Hendrickson Road. Children Eric, Krysti and Brett.

Lyle & Evelyn (Beebe) Reichman – Son of Ray and Edna Mae- Lyle sold land to the Chriske’s, which he bought from Charlie Smith. Lyle attended Sedan School and was the clerk there for the years of 1947-1953. Their children are Patsy Jean, & Raymond Earl attended Sedan School. Evelyn was first married to Reed Palmer and they had 3 children: William “Bill” Palmer, James Reed Palmer, and Harriet Palmer who also attended Sedan School.

Warren told me the following story about Lyle at the 1997 Sedan School reunion, “One time they were playing cowboys and rustlers and they had caught Lyle as a rustler and had him strung up to the swing outside (of the Sedan school) and he was standing on a box and the box slipped out from under him and he “damn near hung himself, he didn’t drop far enough to kill him, but he was pretty scared.”

Patsy Jean Reichman – Born March 3, 1947 in Livingston to Lyle and Evelyn (Beebe) Reichman. She lived on the ranch outside of Wilsall and attended Sedan School for 6 years. Her family then moved to Willow Creek where she finished her education. In 1964 she married Ron Jensen of Willow Creek and had a daughter Cindy Lou Jensen and a son Ronald Raymond Jensen. In 1975 she married Richard Miller and had one more son Dustin Dean Miller.

Raymond Reichman – Son of Lyle and Evelyn (Beebe) Reichman lives in Manhattan, Montana.

Lois Jean Reichman – She was the last baby born to Ray and Edna Mae, as Edna Mae died 10 days after she was born. Lois later became known as Lois Jean Hutchinson. She was named after her Aunt Kate Hutchinson and Cousin Helen Hutchinson who raised her – the Hutchinson ladies did not live in Sedan.

George A. Reichman – He served as a trustee for Sedan School for the terms 1900-1903.

George Harrison “Harry” & Sarah Jane (Johnston) Reichman – Children attended first term of Sedan School.

George Reichman, Jr. – He attended Sedan School, married a Clark girl and moved to Washington.

Lester C. Reichmond – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910 with child Louis C.Wilbur & Oma Reinke – Oma Taught the “upper room” of Sedan School during the 1951/1952 school term. Wilbur was a successful farmer in this area. They had 3 children and lived in the old house on Tim & Anita Petterson’s Place.

Dale & Alta (Shores) Rexroat – Dale and Alta were both originally from Illinois. They had one some named Jimmy who did not attend Sedan School as his family left Sedan before he was old enough to start school. Dale and his brother Delbert later became tilesetters.

Delbert & Helen (Vasic) Rexroat – Moved to Sedan about 1933 to land Delbert bought from Laurel Inabnit. They had 3 children; Richard, Gene, and Marilyn. Mr. Rexroat and Raymond Kannegaard built a one room log cabin as a schoolhouse for their children. This cabin was located in Gallatin County northwest of Sedan (approximately 1 1/2 miles north and 3 miles west of the current Sedan School). They hired an “old fellow” as the teacher. His name was Mr. Stevens and he was 70 years old at the time. All three Rexroat children eventually attended Sedan School and rode a pony 7 miles to the school and would cut through the old Phil Lamson Place. In the winter time the Rexroats moved into the old Sedan School building next to the Cheese Factory so the kids could get to school. Delbert sold the land to Charlie Smith of Big Timber when the family moved to Bozeman. Delbert and his brother Dale later became tilesetters.

Edgar David recalls when Delbert bought his place from Laurel Inabnit, Delbert and his boys went to look at the creek. Laurel’s son Elden was there and he and Jimmy, being pretty young, were arguing over whose creek it was. So Elden pushed Jimmy in and later remarked, “he said it was his creek, so I let him have it.”

Edgar David & Claire (Schain) Rexroat – Edgar was born in 1913. On June 4, 1931, right after Edgar graduated from high school in Ryegate, he and his brother Dale drove the family’s livestock horseback from Ryegate to Sedan. Dale was in charge of the horses and Edgar David pushed the cows. They traveled 15 miles per day for 10 days until reaching their new home 150 miles away.

Edgar told of “freighting” from Bozeman to Castle Mountain near White Sulphur Springs – using horse drawn bobsleds in the wintertime to haul oats and groceries for the people at the mine

Edgar hauled milk to the Sedan Cheese Factory for seven years using a team at times. Edgar said that the warm curds were “very good.” It was after hearing about the Sedan Cheese Factory for the first time in 1996 from Tony Vasic, Sr., that my fascination about Sedan’s history began. Tony was Helen Rexroat’s brother and he used to tell my husband and me stories of visiting the Rexroat and Inabnit families in Sedan in his earlier years.

Walter Boegli was the cheese maker during this time and was remembered by Edgar to be a “good manager.” Edgar said milk was more profitable to sell than cream was at that time and that Walter would determine the fat content of the milk and pay accordingly.

Edgar and Claire were married in 1938 and lived in Sedan until 1939 when the Homer family from Three Forks bought the Shelhamer Place. Rexroats moved to Bozeman and farmed under the “M” for two years. Later they moved to Three Forks while Edgar worked at Trident for one year. He later became an engineer for the Milwaukee railroad and retired in Bozeman after 35 years.

Edgar tells of a warm spring day in March of 1939 when he and Claire moved their cattle over Flathead Pass to their new home in Bozeman. The snow was so deep in places that the pairs would not move so Edgar carried the calves on his saddle so the cows would follow.

Edgar Lee & Ellna Rexroat – Moved their family of three boys; Delbert, Dale and Edgar David to Ryegate, MT from Illinois in 1916. Due to a severe drought in the Ryegate area in 1931 the Rexroats moved to Sedan and lived on the Shelhamer Place (800 acres) east of Flathead Pass in what is now known as Tim Petterson’s “Cow Camp.” Their neighbors were the Lamsons, Whitmans, Pascoes and Inabnits. Edgar Lee paid Earl Beebe(whose family also moved to Sedan from Ryegate at that time) $8.00 to haul the family’s furniture. Ellna died in 1937.

Dee Reynolds – Lived at Kime’s Place, children Margaret & Claude

Margaret Reynolds – “Worked” at the Sedan Store in the early 1930s. The story goes if there was a horse tied out back you didn’t go in the store…Margaret was otherwise “engaged.” Margaret lived in the old house on the Petterson Place.

Heber Otho & Blanche Marie (McMahon) Rice – Fourth of six children born to Oscar Miller & Emma Rice.

Oscar Miller & Emma (Kirkbride) Rice – Oscar was born in Washington County, Ohio on August 30, 1854. Oscar & Emma married on March 30, 1878 in South Olive, Ohio. Oscar was a graduate of the State Normal College and was ordained in the ministry. He later gave up ministry and moved to Kansas and then to Nebraska. Three of their six children were Heber, Percy and Lela. The Rices moved to Montana in the fall of 1911 and first owned a ranch 16 miles west of Wilsall which was their original homestead (near the Ainger Ranger Station). They later moved down four miles of west of Wilsall where they lived until Oscar’s death. He was buried October 22, 1925 in a Bozeman cemetery.

Ridgeway – Listed in “Rough Sketch of Ranches in the East Flathead Country Early 1900s” from H.L. Inabnits’s “Plow to Pulpit.”

Walter Ridgway – Sedan School #38 Clerk 1909-1911 noted on Gallatin County Census Reports.

Charles & Velma (Birtha Reighard-George) Riggs – Velma was born 6/8/1897 in Oklahoma, moved to Musselshell with parents in 1914. Velma was married earlier to Eddie Martin. Eddie & Velma’s daughter was Birdine Irene (George) Gray. Several years after Eddie Martin’s death Velma married Charles Riggs in 1927 at Musselshell. Eddie Martin and Charles Riggs played violin in the same band.

Velma and Charles moved to Sedan community in 1928 and had one son Mike Riggs who attended Sedan School. Charles Riggs died in 1945. Birdine and Mike inherited the Riggs ranch. Mike later moved to Three Forks, Montana. Velma lived alone in a house next door to the Sedan School house until her death in 1953. That home at one time became the Sedan Store.

Mike Riggs – Child of Charles & Velma Riggs. He attended Sedan School. They lived near the Vennes place and Joye Waddell’s. Mike & Velma later lived in a house between Bill & Becky Landis’ house and the Sedan School. This home at one time became the Sedan Store.

Charley & Frances (Shelhamer) Robinson – Charley was born in 1909. Frances was born in 1919 the daughter of Asa & Grace (Gilbert) Shelhamer. She graduated from high school in 1936 and went on to attend the College of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. Frances graduated in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Charley Robinson had come to work for her father in 1933 and they had been going together. After graduation she came home and they were married in September of 1940. Charley and Frances rented several ranches around the area for several years and then purchased their current ranch in Sedan from George Breibach in 1953.

Charley and Frances had two daughters while living near Clyde Park, Sharon in 1941 and Shirley in 1944. The girls had gone to school in Clyde Park and were, according to Frances, “so sure they would not like going to a country school. But after two days here they never wanted to go back.” They liked their teacher and all the kids. Shirley was in the 4th grade and the only in her class, so the teacher let her take the fifth grade too that year. Next year she went into the 6th grade. Sharon was in seventh grade and graduated from Sedan and then went to Wilsall for high school. Shirley finished the 6th grade in Sedan and then went to Wilsall for the 8th grade.

Frances writes, “We had a baby boy, Russell, born in 1955. He is 11 years younger than Shirley and needless to say, he was very much loved by his sisters.”

The Robinsons built their new home and moved into it in 1956. Frances recalls, “Charley was very busy getting the land into production and purchasing cattle too. I helped all I could and we worked side by side in so many ways. I had hired labor to cook for so was kept very busy.”

Charley served as a trustee of Sedan School during the 1950s and 1960s as all three of their children attended Sedan School.

Frances said, “The years passed very swiftly it seemed, and all at once we had a daughter graduating from high school.” Sharon went on to the Colorado Women’s College at Denver for one year and then came home and married Ray “Slim” Keefer in 1960. They moved around a little and finally ended up on a ranch on Rock Creek near Clyde Park. They have four daughters; Shawna, Tami, Shelley, and Tara.

When Shirley graduated she went to Eastern College in Billings for one year and then came home and married Jerry Olson in 1962. They have two children; Shawn and Rhonda.

Russell went one year to Havre to Northern College then came home and married Cheryl Lovely in 1974. Russell decided to work with his dad running the ranch. Cheryl & Russell have two children; Jaime and Eric.

Charley became very ill in 1975 and after several operations and a long struggle, died of colon cancer on Thanksgiving Day in 1977. Russell took over managing the ranch. Frances says, “It has been a hard struggle at times, but we are still hanging on. I continue to live here on the ranch and hope I can continue until they have to carry me off feet first. I love my home and the community and the beauty of the mountains. God has given us much and I praise Him for His goodness to us.”

Clayton Robinson – Lived in a tent near Waddells’, sons Dean & Larry attended Sedan School for a short time.

Russell & Cheryl (Lovely) Robinson – Russell is the son of Charley & Francis (Shelhamer) Robinson. Russell attended Sedan School along with his sisters Sharon and Shirley. Russell ranches in Sedan today on the family ranch. Their children are Eric and Jaime. Russell fondly recalls baseball games played at community picnics in Green Canyon, which is located southeast of the Pergande Place.

T.H. Roddey – He was the Pastor of Sedan Church. He bought the church on February 1, 1932, and owned it until March 1, 1933, a time of extreme depression and difficulty.

C.J. Roggan – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Bill Rogge – He was a bachelor who lived in the Sedan area.

Carl Rogge – He homesteaded and ranched here. He also bought an interest in a threshing machine and then lost his homestead, as a bachelor. His brother, Bill Rogge, lived here for years, but he homesteaded near Ringling.

Gus Rogge – He married a Keys girl, homesteaded, and ranched here. They raised several children.

August C. & Iva S. Roggo(w) – Listed on 1910 School #38 Census Report and in 1911 and 1912 listed on the School #65 Census Report, daughter Mary M. born April 17, 1907, son Frederick, born November 29, 1908, and Hazel E. Roggow was born on April 18, 1911. Iva was the clerk for district #65 in 1912. Homesteaded section.10, now owned by Woosleys.

Frank Russell – As noted in A Photo History of Shields Valley (Whithorn 1969, revised 2010) Frank Russell was a frequent contender at the Sedan rodeos in the 1920s. He also worked on ranches near Sedan. His first car was a Ford Bug and is pictured in the publication noted above. Frank was also a mail carrier in Livingston until he retired in October 1961.

Orville Howard & Stella Myrtle (Campbell) Sallee – Came to the area from Missouri. Their children were Noel Clifford (born 1909), Omar H. (born 1912 – note: name spelled differently on a variety of documents as Ohmar, Omer, Homer) Beryl L. (born 1914), Forrest Hubert (born 1915), Pearl “Velma” (born 1918), Ester “Esta” (born 1920), Orville (born 1922), Irene (born 1924), Glenn Charles (born 1926 – note his name is also spelled as Glen on some records) and Gail “Janette” (born 1928).

The following Sallee children were listed as having attended Sedan School in the 1920s and 1930s: Beryl, Velma, Noel, Forrest and Omar (listed as Homer) as well as Sallee Girls.

Hod Sanders (Clover Club Potato Chips) – Owned land in Sedan but never lived here. Howard Bloxham worked for him. Howard & Afton Bloxham lived at the Mark Cowan Place after Marty & Virginia Swandal sold it.

Ike & Ann Sanders – In the summer of 1927 Ike received the appointment of rural letter carrier. His route was the Sedan route and he had that route for several years. Pearl D’Ewart said Ike smoked cigars and her mail always smelled like cigar smoke when Ike delivered it. Pearl also recalled that when the roads were really bad Allen Woosley would meet Ike on his saddlehorse and carry the mail the rest of the way.

Anne taught at the Wilsall School, Cowen School (south of Clyde Park) and Sedan School. Mrs. Sanders was a teacher at Sedan School for the school year 1953/54 and was said to have been “an excellent teacher and Ike was the mail carrier in Sedan for many, many years,” according to former resident Kay Seitz. He retired in the fall of 1954. Mrs. Sanders lived to be 104 years old.

They had three children; William R. “Bill,” Mrs. Jerome Kohn, and Dick. The Sanders purchased the Hutchinson house from her father, W.O. Hutchinson. They later spent winters in Arizona.

Lottie H. Sayers – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910, children Charley W. Sayers, andtwins; Leland (female), and Lenord (male). No husband listed. The Sayers are then listed in District #66 in 1911 and 1912. Husband listed as deceased and twins Leland and Lenord are later referred to as Lela B. and Leon H.

R.J. Sayers – Listed on 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Joseph & Texas Schaefer – Joe homesteaded on Big Muddy about six miles from Sedan starting in 1918 until 1927 when he moved his family to Idaho. Joe and his wife, Texas, raised a stepson Aubrey Staley, and their daughters Thelma, Josephine, Helen, and Melinda. Aubrey didn’t attend Sedan School, but the girls did after Sunnyside School closed. The girls attended Sedan School from 1923 until the family moved to Idaho in 1927. Miss Johnson taught Helen and Melinda in the lower grades and Miss Bautch taught Thelma and Josephine in the upper grades.

Helen, Josephine, Melinda & Thelma Schaefer. Daughters of Joe & Texas who attended Sedan School in the 1920s.

Chas Sears – Listed on 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Chad Tyler Seitz graduated from MSU Bozeman with a degree in Environmental Education and currently lives in Deer Lodge and is not married.

Donald Gregory Seitz – Greg was the second of the Seitz children. He was born on October 21, 1946. He didn’t like ranch life when he was little, but later adjusted to it. His big sister used to have to pay him to go horseback riding with her. Finally, after he got older he learned to like to ride horses.

Greg learned to drive at an early age. He drove the tractor and raked hay at he age of seven. He liked machinery and was good at running it. He learned to drive in an old 1949 pickup in the middle of the hay field. Greg helped hay and do all the ranch chores from an early age, as did most ranch kids at the time. He was a 4-H club member and took steers to the 4-H and winter fairs in Bozeman. He was in athletics and played basketball and was quarterback on the football team. In high school he became interested in roping and did that with his good buddy Bill Davis from Belgrade. Greg still teams ropes today.

Greg attended MSU, but before completing his degree he came back to the ranch. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity at MSU Bozeman. Greg married Patricia Johnson and they lived in the upper house on the Seitz ranch. They had three children, Stacy Jo, Kelly Rae and Chad Tyler and built a larger home on the ranch in 1979. The family buried a time capsule in the yard of this home. Greg sold the original ranch that Alfred Wilson had put together in the early 1940s after Stan and Ann Seitz sold to him. He bought a ranch near Anaconda. The family moved there. In the late 1980s Patricia and Greg divorced. The ranch was sold and Greg moved to Deer Lodge and later married his current wife, Cindy, from Helena. Patricia moved to Polson, Montana.

Kathryn Ann (Seitz) Gannon – Kathryn grew up on the ranch at Sedan and loved every minute of it. She loved the animals, the horses most of all, and every part of what went on there; the mountains, the people, everything. She grew up working in the hayfield, riding horses, feeding 4-H calves, belonging to 4-H. She spent seven years at Sedan School. Sedan compared to today’s schools was completely outstanding where everyone learned and worked together. She went to high school in Wilsall and was actively involved in all aspects of high school life. The bus picked them up at 7:15 am as they were the first ones on the route.

Kathryn was a member of 4-H for 18 years and was named to the top 10 4-Hers in Gallatin County two years in a row. She went on to college at MSU Bozeman and graduated with a degree in elementary education and a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Administration. Kay wrote a paper for her Montana History 302 class at MSU for Dr. Burlingame’s class in 1962 entitled, “A History of Sedan.” Her paper is noted in the bibliography as part of the research for this site. She was also a member of Chi Omega Sorority at MSU Bozeman. Kay taught school in Rapelje, Columbus and Billings, Montana. She because an elementary principal while in Billings where she was honored by being named Administrator of the Year in 1987.

Kathryn married Vern Dahlstrom in 1970. He passed away suddenly in 1984. In 1986 she married Jim Gannon. Jim works for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and they were transferred to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1990. Kathryn was a principal in Minnesota for 5 years. In 1995 they were transferred to Ft. Worth , Texas where they now live. Kay is now beginning her 6th year (fall 2000) as a principal at Parkview Elementary School in Keller, Texas. Kay Seitz Gannon resides at 803 Parkdale Drive, Southlake, Texas 76092.

Kelly Seitz graduated from MSU Bozeman with a degree in Communication and she married Wade Duncan from Belgrade.

Sally (Seitz) Richardson – Sally was born in 1951 and was the youngest of Stan and Ann Seitz’s children. She had feet that turned in when she was small and had to have special shoes with braces for a couple of years. She could really use those steel braces to her advantage when she needed to; they were good weapons, recalls her sister, Kay.

Sally, being the youngest, didn’t get involved in the day-to-day ranch activities like Kathryn and Greg did. She did other things. She was very active in high school activities such as cheerleading and was involved with all the things that went on at the time. She didn’t ride horses or have steers to show in 4-H.

She graduated from high school and went to Kinman School of Fashion and Design, traveled to Europe and returned. She enrolled in Montana State University and completed a degree in Home Economics Dietetics. She is a registered dietitian. She worked in Great Falls Columbus Hospital for 12 years and that is where she met her husband Scott Richardson. They moved 
to Bozeman in 1990 where Scott was enrolled in MSU’s school of architecture. They currently 
live at 2-B Gallatin Drive, Bozeman, Montana 59715.

Stacy Seitz graduated from MSU Bozeman with a degree in elementary education and a Masters Degree in Administration. She married Jay Lemelin from Anaconda.

Stan & Ann (Wilson) Seitz – Stan was born February 7, 1915, the son of parents considered “an anomaly” for the day…they both had graduated from medical school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. According to Kay Seitz, “My grandfather Seitz was a medical doctor and my grandmother Seitz was an RN. That was unusual for that time. They were born in 1880 and 1882.”

Stan attended Bozeman Schools and graduated from Gallatin County High School. Ann was born April 15, 1921 and grew up in Gallatin Gateway, Montana the daughter of Alfred and Ethel Wilson. She attended Gallatin Gateway grade school and graduated from Gallatin Gateway County High. She then attended Kinman Business University in Spokane, Washington.

Stan and Ann moved to Sedan in 1947 from Bozeman. At that time they had two children; Kathryn “Kay” Ann (Seitz) Dahlstrom Gannon and Donald Gregory “Greg.” Their daughter Sally was born later in 1951. The family moved to Sedan to live and work on the ranch of Alfred and Ethel Wilson. All three Seitz children attended Sedan School.

Seitzes moved to the upper place along Frazier Creek at the foothills of the Bridgers, which was purchased from Jack & Beulah McKeown. As told by Kay Seitz , “At the time there was no running water nor any electricity. The radio came in only if you had a strong battery and had it in the right place.” Their refrigerator was a spring box in the creek that ran in front of the house, and they got their drinking water from a well. There were no indoor toilet facilities and all bathing was done with water heated on a wood stove and poured into a large round tub in the middle of the kitchen floor. Light was provided by kerosene and gas lamps. The house was heated by wood and coal stoves in the living room and kitchen.

They lived in the upper ranch until Kathryn started first grade at which time they moved to the lower house on Flathead Creek and Alfred and Ethel moved back to the upper house. The switch came about because it was much easier to get out from the lower place. During these years it was common to have huge amounts of snow piled high above cars on the sides of the roads. Movie pictures document the volume of snow during these years.

Stan and Ann ranched with Alfred and Ethel until the late 1950s when Stan and Ann purchased the ranch. By this time the days of haying and farming with horses had passed and farm machinery made life somewhat easier, although teams of horses were still used to feed cattle in the winter. Horses were also used to move and work cattle on the ranch.

Stan switched to all Angus cattle because they were a healthier breed for the area. He ran about 400 head of cows most of the time. Stan used mostly Dale Davis bulls for breeding which produced good calves. In the early days calves were raised until they were yearlings and then sold, but later they just sold the calves.

Ann grew a huge garden that provided vegetables and strawberries throughout the summer. She also grew gorgeous sweet peas in her yard that were truly beautiful all summer long.

Stan and Ann were both active within the community. Stan served on the Sedan School Board from 1953 – 1958. He was also on the board of directors of the Wilsall Coop, a member of Farm Bureau and the Montana Stockgrowers Association. In 1974 he ran for County Commissioner on the Republican ticket.

Stan was a life-long member of the First Presbyterian Church in Bozeman, a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity at MSU Bozeman, a member of Montana State University Alumni Association, and Bozeman ELKS BPOE 463. He and Ann were also members of Riverside Country Club in Bozeman and the Bozeman Community Center. Stan was an avid MSU Bobcat supporter and loved attending the football games in the fall.

Ann was a leader of the Sacajawea 4-H Club for many years and was on the 4-H Leaders Council for Gallatin County. She was a member of the Sedan Women’s Club-president at one time and a Clerk of the Sedan School Board for many years. She was also a member of the Republican Committee and was an area representative in Sedan, she was a member of PTA and supported all school activities for many, many years. Ann was later a Pink Lady at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital and a Deacon at the First Presbyterian Church in Bozeman. She enjoyed playing bridge, playing golf, and riding horses in her earlier days.

Stan and Ann moved to Bozeman in 1974 when they retired from the ranch. They sold the ranch to their son Greg at that time. Stan and Ann lived in Bozeman until their deaths. Ann passed away on September 26, 1993 and Stan passed away on June 11, 1998. They both loved Sedan , the ranch, and all the people that were part of their lives. They both stated many times, “there was no better life than on the ranch at the foot of the Bridger Mountains.”

Jezof Sgkok – Listed on the 1911 Gallatin County School Census Report for Sedan District #38. Male born in 1903. Parents names listed but unreadable as written by clerk.

Denton Sheeks – Attended Sedan School

Leora Sheeks – Attended Sedan School

George Wallace “G.W.” & Alice (Young) Shelhamer – George W. Shelhamer was born one of eight children on January 26, 1863 in Bad Axe, Wisconsin to parents Eleazer Charles “E.C.” and Eliza (Heavner) Shelhamer. Eleazer Charles “E.C.” was born in 1828 and Eliza was born in 1829.

As noted in his obituary below, “When George W. was nine he and his two brothers walked 550 miles, driving 50 head of cattle to Hastings (Nebraska) and following two oxen-drawn covered wagons.”

George and Alice were married in 1889 in Riceville, Iowa and had three sons; Asa Charles “A.C.” “ACE” born 1890, James “Jamie” Victor born 1893, and Lloyd Leroy born 1895. Alice died in 1900 when the boys were young and George married her sister, Grace Young. In November of 1906 the family emigrated to Montana to the Clyde Park and Rock Creek areas.

George & Grace (Young) Shelhamer – After George’s wife Alice (above) died, he married her sister Grace. George and Grace had six children; Inez born in 1902, Margaret Eliza born in 1904, Harold Dee born in 1908, George Clinton born in 1913, Robert “Bob” Young born in 1916 and Helen Estelle born in 1919.

George owned property in Sedan and is Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County. He also was said to have bought horses from Jim “The Cayuse Kid” Bowen.

Grace died in 1930.

Findagrave states George married Rachel M. Beste in 1948. Rachel was born in 1883 and died in 1951.

George died on November 6, 1955 in Livingston at the age of 91 and is buried in Clyde Park.

Judson Porter “J.P.” Shelhamer – J.P. was a brother of George W. Shelhamer. Adrian Inabnit notes a J.P. Shelhamer listed in a ledger of J.R. Inabnit’s and that H.L. Inabnit mentions Shelhamer boys fighting with Inabnit boys at Passview School.

Dorothy Shelhamer -Listed on a report card as a student of Pass View School in 1916 and is believed to be the daughter of J.P. Shelhamer. See Other Sedan Schools for more information on other Sedan area schools.

Asa Charles & Grace (Gilbert) Shelhamer – Asa was born in 1890 to George & Alice (Young) Shelhamer. Asa & Grace married in 1913 and had 4 daughters; Alice died in 1927, Frances born in 1919, Lucille born 1928, and Patricia born 1932.

Frances (Shelhamer) Robinson had this to say of her family, “Sedan played a part in my life six years before I was born. My parents were married on January 9, 1913 and they immediately moved to the Sedan area on Flathead Creek West. This was land owned by George Shelhamer (and is now owned by Tim Petterson). They lived there until the following spring and then moved back to Clyde Park. They lived on several ranches before purchasing their own. They lived there until retiring, because of my father’s health. They moved to Livingston in 1947.”

Frances graduated from high school in 1936 graduated from the College of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science major. Frances wrote, “Charley Robinson had come to work for my father in 1933 and we had been going together. After graduation I came home and we were married in September of 1940.”

(Shelhamer) Robinson had this to say of her family, “Sedan played a part in my life six years before I was born. My parents were married on January 9, 1913 and they immediately moved to the Sedan area on Flathead Creek West. This was land owned by George Shelhamer (and is now owned by Tim Petterson). They lived there until the following spring and then moved back to Clyde Park. They lived on several ranches before purchasing their own. They lived there until retiring, because of my father’s health. They moved to Livingston in 1947.”

Frances graduated from high school in 1936 graduated from the College of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science major. Frances wrote, “Charley Robinson had come to work for my father in 1933 and we had been going together. After graduation I came home and we were married in September of 1940.” Frances & Charley raised their family in Sedan. See Charley & Frances Robinson above.

Asa Charles Shelhamer died in 1969.

Shook Child – Attended Sedan School.

Bryon Short – Helen Chriske’s nephew who died in a motorcycle accident. (Helen’s brother Chuck’s son.) Born August 29, 1964. Died May 27, 1990. Bryon is buried in the Sedan Cemetery.

Lyndon R. & Mary Short – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910, child Robert

Bob & Carol Sisk – Live at the old Henry Woosley Place, Children Jeremiah and Jennifer Annie.

Mrs. Slerritt – She was a Sedan School teacher for the year of 1920/1921.

Rhea Smart & Peggy Smith – Lived on the Isbell Place in Wade & Sue’s house. Peggy is the daughter of Jim & Glenna (Gwaltney) Hamilton.

Andrew Smith

Charlie & Jessie Smith – Came to Sedan in 1935, sold land to Ernest Chriske. Reichman’s owned this land prior to Smith’s.

A.M. Snell – Trustee of Sedan Methodist Church and also served on the building committee.

Ralph & Rentha (Kaiser) Spring – Came to the Sedan area apparently as a bachelor. However, Lloyd stated the children later found out their father had been married before. He traveled here from Minnesota with Lawrence Blattie in 1928 and settled here. Ralph married Rentha, who was from Wilsall. They had several children: Virginia, Lloyd, Eugene, Edward, Norman, Neil, Marcella, Larry who attended Sedan School. Their other children did not attend Sedan School: Elenor, Eiline, Frank, Brenda, and Derrol. They all lived in the house on what is now the Robinson Ranch. Ralph was a cheesemaker, sawmill worker, farmer, and he played the banjo at the Cheese Factory dances while he lived in Sedan. Ralph Spring’s family moved several times between Oregon and Sedan. The last time they sold out and moved to Oregon was in 1948. Virginia married a man named Johnson and lives in Wilsall.

Vern & Bobbie Sprock – Owned the old Mark Cowan Place for a few years in the late 1990s.

Bill Staub – He homesteaded in this community and did general ranch work on a great, many different ranchers.

Morris H. & Grace Stauford – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910, children Harold J. and Beryl

John & Mrs. Sternhagen – Rented old Clark Place prior to Inabnits buying it. This is now the home of Richard and Susan Lohmuller. Allen Woosley recalls the family moved here in a lumber wagon. Children; Jim, Casey, Ted, Kathryn “Katie,” and Roy. Roy attended Sedan School with Anita (Inabnit) Petterson. Alta Woosley recalls, having lost her mother at the age of 12 and not learning to cook, asking Mrs. Sternhagen for help with some bread. When she took her dough to Mrs. Sternhagen for advice, the woman “slapped the dough once or twice and just opened the the door and threw it out in the yard.”

Ira Stevens – He homesteaded here and raised a large family. He and Lew (Luman) were twins.

Luman “Lew” E. & Edna H. Stevens – Homesteaded Elk Ridge, children Bessie, Ruby, Roy, Paul, Mary, Vila, Nellie, & Mac, Listed on 1910 Gallatin County Sedan School Census Report for District #38. Ruby married Charles Woosley. Woosleys now own this land on top of Elk Ridge.

David A. Still – He is buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Bill Stobbs – He was a bachelor, who lived in the Sedan area on land that is now owned by Woosleys.

Charley Striker – He homesteaded in this country, but did not ranch.

Dick Striker – He homesteaded in this country and ranched for several years. He sold his ranch and stock and got into the banking business.

F.J. Stryker – Listed on 1914 Gallatin County School Census Report as the clerk for Sedan District #38.

Fred Stryker – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Mrs. Maude Sturdevant – She was a teacher at Sedan school for four years between 1950 and 1956, who made a great impression on the school. Mrs. Riggs, who lived next to the school at one time, referred to Mrs. Sturdevant as a “Whiz Bang from Texas,” Maude thought that was pretty funny according to Alta Woosley. Mrs. Sturdevant later became Superintendent of Schools in Rosebud County.

Lyle & Tara (Woosley) Swandal – Lyle is the son of Marty & Virginia Swandal. Tara is the daughter of Lyle Woosley & Sandy Brainerd and stepdaughter of Myrt Woosley. Lyle & Tara ranch along Flathead Creek, the Bosley Place & near Kister Hardy Resevoir. They lived at the old Johnson Place on the Park County line before moving to the Tacke Place. Lyle attended Sedan School. Their son Cleve and his wife Carrie ranch along with his parents and have a son name Lyle who was born in June 2021.

Cleve & Carrie Swandal – Cleve is the son of Lyle & Tara (Woosley) Swandal. Cleve & Carrie ranch with his parents along Flathead Creek, the Bosley Place and near the Kister Hardy Resevoir. They have a son named Lyle who was born in June 2021. Cleve is a 5th generation Sedan rancher on his mother’s side and their son Lyle is a 6th generation Sedan resident.

Martin “Marty” & Virginia (Nelson) Swandal – Marty is the son of Chris & Ruth (Mosback) Swandal and grew up in the Wilsall area. He attended all twelve years of school in Wilsall.

Virginia, is the daughter of Lloyd Nelson and Dorothy (Mather) Beach. She grew up on the ranch of her grandparents, Dallas and Minnie Mather. Virginia’s grandfather and great-grandfather homesteaded at the foot of the Crazy Mountains. She attended a small country school on Horse Creek where Mrs. Asa Henness (who also taught in Sedan) was her teacher for first grade. In fourth grade she was the only student of Mrs. Erma Lovely.

Marty and Virginia were married just out of high school in June of 1955 and had 3 children; Karie (born December 1956), Lyle (June 1958), and Rick (June 1960). All 3 children attended Sedan School. In 1958 Marty and Virginia went into ranching with Marty’s parents. They bought the Mark Cowan Place on Flathead Creek (on the border of Park and Gallatin Counties in Gallatin County south of Highway 86) in 1966. Martin was also a brand inspector and Virginia worked for the Wilsall Post Office while they ranched. Marty and Virginia now live closer to Wilsall, north of Highway 86.

Virginia was featured on the January 2004 page of the “Ranch Women of Park County 2003-04” Calendar sponsored by the Alliance Development Corporation of Park County.

John Swenson – Bachelor who ranched along Carrol Creek on the old Vennes Place which he bought in the mid 1980s. John moved back to South Dakota in the Fall of 2005.

James & Ethyl S. Swisher – Listed on 1912 Gallatin County School Census Report with baby

S. B. Tabor / Taber – Presiding elder when cornerstone of Sedan Methodist Church laid March 9, 1898.

Vincent “Vince” J. & Leola L. (Laubauch) Tacke – Vincent was born July 27, 1916 to Antone Tacke and Cecilia (Wiseman) Tacke on the family farm in Cottonwood, Idaho. When he was 6 months old his family moved 22 miles north of Carter where they homesteaded. He attended rural schools in Chouteau County and graduated from Chouteau County High School.

Vincent and Leola married on August 29, 1939 in Fort Benton, Montana. They purchased a ranch along the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley in 1944 which they sold in 1948 when they bought their ranch 6 miles west of Wilsall.

The Tacke family lived in about 5 miles from Ole Swandal’s Place (east of Sedan toward Wilsall on what was once known as Old Bohart Road). Their children are Edith, Elaine, Joe, Jerry, and Bill. None of the Tacke children attended the Sedan School as they lived in Park County, but Tackes were active in the Sacajawea 4-H Club and were good friends of the Seitzes. They also attended Sedan Cheese Factory dances. Vince was on the Wilsall Coop Board along with Stan Seitz and Vince was a Wilsall School board member. Vince recalls everybody helped each other in the Sedan.

Vince and Leola retired from cattle ranching after 25 years in Sedan from 1948-1973. They moved to Livingston in 1973 where Vince did carpenter work. Leola and Vince were married for 56 years. She passed away in 1996. Vince passed away peacefully on Wednesday 25, 2005 in Livingston. He is buried in the Wilsall Cemetery.

John Tangen Family – Bought “Carp” Carpenter’s estate (which is now known as the Johnson Place).

Taylor’s baby – Buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Virgil Terry – Virgil and his brother each married a Brown girl and worked at the sawmill which later became known as the the Terry Sawmill. One of the men was Virgil Terry. The sawmill was first known as the Brown Sawmill and was on the other side of Brackett Creek.

Duncan R. & Flora Thompson – Children: Walter C. and Anna May. All members of this family are buried in the Sedan Cemetery. Duncan R. Thompson’s headstone reads, “1851-1925.” Flora Thompson’s headstone reads, “1851-1911.”

Anna May Thompson – Sister of Walter and daughter of Mr. and Duncan R. Thompson. Anna May died in January of 1929 and is buried in the Sedan Cemetery. Her headstone reads: “1879-1929.”

Walter C. Thompson – He was a bachelor from Nova Scotia, who came to Sedan around the turn of the century. He raised horses and cattle. He acquired the 160 acre homestead of Richard H. Nicolson in 1911, after leaving his original homestead on the Shields River near Austin Swandal’s homestead, due to drought. This land is now owned by the Landis’s and is located on the south side of Flathead Creek Road East where it intersects with Bridger Canyon Road.

Walter was remembered by many as a rancher and a “very good pie baker” as noted in “Tracks Volume II.” However, he was not known as much of a housekeeper. He was said to have swept his floor with a gunny sack when he heard, “The teacher was coming,” as told by Raymond Kannegaard.

Joye Waddell told of a time when she and others were talked into staying for dinner at Walter’s home. He served venison and as he was slicing it, a cat jumped up onto the table and Walter slammed the knife he was using down onto the table. Joy said she was sure he had cut the cat in half!

According to Roy Waddell as quoted in “Tracks Volume II,” Walter “did what he felt like doing when he felt like doing it…One night a horseback rider came to Walter’s place. It was very dark out, but Walter had his lantern out and was hauling manure by its light.”

Walter took care of an invalid sister Anna May for nearly twenty years. She was injured badly after being thrown from a horse. Walter was said to have suffered a broken leg and walked with a limp. He never learned to drive an automobile, so he lived mostly on a saddlehorse. Walter would never tell his age but, he is buried in Sedan Cemetery along with his mother, father, and sister and his headstone reads, ” 1877-1952.” A cousin came from New Brunswick to claim the inheritance he left.

Walter Thompson was said to have used the local church more than anyone. He’d go up there and sing hymns all by himself. Allen and Alta Woosley said they wondered if he was a minister’s son.

Miss Thompson – Sedan School teacher, who replaced Miss C. Wise mid year of the 1910/11 term.

Donald Thompson – He homesteaded in this community and spent several years here. He had a splendid education having spent several years as a teacher according to information from Warren Reichman,

Toston Brothers – The settled in Meyersburg country. They ran sheep, had a threshing machine, and a sawmill. George Toston raised several children.

Towers – He was a bachelor, who lived in the Sedan area.

Tom Towery – Listed in “Rough Sketch of Ranches in the East Flathead Country Early 1900s” from H.L. Inabnits’s “Plow to Pulpit.”

Frances (Holmes) Tracy – Lived in Sedan in the early 1940s.

J. Trenor – Was a trustee at Sedan School for the 1910/1911 school term.

Charles Marion & Ernestine Margaret (Roggow) Triplett – They weremarried September 18, 1904, in Belgrade and moved to Sedan, where their children were born. One baby is listed as buried in the Sedan Cemetery. The family moved to Wilsall in 1925.

Lenord & Nellie (Woosley) Tripplett – Listed on the School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909 as guardians for Mable Lauderbeck. 1910, children Mable Lauderbeck, Ethel B. Tripplett, Gertie M. Tripplett, Minnie M. Tripplett and Leta R. (F) Tripplett are listed. In 1911 a Tripplett baby is listed. Lenord was said to have had a daughter named Maud by his first wife. The Tripplett baby referred to above was probably daughter Dora he and Nellie had together.

Richard N. & Malissa Tudor – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909, children Bula, Mary, Ina, Harley and Howard. In 1910 Haskell is listed.

Frank Tulley – He was a bachelor who lived in the Sedan area.

Tuck & Margaret (Carr) Tuttle – Margaretwas was raised on the Shields River and moved to Sedan in 1929 or 1930 to live with her brother’s Raymond’s family after her mother passed away. She attended Sedan School for a few months when she was 0 until her brother moved to California. Margaret returned to Sedan in 1947 with her husband Tuck Tuttle and daughter Wilma Jean “Jeanie” where Tuck ran the ranch for M.D. Armstrong until 1952. Jeanie also attended Sedan School. They left and moved to Big Timber and on to Billings in 1957. The M.D. Armstrong place was formerly owned by Breitbach and is now Butch Waddell’s place.

Wilma Jean (Jeanie) Tuttle – Daughter of Tuck and Margaret Tuttle – Student at Sedan School

Miss Vera Valleau – Taught at Sedan School and roomed at Mildred Kurk’s family’s house before Mildred started school in Sedan.

John W. Van Doren – He bought land along Flathead Road on December 15, 1894, and later sold it to John W, Coulter for $2,000, in December 1899.

Clarence Vanderberg – He was a bachelor who lived in the Sedan area.

Ken & Peggy Vennes – Lived on the family ranch, son Kenny.

Paul & Lucille (Shelhamer) Vennes – Lucille was born in 1928. The Vennes family lived in Sedan from January of 1949 through September of 1985 on land south of Carroll Creek. Their children are Ken, Gail (male), Connie (Vennes) Metcalf, Cheryl, and Pam (Vennes) Payovich and all of whom attended Sedan School.

Herman Vogue – He homesteaded and ranched in this community for several years.

Robert Smith Waddell – He owned the upper Wilson Place where the white house is at the base of the Bridgers. Robert was Roy’s father.

Roy & Joye Ilean (Beebe) Waddell – Roy came to the community in June of 1930 with his parents.

Joye was born May 28, 1913 in a small town called Barney, North Dakota to Earl Ralph and Ivy Bessie (Walker) Beebe. Joye’s family moved to Montana near Ryegate when she was 2. Joye attended the Seventy-Nine School in the Big Coole during her elementary years and then Ryegate High School where she enjoyed playing basketball. Joye spent most of her life doing ranch work. She was accustomed to working in the fields where she learned to handle horses and drive a drill with a team of horses at the age of 10. When she wasn’t working she was riding horses.

Joye’s family came to the Wilsall community from Ryegate in 1931. When Joye was 19 she met her future husband Roy at a community dance. They were married February 14, 1933. They continued to dance together for the next 60 years.

Roy bought their land in Sedan from his father during the depression. Butch told of how Roy had a black horse named “Old Pat,” which was used to pull vehicles out that got stuck when attempting to cross Battle Ridge before it was paved. Roy was a left-handed pitcher who would pitch in baseball games held at community picnics in Green Canyon.

Helen Chriske recalled that one of the Blattie homes and Joye Waddell’s came from Nye the same year.

Roy served as a trustee for Sedan School in 1944 and lived in Sedan till he died in 1993. Joye lived on the same place with land acquired from the Melvin, Gray, and Stryker Places. She passed away on December 31, 2004 in Bozeman and is buried in the Wilsall Cemetery. Their children are Carol Joyce, Marge, and Richard known as “Butch.” All three children attended Sedan School.

Butch & Sharon Waddell – Butch is the son of Roy and Joye Waddell. He attended Sedan School and has taken over the family ranch and bought his land from M.D. Armstrong who bought it from a man named Ralph Jorgenson. Their children are Lance, Carrie, and Beau. This ranch housed the fire truck for the small Sedan rural fire department until the new building was built at the Sedan School site. Carrie, her husband Jason Matzinger and son Ryley live on the Waddell Place in her grandmother Joye’s home.

Butch Waddell recalls Dave Burrows, a local miner, having said to his father, Roy, “Thar’s gold in them hills.” Butch also told of baseball games that would be played in a meadow at the base of the Bridger Mountains where people used to come over from Springhill to meet up with some people from Sedan to play. Butch also told of how he and Lyle Woosley used to race home horseback and call each other to see who had won.

Carol Joyce Waddell – Carol was born in White Sulphur Springs, MT to Roy and Joye Waddell on February 17, 1934. She attended Sedan School, Wilsall High School, Eastern Montana College and was a graduate of the University of Montana. She married Michael Jurasek and had a son Michael Mark and daughter Dana Rae. Carol died October 29, 2005 in Missoula, Montana.

Waite – Had 160 acres as listed in “Rough Sketch of Ranches in the East Flathead Country Early 1900s” from H.L. Inabnits’s “Plow to Pulpit.”

Bob & Donna Walker – Owned Cheese Factory land, Kirk Koch’s Place, children; Ramona, Beverly, Duane, Jeanette, and Lloyd

Jere & Blenda Walters – Live at junction of Carroll, Flathead & Cache Creeks

Jerald & Lillie Ward – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1911, child Opal

Watt Place – Watt worked in the sawmills. He then deserted his wife and ran off with another woman. His wife raised the family. There is nothing left but some of the “old hip roofed” barn from the Watt Homestead in Skunk Basin; barn board robbers started its demise. This was the old road up to Fairy Lake (north of the present road). Chester Jones’ Place and one other were also on that road, which goes through what is now called Skunk Basin. Henry Woosley moved the house to his place and used it for fuel storage.

Thomas J. & Helena Watts – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910, children; Ernest J., Evelyn D. and Thomas L. , in 1911 a Watts baby (Female) is listed. The Watts are also listed on the 1912 report.

Weapler’s baby – Buried in Sedan Cemetery.

Weaver Section – This section is located north of Fastjes near the old Kannegard Place and is currently owned by Allen Woosley.

Bill Webber – He homesteaded at the south end of Elkhorn Ridge, farmed here, and served in World War I. He left this area shortly after he returned from the war.

Joe Webber – Owned the store near the Sedan School prior to the Inabnits owning it.

Paul & Lula Frances (Thompson) Weber – Lula was born February 9, 1894 in Girard, Kansas. Lula and Paul were married in Livingston, Montana on May 19, 1934. “The family lived just over the Park County line.” Lula taught at Sedan School during the 1945/1946 academic year (and as many as 3 or 4 years). Their children Martha Jean and Paul Jr. attended Sedan School, daughter Jewel did not attend Sedan School. Lula also taught at Fall Creek, Meyersburg and Wilsall. Anita Inabnit had her as a teacher in both Sedan and then Wilsall. She also taught in Greeley, Colorado where she received her teaching certificate. She died in the summer of 1985 in a Missoula nursing home.

Emil Weiss – He was a bachelor who lived in the Sedan area.

William Whealdon – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1911, child Elizabeth. Mr. Whealdon is also listed on the 1912 report. Elizabeth was 18 and wife “deceased.”

Slim White – He was a bachelor and the first ditch rider in the area.

Joe Whitman – He was a trustee of Sedan School in the early 1920s and served again in 1944.

Wilderness Treatment Center – A facility for troubled teens up until the early 1990s when the land was bought by Larry Lippon which became known as the King of Hearts Ranch. Robert Fastje had some of the land leased for grazing cattle during that time it was a treatment center. Employees and their families over the years and not necessarily in this order were; Jill and Steve Fairbanks, son Kyle; Mike and Peg DuHoux, children Michael and Kelly; Kevin and Jeanie Butler, children Brandon and Aaron; Dave and Nancy Hancock and their 3 children.

James F. & Minnie Williams – James F. was the son of John W. & Margaret J. (Cooper) Williams. John & Margaret arrived in Montana from Livingston County Missouri in 1865, arriving in Gallatin County in 1869. As noted in “Progressive Men of Montana,” John Williams was “an influential citizen of Gallatin county, and is held in the highest estimation. He served a term of four years as county commissioner, and has efficiently filled the office of school trustee for many years.” John is buried in the cemetery by Lindley Park in Bozeman.

James was born in a little cabin behind what is now known as the Henry Woosley Place. James was the previous owner and builder of the Henry Woosley Place (southeast of the Woosley Cemetery). Josh Woosley was said to have sawed the lumber for this home.

James & Minnie raised a family of 14 children, ranched for several years, and James did road work. Alta Woosley remembers them as a “Happy-go-lucky bunch, who laughed easily.” The children’s names were; Bill, Charlie, Cleve, Denver, Dick, Frances, Fred, Jack, James “Jim,” Lorraine, Lucille, Nellie, Ross, and Ruth. All of the children attended Sedan School. Jim had a bad scar on his face from hitting a barb wire fence when Charlie wrecked a Model T he was driving to the Sedan School.

Josh Woosley had hunting hounds at his home near the Sedan School. One day the school door got left open and the hounds had eaten the kids’ school lunches, so Josie fed all the kids. Lucille Williams was said to have purposely left the door open again, so the hounds would eat their lunches again!

James and family are listed on the School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1910 – 1914. The children listed for James’ family and Paul’s were mixed up considerably when first recorded by Sedan clerks. Clay Williams a descendent of James supplied the correct list of James’ children.

Alta Woosley told of the Williams family having 5 stars in their window during WWII. These stars signified the 5 sons they had in the war. All made it home from the war too!

One of the Williams girls married Bill Bishop and they lived north of the Woosley Cemetery.

Bill Williams is the father of Clay Williams who currently resides in Wilsall with wife Kathy.

James & Minnie moved to Wyoming for a while, returned to the area and lived on Horse Creek Road in Wilsall. Their home was the first home on the right. Half of Williams’ land in Sedan was later owned by Burns and then Isbells.

Margaret Williams – She was a teacher at Sedan School during the years of the 1931 – 1932. Margaret apparently was not related to the James F. Williams or Paul E. family.

Paul E. & Alta Williams – Owned land near Jones’ Corner. Children; Florence, Benjamin, Katharyne, Helena P., Marie, Viola, Howard, Lola, Sorena, and Twila. Paul & James F. are brothers. Paul and family are listed on the School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909 and 1910. They are then listed in District #66 in 1911 and 1912. The children listed for Paul’s family and James’ were mixed up considerably when first recorded by Sedan clerks. Clay Williams a descendent of James supplied the correct list of James’ children above.

Hershal G. & Elizabeth Williamson – Listed on School Census Report of Gallatin County for Sedan District #38 in 1909, child Ruth V.

Mrs. Erma Willes – She was a teacher at Sedan School, who taught along with Mrs. Francis Jones Hewitt in the 1950/1951 term.

Alfred & Ethel Wilson – Ethel came to Montana in the 1930s from Ashville, North Carolina. Her family moved to Broadview, a small town north of Billings. The climate was much better in Montana for her breathing problems. She later moved to Gallatin Gateway and that is where she met Alfred Wilson. Ethel was one of the finest wood carvers of the time. She did many fine wood carvings for the Vanderbilts in North Carolina. She passed many of these carvings on to family members. She was an outstanding cook and baker. She also had a gift for telling and reading stories and making them come to life as “no else could do,” according to her granddaughter Kay Seitz. Ethel valued education and learning and she taught her grandchildren that education and learning were to be greatly valued.

Alfred came to Montana from Beggs, Oklahoma, where he grew up. He and two of his brothers; Homer and Harry came to Montana. Homer had some of the best races horses of the day and he owned what is currently known as the Seitz Ranch near Ennis, Montana. Harry settled around Bozeman. Alfred bought his ranch at Gallatin Gateway, Montana.

Alfred & Ethel gave their Gateway ranch to their son Harold Wilson and his wife Toni and moved to Sedan from Gallatin Gateway in the early 1940s.

Alfred and Ethel first bought what was known to them as the “upper place” along Frazier Creek at the foothills of the Bridger Mountains. They purchased several adjoining properties and built the ranch to around 5000 acres. Wilsons raised Hereford cattle and later changed to Angus, because Angus were more adaptable to the climate and terrain, and didn’t run the risk of getting cancer eye like Herefords did.

When Alfred and Ethel moved to the ranch there were no indoor facilities or electricity. They had a spring box in the creek that served as a refrigerator. Kerosene lamps and gas lamps were used for lighting. The house was kept warm by a wood and coal stove in the living room and kitchen. Baths were taken in a round aluminum tub in the middle of the kitchen. The restroom was outside which was a cold hike in the middle of winter when it was 20 or more degrees below zero. Clothes were washed first in big wash tubs from water heated on the stove. Later washing machines with gas motors made it easer to wash and clothes were run through a ringer and then rinsed in two tubs; one with plain water and one with bluing.

Farming and haying were done with horses. Several teams of horses were used for feeding cattle, mowing hay, stacking hay, ditching, plowing, disking, and planting. Hay, in those days, was stacked loosely with a stacker operated by a horse pulling it to lift the hat on top of the stack. Later the loose hay was replaced by baled hay which made it easier to handle and feed.

The Wilsons had two big gardens that provided them with all their vegetables in the summer and potatoes and turnips throughout the winter. They raised their own beef, chickens, and turkeys. The cows were milked to provide them with milk, cream, and butter. They also made their own cottage cheese and ice cream. All meals were made from scratch as there were no short cuts in those days.

Finally in the 1950s, electricity came to the ranch and the Flathead Creek Road was graveled. Alfred was the committee chairman for the graveling project and he donated a good deal of money to get it going.

In the 1960s Alfred and Ethel moved to Bozeman where they retired in a house they purchased up near Montana State University. They remained there until Alfred passed away in the 1970s. Ethel sold the house and moved to Hillcrest Retirement Home and later to Darlinton Manor in Bozeman. Ethel passed away in the 1980s.

Their children Ann (Wilson) Seitz, Harold and Ruth (Wilson) Enselman. Their grandchildren are: Kathryn “Kay” Ann (Seitz) Gannon, Donald Gregory “Greg” Seitz, Sally (Seitz) Richardson, Connie Wilson, Carol, Wilson, Bob Wilson, Larry Enselman, Bob Enselman.

Chris Willson – Sedan school teacher who lived in the teacherage with his family in 1947. He was not related to the family of Alfred and Ethel Wilson.

M.R. Wilson – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Sylvia Wilson – Attended Sedan School.

Dwight & June Winchester – Managed the I AM Third Ranch and Trinity Bridger Cattle Company. Lived at site of Tim Zupan’s house on the King of Hearts Ranch, Flathead Creek Road West.

Mrs. C. Wise – She was a Sedan School teacher, who began the term of 9/1/1910. She was replaced midyear by Miss Thompson.

Joseph & Angeline “Gellie” Wittman – Sedan School trustee 1920s & again in 1944, lived at the Vennes Place. Known as a “nice old couple.” They had no children.

Mrs. Francis Wood – She was a Sedan School teacher in the 1951/52 school year, and she taught until 1953. She died at the age 91 on July 3, 1997.***Woosley Family***The Woosleys were some of the original settlers in Sedan with many family members still living in the Sedan area. The Woosleys are listed alphabetically by family –not alphabetically by individual.

James & Martha Elizabeth (Pratt) Woosley – The original settlers of Sedan. James was born January 10, 1841 and Martha was born May 10, 1843. James and Martha were married August 9, 1860. Alta Woosley has a picture of James Woosley in uniform in the Civil War.

James and Martha arrived in Gallatin County in 1885. They homesteaded where Verna Lu Landis now lives on Highway 86. James served as a trustee for Sedan Methodist Church and served on building committee. He also served as Sedan’s Postmaster from February 26, 1891 – July 19, 1897. He was Civil War veteran, rancher, and blacksmith. Their daughter, Sarah Ellen married John Calhoun Maddox and their son Josh married Josephine “Josie” Maddox. They also had a son named George Woosley. George attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902 and fought in World War I and never came back to Montana. James died March 25, 1927 and Martha died March 25, 1935.

Sarah Ellen Woosley – Daughter of James & Martha – Sarah married John Calhoun Maddox. Sarah Ellen was Josh Woosley’s sister and John Calhoun Maddox was Josie (Maddox)Woosley’s brother.

Joshua Young “Josh” & Josephine “Josie” (Maddox) Woosley – Josh was the son of James & Martha (Pratt) Woosley born September 8, 1861 in Murphysboro, Illinois (Jackson County). Josie was born March 18, 1866 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Josie was the daughter of Samuel R. & Mary Ann Ellis (Poage) Maddox.

Joshua and Josephine arrived in the area with their parents as young adults in the mid 1880s. They were said to have “settled in the area because the Gallatin Valley was full of settlers…and the Sedan area at that time was a beautiful, grassy valley with no sagebrush,” according a story in “Tracks Volume I.” Josh came from Cedar Vale, Kansas where the county seat was called Sedan. According to Warren Reichman, his grandmother, Josephine, suggested naming this area “Sedan.” Warren wrote a wonderful story on his grandmother’s travels to Montana entitled, “A Pioneer Woman,” in which he describes such incidents as Indians wanting to trade for her and a flash flood which would have claimed her life had it not been for her hair getting tangled in a tree. This story is also told in Medicine Lodge The story of a Kansas frontier town by Nellie Snyder Yost. The Samuel Maddox family was on its way from Chataugua County, Kansas to Montana Territory on April 20, when that flood hit. However, it is incorrectly stated there that Josie was holding a baby at the time. To read more about the flood see Samuel Maddox family information above.

Josh & Josie went back to Kansas for cattle. Josie said they used to store their meat in the oats to keep it cool and to keep the flies out along the trail.

Josh and Josephine married on March 23, 1887. Also according to “Tracks Volume I,” “The ranch had a log house, root cellar for food storage, ice house, and a bee house for honey. There was a chicken house, a barn west of the log house, machine shed and shop east of the house and rodeo grounds south of the house.

Josie carried water from the creek by her home to water the garden during their first year there. The second year Josh built a ditch. Josie, at one time, had a sick calf in her kitchen which she was nursing with whiskey and raw eggs. It was said to have “died anyway.”

Josh traded a watch to a squatter for his homestead claim which had a rudimentary log cabin. After Josh and Josie were married in 1897 they learned that the cabin was not actually on their claim. Their first child, Mary Edith, was born while they were still living in the squatter’s cabin. That cabin was abandoned and they later built their own log home which was completed by the time Edna Mae was born. The house was enlarged as the family grew.

Josh and Josie had 8 children; Mary Edith, Edna May, Nellie, Samuel James, Henry Young, Charles “Charlie”, Lester W., and Walter Joshua, all of the children attended Sedan School. Joshua Y. and Josie and all their children are listed on the Gallatin County School Census Report for Sedan District #38 in 1909 – 1914. Edna Mae is listed in their residence as a Reichman at this time.

When the train first came to Wilsall in 1908, Josh took the whole family to see it and the kids all had a sarsparilla.

Josh Woosley, grandfather to Everett, Lyle, and Warren Reichman, raised them until they were in eighth grade after their father lost everything due to the drought of 1918 and the hard winter of 1919.

Josh was said to have mortgaged the whole homestead for a Maxwell car and turned over the original site. He also bought a steam engine which ended up paying for itself.

“Josh Woosley farmed and helped the other folks in the area with their plowing. He had a large steam engine, a 14-bottom plow, and a thrashing machine. His steam engine was also used at his saw mill located about 4 miles south of Sedan. He furnished the lumber from his sawmill for the Methodist Church (Josh also served on the building committee of this church also called Sedan Methodist Church), located one and one half miles north of Sedan.

He and his partner, George Toston, brought the first steam threshing into this part of the country. Joshua’s sawmill was powered with a threshing engine. He was said to be a good rancher and hunter and was also road supervisor for several years.

Joshua served as Postmaster from February 26 1891 through July 20, 1897 however Josie took care of the mail most of the time while Josh was out working. Joshua also served as trustee of the first term of Sedan School in 1895/96, in 1896/97 and of the first term in the new Sedan School in 1901/1902, and again for the 1902/1903 term.

One account states that the Woosleys had the first telephone in the Sedan area, however, there is conflicting information on this. For more information see “East Flathead Telephone Company at Sedan Miscellaneous

Josh lived on his homestead for over 40 years. He died on March 15, 1932 and was buried in Bozeman on March 17, 1932 at Sunset Hills Cemetery. Josie died in March 9, 1950 and was buried in Bozeman at Sunset Hills Cemetery on March 13, 1950.Josh & Josie Woosley’s 8 Children are listed below chronologically by birth date along with their family information. For clarity a horizontal line divides each of those families:

1. Mary Edith Woosley – First child of Josh & Josie born September 1, 1888 in Sedan. Mary attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902. She married Wylie James Lockhart on January 1, 1911 in Sedan. They homesteaded and ranched where Robert Fastje ranches now near the Chriskes’ Place – nothing is left. Mary & Wylie had five children: Harold born October 1, 1911 died October 11, 1911 buried in Sedan Cemetery, Raymond married Mary, Glenn married Jo Warner, Hazel married Carl Fletcher, Mildred married Ralph Ramsey.

Mary (Woosley) Lockhart was Allen‘s aunt. Wylie and Mary moved to Bozeman. Mary died January 20, 1960 in Upland (San Bernadino County), California and is buried in Bozeman at Sunset Hills Cemetery on January 25, 1960.

2. Edna May (Woosley) Reichman – Second child of Josh & Josie born November 25, 1889 in Sedan. Edna attended the first term in the new Sedan School in 1901/1902. She married Harry Raymond, “Ray” Reichmanon December 30, 1908 in Bozeman. Their Children were Everett, Lyle, Warren, and Lois Jean Reichman. Edna died March 29, 1923 in Bozeman.

3. Nellie Woosley – The third child of Josh & Josie Woosley born October 12, 1891 in Sedan. She attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902. Nellieat 18 years of age eloped with Leonard PerryTriplett born 1860 – a 49 year old widower of 3 or 4 children. They were married October 21, 1909. Leonard and Nellie had a daughter named Dora who was first married to Ulric (?) Shelhamer and then Claud Doig. On May 2, 1913 Nellie died of appendicitis in a town some distance away from Sedan and is buried in Clyde Park. Leonard died July 1943 and is buried in Clyde Park.

4. Samuel James “Sam” & Anna Katherine (Harper) Woosley – Fourth child of Josh & Josie born March 23, 1893 in Sedan. Sam attended the first term of the new Sedan School in 1901/1902. Anna was born in 1894. Sam & Anna were married on December 28, 1915 in Livingston. Sam ranched here for years and was a road supervisor for several years. They raised two sons, Gerald Neil and Donald Keith who both attended Sedan School. Sam (S.J. as the record states) was a trustee for the 1929/1930 school term. Sam died April 24, 1965 in Bozeman. Anna died in 1987 and is buried in Sunset Memorial Gardens west of Bozeman.

Donald Keith Woosley ( also known as Keith) – Son of Sam and Anna. Donald attended Sedan School and served in World War II along with his brother Gerald Neil.

Gerald Neil Woosley (also known as Neil)- Son of Sam and Anna. Gerald attended Sedan School and served in World War II along with his brother Donald Keith.

5. Henry Young & Nina Grace (Hunter) Woosley– Henry was the fifth child of Josh & Josephine (Maddox)Woosley born November 1, 1894 in Sedan. He and Nina were married on August 4, 1918 in Bozeman. They raised two girls Mary (Woosley) Dobler & Betty (Woosley) Rock and a son, Henry Allen. Betty and Mary were students at Sedan School in the mid 30s. Allen also attended Sedan School. Henry ran mostly cattle. Nina and Henry are both buried in Woosley Cemetery which Henry established when Nina died in January of 1975. Henry died October 21, 1979.

Mary (Woosley) Dobler – Daughter of Henry & Nina – husbandwas Chris Dobler who is buried in the Woosley Cemetery.

Betty (Woosley) Rock – Daughter of Henry & Nina*****

Woosley Cemetery was established by Henry Woosley when Allen’s mother, Nina, died. For more information see Sedan Cemetery.

Henry “Allen,” “Gump” or “Gumpy” & Alta (Gwaltney) Woosley – Allen was born March 7, 1919, the first child of Henry and Nina, at his grandparents’ homestead cabin (where Verna Lu Landis now lives), which is two and half miles from where he and Alta have lived for over sixty years. Allen rode horse back to the Sedan School during the eight years he attended.

As noted by, daughter Judi during a speech honoring her father for Grand Marshall of Old Settlers’ Days, “In the winters he tied a rope to the saddle horn and gave “Ole Scotty a slap with rope and skied home. If Scotty turned up the lane too fast, Allen had to walk and carry his skis.” He played basketball and football earning the nickname “Big Bertha” (for a cannon used in World War I) while attending school in Wilsall where he graduated. He had to board in town in the winters as no roads were plowed at that time.

Alta was born in Wilsall. She lived with her family in Minnesota for five years. The rest of her life she spent in Montana. Allen and Alta met at Wilsall High School where they both graduated.

High school sweethearts, Allen and Alta were married June 10, 1939 and they ranched in Sedan. Allen served as a trustee during the later years of Sedan School; 1950-1957. Their children are Lyle & Judi and both of them attended Sedan School.

In the 1930s and 1940s Allen took part in the dairy operation for the ranch milking up to 10 cows an hour. The Cheese Factory bought the cream and the rest was fed to the calves, as noted in an interview for Agriculture & Country Life newspaper in January 2002. “The cheese operation was said to have led the family through lean years that forced many others to leave.”

Allen took over the family ranch from his father in 1939.

In 1943, (Park County Weekly – September 6, 2000), “he took up rodeoing; competing in bareback riding, bulldogging and roping. In the late ’40s, he trailed stock for the rodeo from the ranch in Sedan to Livingston. He was a High School Rodeo Director for eight years, was a rodeo pick-up man for many years, and a Charter member of the Wilsall Rodeo. He competed in team roping from the time it was introduced in Montana until recently.

Allen lived in Sedan his whole life with the exception of the 12 winters he and Alta wintered cattle along the Missouri near Trident, Montana where the winters were mild. They lived 18 miles from town. Alta recalls them never having to feed cattle hay till calving time. Alta and Allen lived in an old house that came with the lease. It had no electricity or plumbing at first and they would travel to Manhattan for groceries. During an interview for Agriculture & Country Life newspaper in January 2002, Alta told of times she would hop trains that ran along the river to get groceries and how friendly train operators would toss daily papers out, so they could get their news on time.

In 1996 Montana Farmers Union honored Woosleys with a plaque in their Centennial Farm and Ranch Program for: “Retaining ownership in the same family for a century or longer in Treasure State Agriculture.” The Woosley land consists of 9,000 acres.

In a September 2000 issue of the Park County Weekly recalled a plaque which hangs in the Woosley living room reads, “God forbid that I go to a heaven that has no horses.” Allen was one of the Grand Marshals of Old Settlers Days in September 2000. The article also states, “When he was five, according to family history, he escaped from the clothesline where he was tethered and set out looking for his father. In his search, he led the big old black horse which he rode across the railroad trestle in Chadbourne. Allen remembers his technique for mounting that horse. He would lead the horse to grass and while it was grazing, climb up the horse’s neck. When the horse tossed its head, Allen was propelled onto its back. All he had to do was turn around.”

Allen has always kept a lot of horses, sometimes so many, that he kept some of them a secret from Alta. He still raises stock horses and Angus cattle. Allen liked feeding his cattle during the winter with draft horses claiming, “you never had to worry about the weather.” He did bring the bridles into the house at night though.

In Judi’s speech noted above she stated, “Allen works every day. He irrigates all summer; first the hay, then an irrigated pasture. He rides all spring and fall when they are moving cattle, ropes at all the brandings, and helps drink the beer…life has been good.”

On March 22, 2002 Allen was honored as 2002 Outstanding Farmer/Rancher of the Year at the Gallatin Valley Agriculture Appreciation Banquet. According to a Bozeman Chronicle article covering the event. Daughter-in-law Myrt, speaking of Allen, warned, “He’ll ride you into the ground in a heartbeat.” During the evening Woosley was called, “a gentlemen of the range era” who is “of the old school of integrity, a steward of the soil and a respected individual in the community…for his heritage of maintaining an operating ranch successfully.”

Up until the draught that had affected the Sedan area about that time, Woosleys had been running about 500 head of cattle but were forced to cut back due to less water for the herd. Allen commented in the above article, This is the toughest I’ve seen it;” worse than the dry years of the 1930s. Allen told of little else that had changed on the ranch over the last six decades. Though Allen used vehicles for some chores; most he preferred to do horseback, commenting, “I never could rope nothing off a four-wheeler.”

Allen passed away July 20, 2005 in Sedan at the family ranch. His obituary reads, “Allen spent his life at the ranch in the shade of the Bridger Mountains.” Allen was a charter member of the Wilsall Rodeo Club and the Montana Rodeo Association. He was an active participant in rodeos and team ropings. Allen is buried in the Woosley family cemetery in Sedan.

Gump’s funeral took place on July 23, 2005 which was the same day the National Day of the Cowboy was established. In an announcement at Cheyenne Frontiers Days marking the occasion a spokesperson for President Bush read his message, “We celebrate the cowboy as a symbol of the grand history of the American West. The cowboy’s love of the land and love of the country are examples for all Americans.”

Lyle & Sandy (Brainard) Woosley of Maudlow (deceased) and they had 3 children; Clifford “Bucky,” Tara, and Josh and lived in White Sulphur Springs while Lyle was working for the Castle Mountain Ranch

Lyle & Myrt (Anderson) Woosley – Lyle is the son of Allen and Alta (Gwaltney) Woosley. Lyle, like his father, also attended Sedan School. Woosleys are still ranching in Sedan today with their daughter Holley, her husband Tyler and granddaughter Teah Vennes. Lyle is a 4th generation descendent of Josh Woosley, Holley 5th and Teah 6th..

Lyle recalls one 4th of July when he was a young boy. He had some firecrackers and was attempting to scare off some of his father, Gump’s, mares by throwing the firecrackers. A stud who was amongst the mares, named Jarbo, got one of the firecrackers caught in his tail and he pitched it back into the haystack. Alta recalls the bales having looked like “cigars,” because they were burned on one end.

A June 17, 2002 Livingston Enterprise article written featuring the the 49th Wilsall Rodeo mentions that “Four generations of Allen and Alta Woosley’s family have participated in the Wilsall Rodeo. Their son Lyle and grandson, Bucky, are on the association board and their great-granddaughter, Cassie, 12, will compete in the team roping event this year. Lyle’s wife Myrtle has served as arena secretary for several years and Alta was timekeeper for 24 years at many Montana rodeos.”

Judi (Woosley) & Danny Fraser – had a daughter Jodi and a son Wylie. Jodi is credited with having come up with the nickname “Gump,” for Allen, for which he was known by many. Judi attended Sedan School.

6. Charles “Charlie” & Ruby (Stevens) Woosley – Sixth child of Josh & Josie born May 31, 1897 in Sedan. Ruby was born August 19, 1896. They were married June 6, 1917 in Bozeman. Their children were: Pearlmarried John Murphy, Charlotte married Metz Evered, Charles married Gail and Meryl married William Worthington. Charlie died May 20, 1981 in Monroe, Montana. Ruby died in 1984 in Washington and is buried there.

7. Lester W. & Grace Styles (Barr) Woosley – Seventh child of Josh & Josie Woosley born November 16, 1900 in Sedan. Lester and Grace were married on August 31, 1929 in Bozeman. They have two sons: Ken lives in Billings and Wayne died May 1998 in Oregon and is buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman. Lester died May 27, 1982 in Bozeman and was buried May 29, 1982.

8. Walter Joshua & Alice “Irene” (Moody) Woosley – Eighth and final child of Josh & Josie Woosley born January 4, 1904 in Sedan. Irene was born September 18, 1909. Walter attended Sedan School. Walter & Irene were married November 6, 1924 in Bozeman. They owned the land where the Sedan teacherage was in October 1935. Daughters Billy Dean (Woosley) Noyes, Doris Gene (Woosley) Kirk attended Sedan School in the mid 1930s.

Walter was said to have a little red tag on a string which read “Sedan Rodeo, September 23, 1923.” This was believed to have been how rodeo tickets were sold then.

Billy Dean Woosley – Was born May 1, 1929 to Walter and Irene. Billy lived on the family ranch in Sedan where she started school. After her family moved to the Gallatin Valley, Billy attended Middle Creek and Fowler Schools. She met husband Kenneth Noyes at Fowler School. She and Kenneth were married August 14, 1949 in Bozeman. They raised two sons Sid and Dan. 

Walter and family moved to the Gallatin Valley in 1937 where they farmed and ranched south of Bozeman. Walter died January 8, 1990 in Bozeman. Irene died December 28, 1999. Billy died October 20, 2004 in Helena. Billy, along with her parents, is buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery.

John & Otchee Woosley – John was a cousin to Josh Woosley. John ranched in Sedan but they were not here long. Alta Woosley believes they went to Wyoming when they left here.Ina C. Wyatt – She was hired on October 14, 1943, as a Sedan School teacher to take the place of “Substitute” teacher Francis Jones Hewitt, who began this temporary position in 1942.

Yeoman Lodge – Meetings were held above the Cheese Factory in the Sedan Hall. It is said that this group must not meet on the ground level of a building; they must meet upstairs.

George Young – He was an early settler here, who said he “traded twelve mares for the wind and got the ranch thrown in.” He had a big ranch, where he ran cattle and horses.

W. Young – Listed on the 1912 Ownership Map of Gallatin County.

Addella Zimmerman – She was a teacher at Sedan School for the 1902/1903 term.

Dewey & Linda (Marleau) Zupan – Dewey was born September 10, 1960 in Red Lodge, Montana.  Linda was born July 4, 1961 in Garfield Heights, OH.  She and her family moved multiple times to Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Heanor, England and then back to PA.  Dewey and Linda met in Ruidoso, NM in 1984 and moved to Lake Tahoe, CA and Incline, NV among other places in between before calling Montana home in 1989.

Dewey and Linda moved to Sedan in May 1993 after Linda graduated from MSU.  They lived on Flathead Creek in the log home that Wesley Inabnit built in 1934.  In 2000 they moved to the earth home on the hill north of Flathead Creek Road that was built in the early 1980s. 

Dewey and his brother Tim Zupan managed the King of Hearts Ranch for 27 years where they raised Angus beef cattle and Corriente roping stock.

Dewey became a snowcat operator at Bridger Bowl in 1990 with experience grooming at Red Lodge Mountain in the late 1970s; Ruidoso, NM in the 1980s and Squaw Valley, CA in the late 1980s and continues grooming during the winters today.

Linda taught kindergarten in Shields Valley for 10 years from 1993 – 2004 and taught at MSU off and on for many years from 1994 to present.  She also managed the iconic Nordie’s Grocery Store in Wilsall from 2009 – 2013 taking over the helm from Nordie Lennemann herself.  In 2014 Linda followed her passion in becoming a sign language instructor most recently for Gallatin College at the Gallatin College campus and on the MSU campus.

When the King of Hearts sold Dewey and Linda moved to Kister Hardy Road northeast of Sedan.

Tim & Cindy (Arnold) Zupan – Tim was born in 1955 and Cindy was born in 1953.  They ranched along Flathead Creek on the King of Hearts Ranch from 1993 – 2019.  They lived in the two-story home that Greg and Pat Seitz built in 1979 on the north side of Flathead Creek Road.  Sons Zac, Wyatt, Weston & Tyler also worked on the ranch and all four boys graduated from MSU.  Tim and Cindy moved to Fishtail, MT where she was from after the King of Hearts sold.

Paul Zupan – Oldest brother of Tim and Dewey was born in 1953.  Paul worked on the King of Hearts for several summers and wintered in Cave Creek, AZ and Red Lodge, MT where he resides today.

Dewey, Tim & Paul Zupan were all born and raised in Red Lodge Montana along with their sister Cindy (Zupan) Lippon and brother Nick Zupan.  Their father Tony Frank Zupan, born in 1920 in Red Lodge, was also raised in Red Lodge. Their mother Shirley (Sagness) Zupan, born in 1925, was from Breckenridge, Minnesota. 

Larry Lippon and Cindy (Zupan) Lippon – Larry was originally from Iowa.  Cindy was born in 1951.  Lippons bought what became known as the King of Hearts Ranch in the early 1990s and lived there during the summers, wintering in Cave Creek, AZ.  The Lippons lived in the earth home north of Flathead Road, along with their daughter Lucy Zupan Lippon (born in 1987) from 1993 – 2000.  Lippons tore the little house on the creek down that Wesley Inabnit built in 1943 and rebuilt it as a guest house and lived in it until their home was completed just east of there.  They sold the ranch in 2019.

The King of Hearts land was comprised of many sections of land which were either traded or sold throughout the years. Some of the earlier residents who owned portions of this land (not necessarily in order) were Alfred & Ethel Wilson, H.R. Reichman, J.T. Davidson, Wesley & Myda (Christie) Inabnit, Stan & Ann (Wilson) Seitz, Greg and Pat Seitz and Bernard & Hattie Beckner.

The land along Flathead Creek known in later times as the main Seitz Place changed hands a few times. Gays from California owned it and ran it as the “I Am Third Ranch,” and the “Trinity Bridger Cattle Company,” and it also housed the “Wilderness Treatment Center” for a short time.  This land was once considered by Robert & Greta (Gay) Mathis, founders of Eagle Mount, as a possible site for their nonprofit programs.

Prior to becoming the King of Hearts Ranch, the land was known in later times as the main Seitz Place before eventually being sold to the Gays; Henry, Greta, and Carolyn who are siblings from California who started the “I Am Third Ranch and Trinity Bridger Cattle Company.” The Wilderness Treatment Center was located on this land for a short time.

Greg and Pat Seitz built the two-story home Tim and Cindy and family now live in.

The Earth home on the property was built in the early 1980s north of Flathead Creek Road and east of the main house .

The little home along Flathead Creek started out as log cabin and housed the Wes and Myda Inabnit family in the 1930s. Anita (Petterson) Inabnit was brought to that home as a baby.

In 1993 The Lippons and Zupans moved to the place and began running it again as a working cattle ranch; they raise some Angus beef cattle and Corriente roping stock.

Resident Photo Album

© 2019 Sedan, MT | Linda Zupan