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| Fairview, Montana 59221 |
Sunday we left Miles City, MT to take pictures of 15 Post Offices. We took pictures of 12 of them. Saturday it snowed. Not deep, not blizzarding. But sections of the road we traveled were icy stretches that even made our all wheel drive - Equinox shudder and slide.
My husband is a very experienced driver. (He used to be a long haul truck driver.) There were sections that were not plowed and took longer to get across, and now the days have begun to get shorter and our trips a little longer.
Last Sunday we traveled approximately 750 miles. Did I mention I'm not yet ready for the snow and ice. Oh well I live in Montana and no one has put me in charge of the weather. So on with the story. One of the Post Office pictures we took is in Fairview, Montana. Right now this community is experiencing an oil boom (Bakken Oil fields). Every available room is rented and then some.
Fairview has experienced Boom and Bust cycles before and probably will again. It is known as the sugar beet capital of both Montana and North Dakota. There is even a monument to the sugar beet in town.
Fairview is Montana's most easternmost town; it is also North Dakota's most western town. Yep, the town belongs to two states. There are other communities with similar dual personalities. But this one belongs to Montana. Most of the town, including the Post Office sits on the Montana side. (No sales tax). Interstate Avenue or State Street as it is locally called is the dividing line.
Near Fairview, Montana there are two rare bridges. The Fairview Lift Bridge is located 3.5 miles east of Fairview in North Dakota and the Snowden Lift Bridge is about 10 miles north of Fairview. The bridges construction began in 1912. In 1997 the Fairview Lift Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fort Buford was home to the 10th Cavalry - often known by their nickname - the Buffalo Soldiers. "Many workmen on the construction job were Negroes from old Fort Buford or farther south. They suffered from the cold that first winter of 1912-1913. Stories are told of deaths of workers who fell from the span of the bridge into the open water at the site and drowned in spite of rescue efforts" Sidney Herald Nov 27, 2009
The lift bridges were built to accommodate the steamboats. The bridge was connected to the railroad that made the need for the steamboats obsolete. Fairview Montana is a place of hidden historical caches. Perhaps it would be better to describe it as a survivor of historical irony.
