Lavina, Montana
Named for a Sweetheart
by Margaret Lehfeldt and
Mary Morsanny
Lavina was
founded just forty miles north of the Northern Pacific railhead in
Billings by one of the Territory's best known pioneers, T.C. Power.
In earlier years, T.C. Power was well established in Fort Benton
at the time that fortified fur post changed into a thriving city when
rush to the gold mines increased river trade on the Upper Missouri.
T.C. Power knew until 1880 Central Montana abounded in wildlife with
thousands of buffalo but was practically uninhabited. Never-the-less,
he knew with the coming of the railroad envisioned a stage line to
answer the demand for a direct over-land route to connect the railroad
with his holdings in Fort Benton so in May of 1882 he organized the
Billings - Benton Stage Company. It was the first north-south line to
carry mail on coaches.
About midway on the stage line there was the river that cut its
age-old course through the trees and tall grass meadows of the wide
Musselshell Valley. Where there was a good ford, he chose an ideal site
for a station, and said "With Clate Warner and other hired help, we put
up stage stables, mess house, bunk house for the men to sleep in, a
store, and of course my saloon. That was the biggest business of them
all." Even though he was appointed as the first post master, he made
the rounds of the stage line every month but none of the stations
pleased him as much as the one on the south bank of the Musselshell,
and in memory of a former sweetheart, Walter Burke named it Lavina.
As the Musselshell Valley settled up thick in the summer
of 1882, the stage stop became known as Old Lavina and it was a hub of
activity.
The bell tolled for Old Lavina when the surveyors chose a new
town site a mile downstream in the wide bend of the Musselshell that
had been the old Indian campground. A few months later on February 16,
1908, the first passenger train steamed past the old stage stop and
pulled up to the depot in what was now New Lavina.*
* taken from "Bicentennial Golden Valley County Heritage '76"
Lavina
Lavina Public School
Lavina Public School Web Site
The Adams Hotel
The big white hotel, The Adams, was built by L.C. Lehfeldt and completed in 1908. It had twenty-two rooms including the huge dining room, lobby, kitchen, and bar. Upstairs, at the head of the stairs was a large parlor. It was probably the most elegant of its kind in the area, having pure linen sheets, down comforters, a decorated china bowl and pitcher in every one of the carpeted rooms. The Adams was known for its warm hospitality. This building remains as it was originally built with all of its grandeur, secrets and memories (DIGV 1971). The Adams is now owned as a private residence.
Lavina Senior Center
Lavina Links:
Business Listing: A
look at the businesses of Lavina.
-if you have a business, and would
like to be added to the listing, please pick up a form from the
Courthouse in Ryegate.
Business Opportunities: Information on programs the county has in place to encourage economic growth within Lavina and the county.
Come Home Montana: Visit Lavina on the Come Home Montana web site.
Lavina Facts:
Latitude & Longitude:
46
Degrees & 15 Minutes North Latitude
108 Degrees & 52 Minutes West Longitude
Population: 151 (1990 Census)
Nearest Airport: - local light aircraft landing
strip
- 45 miles to Logan International Airport, Billings MT
Last Updated: Sept. 2011. Send questions and comments to contact@co.golden-valley.mt.us.
Site designed by Shana Mattheis - Maintained by Craig Mattheis
