Communities

  


Reed Point

Present day Reed Point was originally a part of the Crow Indian Reservation. It all began in 1891, when an agreement with the Crows  was enacted by Congress in which the Crows ceded a large portion of  reservation land. When the land was opened for settlement, homesteaders began arriving from Norway, Sweden, Germany and our own Midwest. By 1912,  Reed Point had a bridge over the  Yellowstone, a railroad depot, post office, general store and a one room log schoolhouse. By 1918, Reed Point had grown from four farms to a population of three hundred. One hundred thousand acres of land were being homesteaded.

 Reminders of the bold, ambitious  people who settled Reed Point.





The original Farmers and Occident Elevators housed the many varieties of grain grown in bountiful quantities. Thousands of sheep were raised and carloads of cattle and hogs were routinely shipped to market in Chicago.

 A year after the bridge was built across   the Yellowstone River, the  Yellowstone Trail Association  was being  organized. The eight  hundred miles through the very  southern part of  Montana was the heart of the Yellowstone Trail Movement. According  to the Trail Guide, it was "the most comfortable long summer drive known to man, the climate most embracing, hotel and garage accommodations unexcelled, water always near for your engine and delightful scenery."

The roads were built where there was the least topographic resistance, crossing the Yellowstone River seven times. After crossing the bridge at Reed Point, the Trail followed the terrain six miles north of town, around the hills and back south coming out near  Springtime. Businesses began to "mushroom" in Reed Point.

 Reed Point's annual 'Great Montana  Sheep Drive' has become a local  tradition.Residents warmly welcome  everyone for a 'wild and wooly' time. Bring your sense of humor,  enjoy the parade, carnival games,  dozens of food and craft vendors  and an early evening street  dance. It will be a memorable time for  the whole family!