Archives West Finding Aid

This collection consists of one typeset manuscript, a short essay, five clipped newspaper articles, and two photographs. All materials are creative non-fiction accounts reflecting upon small town life in the Pacific Northwest, western Montana in particular, during the early years of the 20th Century. The manuscript is titled "Dream of Empire" and appears to have been commissioned, perhaps by the owners of the Circle Seven Ranch—the image appearing on the manuscript cover. "Dream of Empire" is a creative non-fiction account describing the life and travails of Bill Brown, a sheep and horse rancher who established and operated the Buck Creek and Old Gap ranches in central Oregon between 1879 and 1935. The collection's short essay is an abbreviated biography of the Thomas Henry Smith family of Noxon, Montana from 1884 through the early 1900s. Two undated photographs are associated with the essay. One photograph shows Mr. Smith with his adopted daughter, Kate, and the other photograph includes Mr. Smith among several other early Noxon residents. The newspaper clippings, all authored by Mrs. Willis, are historical essays. Two articles describe her childhood memories (Christmas traditions among the immigrant English families of Noxon and working at the family-owned restaurant). A third article recounts the memories of Denver Laughlin, an early Thompson Falls, Montana resident (circa 1870s - 1900s). Two other articles were printed by the Coeur D'Alene Press as an introduction series for new citizens in the area. The series was likely published during World War II and presents wide-ranging descriptions and interpretations of regional history and landscapes.