Lester H. Todd was the grandson of Hiram H. Todd and Thomas G. Lemons (or Lemon) who were two of the early settlers chronicled in the manuscript. [Lester Todd uses "Lemon" in his manuscript, but "Lemons" is used in the "1892-93 Gallatin Valley Gazetteer and Bozeman City Directory" as well as the 1880 Montana Census.] Hiram H. Todd migrated from Missouri by wagon train with his wife and 10 of his children, including William P. Todd (Lester's father) in July 1879, settling in Salesville, Montana Territory (now Gallatin Gateway, Montana). The next year, Hiram filed on a homestead southwest of town. Thomas G. Lemons and one son were in the same wagon train. His wife, married son Thomas J. Lemons and family, and two daughters, including Adda Lemons, followed the next year by train. Thomas G. filed on a homestead at the mouth of Spanish Creek in 1882. Adda Lemons and William P. Todd later married and farmed outside of Salesville. In a letter of foreword, Lester H. Todd explains that he has gathered the information for many years and "put it into History form so that the Generations that follow will have a true picture of early settlers who come to this part Montana and settled". Todd was born in Salesville and lived in both the Spanish Creek and Cherry Creek Valleys for many years before moving to Bozeman, Montana, in the 1930s.
The Early Settlers of Salesville, Spanish Creek and Cherry Creek Basins manuscript and a related map were created by Lester H. Todd to document the homestead settlement of the Gallatin River Canyon area that lies between the Gallatin and Madison mountain ranges. The photocopied manuscript contains a thumbnail sketch of each settler, when he arrived and where he homesteaded. Some sketches are very detailed and include anecdotes about families and events, while some are less complete. Areas described include Salesville (now Gallatin Gateway, Montana) and surrounding area, the Cherry Creek basin area of Madison County, Montana, and the Spanish Creek basin area of Gallatin County, Montana. Information includes crops and livestock raised; the succession of ownerships of many homesteads, including the large buyouts by the Flying D Ranch; other businesses and jobs undertaken; and events of note, such as the murders of John Bozeman and John Allen as related by old timers. The hand-drawn map includes the names of settlers, the locations of their homesteads, and other community features. A typed name index to the manuscript was added following acquisition by the archives; there are over 100 names listed, including prominent locals like town founder Zachariah Sales and families such as Anceney, Black, Kirk, Lay, Lemon, Todd, and Vogel.
This collection is open for research.
Original manuscript written by Lester H. Todd and its accompanying map were loaned by him to the Montana State University Library in 1965 to be photocopied. They were returned to Mr. Todd after their reproduction; the current location of the original is unknown. An index of the names of settlers was produced later by the library staff.
This collection was processed 2009 February 5
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT