The Raymond family arrived in Virginia City by wagon train from Missouri in September 1865. They were Mrs. Delilah Raymond and her children Sarah (Sallie), William Hillhouse, and Winthrop. Mrs. Raymond started a boarding house and the boys soon had purchased a ranch they called Belmont Park . Sarah began teaching school in March, 1866 as probably the first public school teacher in an organized school district in the Montana Territory. After teaching for one school year, Sarah married James M. Herndon in May 1867 and remained in Virginia City until her death in 1914. Sarah had kept a diary of the wagon train trip which was published in 1902 as "Days on the Road." She also kept a 1866 diary of her experiences in Virginia City and teaching school. The Raymond family was prominent in Virginia City and Madison County. They began a successful freight company and the Raymond Brothers store. W. Hillhouse took over Belmont Park which became renowned for its trotters and Winthrop platted the town of Sheridan, Montana where he was in banking and land development. Mrs. Raymond died in 1896, W. Hillhouse in 1905 and Winthrop in 1912.
The Raymond Family Papers include a file of photocopied letters by Sarah Raymond Herndon dated 1899 to Mrs. Howie, Montana Superintendent of Schools describing the first school in Virginia City; a file containing the photocopied "Sallie Raymond's diary for 1866" by Sarah Raymond Herndon with typed transcriptions on each page and handwritten margin notes ; a file of photocopies of family obituaries, newspaper articles, and a stallion catalog; five copy photographs with negatives. A microfilmed copy of the diary is available.
This collection is open for research.
Papers collected and created by Sarah Raymond Herndon were sent to librarian Minnie Paugh in 1964 for photocopying by Mrs. J. Earl (Mary Raymond) Johnson of Sheridan, Montana as an addition to the newly established Montana Historical Manuscripts Collection of Montana State College Library in Bozeman. They consisted of newspaper articles and obituaries of family members, a horse catalog, photographs and a diary and letters written by Sarah Raymond Herndon who was Mrs. Johnson's aunt. Originals were returned to Mrs. Johnson and her family following their reproduction.
This collection was processed 2010 October 14
by Sarah Raymond Herndon with typed transcriptions on each page and handwritten margin notes.