Welcome to the Sunburst & Kevin Montana Picture Tour.
The Montana towns of Sunburst and Kevin share the same picture tour page because they share the same colorful history. The agricultural towns faced a significant population growth after oil development occurred in the 1920s. In the height of the oil activity, the Texas Company (later Texaco) built a refinery in the town, and the community grew to almost a thousand people at one point. After oil development in the area ceased in the 1970s, Sunburst once again became a primarily agricultural town. *Wikipedia
GATEWAY TO THE SWEET GRASS HILLS
Sunburst is your last chance to enjoy a great breakfast and pickup supplies before your hike. The Sweet Grass Hills have been known by many names over the Years; the Blackfoot referred to this island range as Koto-yi-six “Sweet pine hills”; Peter Pond, a partner in the North West Company in Canada, referred to them as the Three Sugar Loaf Mounts in 1785; the Hudson’s Bay Company called them the Three Paps in 1802; Capt. Meriwether Lewis called them the Tower Mountains in 1806. The current name Sweet Grass Hills, refers to Hierochloe odorato, a native grass abundant in the area, used for ceremonial purposes. The Sweetgrass Hills comprised of 6,983 foot West Butte, plus Gold Butte, Mount Royal, and Mount Brown, maintain a religious and cultural significance to the Blackfeet people and other tribes. During the 1890s and again in the 1930s, several small gold mines operated in the hills, and some of those claims remain viable today.
GOT SORE FEET OR Just Curious?
We understand, before you spend your hard earned “time off” you want a preview of what you will see during a June hike in the Sweet Grass Hills. We built four picture tours to show you this incredible Montana treasure east of Sunburst.
| WEST BUTTE | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAuU3qGo-bE |
| GOLD BUTTE | https://www.montanapictures.net/the-sweet-grass-hills-in-montana-information-and-photographs/ |
| EAST BUTTE & MOUNT LEBANON | https://www.montanapictures.net/sweet-grass-hills-in-montana-picture-tour/ |
| LISTEN TO THE MEADOWLARK SING IN APRIL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwwY6kLZd3g |
KEVIN MONTANA PICTURE TOUR
A co-worker and friend, named Vince, suggested I ride north to his hometown of Kevin, Montana. Thankfully, he gave instructions on how to pronounce the town’s name and what landmarks to look for when I arrived with my cameras. Thank you Vince! Kevin (pronounced “Kee-vin”) was a fascinating look into Montana’s oil and gas history that was unknown to me before I arrived.
Located 25 miles south of the US-Canadian border, the community of Kevin, Montana is scattered with landmarks from it’s “Glory Days” of the Oil and Gas Boom of the 1920’s. It was another energy source that helped the town acquired it’s name. Decades before the “Oil Boom,” it was coal that was needed to meet the demands for power in the sprawling smelter town of Great Falls, Montana. In 1887, a narrow gauge railroad affectionately nicknamed the “Turkey Track,” was built to haul coal two hundred miles south from the Oldman River Valley near Lethbridge, Alberta to Great Falls, Montana. One of the officials of the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company who built the “Turkey Track” was Thomas Kevin. *“Hope’s Last Home: Travels in Milk River Country” by Tony Rees
THE WOODEN GRAIN ELEVATOR
The grain elevator pictured above, is located less than one mile west of Kevin on Highway 215 and was built by local men. The foundation was poured in 1959 and the elevator was constructed with cribbed wood. Emile Habets built the elevator for personal use and his grain was loaded from the elevator into the train cars to be shipped. The elevator stands tall, if a bit tired, after nearly 50 years of service. The elevator is more structurally sound than it appears when looking at the warped section on top. Most elevators were built with wood but are now built with steel or concrete. Toole County.Word Press
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