Wheat Basin is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

in Stillwater County,

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, United States. Wheat Basin is sourced from the USGS (United States Geographical Survey). The town has a total area of 6.5 acres.

History

In 1915, four years before John Stolte platted Wheat Basin, the town of Nora grew up from a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

construction camp midway between the towns of Rapelje and

Molt In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...

near the mouth of Big Lake. By the summer of 1917, the railroad had been completed, the Riopel family had opened a mercantile store there and the postal service in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

changed Nora's name to Wheat Basin in 1918. The town supported a developed main street with a

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

, a bank, stores, a dance hall, and

lumber yard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services suc ...

s. A post office was open in 1918 with Frances Riopel serving as postmaster; it remained in operation until 1936. The town was primarily an agricultural community with a stop and depot. The Wheat basin post office was closed in 1936. The railroad later pulled out and the town descended into steep decline. In 1937, the town was gripped by a bloody double

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

committed by Frank Robideau. The murder victims were Michael and Frieda Kuntz, who ran the "Occidental Grain Elevator." Robideau was quickly tried and hanged. Today, Wheat Basin is a ghost town, with little remaining that is easily visible except a number of concrete building foundations and depressions where buildings once stood. The streets and main road are also still present. The last surviving structure was the Grain Elevator, which burned down in 1997. A sign placard indicates the site of the former town. The town was purchased in 2006 by Ken Mesch. Only two shops are owned by the previous owners of the blacksmith shop.

References

External links

Wheatbasin.com
{{Authority control Ghost towns in Montana Populated places in Stillwater County, Montana