census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
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 Columb ...
, United States. The town was a station stop on the now-abandoned transcontinental main line of the
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986.
The company experience ...
("the Milwaukee Road"), and is a community center for nearby ranches and farms. Martinsdale was the home of the poet Grace Stone Coates, author of ''Black Cherries,'' ''Mead & Mangel-Wurzel,'' and ''Portulacas in the Wheat.'' It was also the home of
Charles M. Bair Charles M. Bair (1857–1943) was an early railroading businessman who also became one of the largest sheep ranchers in the United States. He had two daughters, Alberta (1895-1993) and Marguerite (1889-1976).
Charles M. Bair was born in Stark Count ...
, one of the largest and most successful sheep ranchers in the United States, and the former Bair family home is now a museum.
The Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Project is a planned pumped hydroelectric power plant that will be constructed in Martinsdale.
Martinsdale is on Highway 294, just south of U.S. Route 12, and 44 miles east of White Sulphur Springs.
History
Originally named Gauglersville, the town changed to Martinsdale in 1878. The name was after
Martin Maginnis
Martin Maginnis (October 27, 1841 – March 27, 1919) was a nineteenth-century politician, soldier, publisher, editor and miner from Minnesota and the Montana Territory.
Origins and early life
Maginnis was born in 1841 on his family's farm ...
, Montana Territory’s delegate to Congress, who assisted the town in getting a post office.