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PIONEERS AND EARLY SETTLERS OF PLAINS, MONTANA

Researched by Ann Miller

William Bruce Russell

William Bruce Russell was born Dec. 23, 1864 near Binghampton, NY, to William C/G Russell of Hartford Conn., and Roseltha Clarke of Windsor, NY. His parents were married March 25th, 1863 Binghampton, NY.

Roseltha died giving birth to William and he was raised by an Aunt.

The following is taken from a sketch written by William’s son W.B. Jr.-William’s early years were spent in school and working in the timber of the area. At the age of sixteen, he decided to go West and seek his fortune. Traveling by train to North Utah, he changed to a stage coach and arrived in Butte, Mont. The Butte of those days in 1880 was a wild mining camp, and a poor place for a young man of sixteen years. Marcus Daly and W.A. Clark were bitter enemies and were all powerful leaders of the two factions striving for political power and fortune.

Our young easterner went to work for Marcus Daly and worked for him for several years. As he has had a little experience in the logging and saw milling business in the East, he was soon operating a mill producing mining timber for shoring up the copper mines in Butte. He sawed the heavy timbers used in the construction of the old original smelter being built in Anaconda about twenty-five miles from Butte.

Early in 1888 he returned to Binghampton, NY and married his boyhood sweetheart, Mary “Mamie” Alena Dawley.

Upon his return to Montana in 1888, he settled near DeSmet, West of Missoula where he operated a sawmill and logging camp for himself, selling his output to the Marcus Daly operation in Butte. For many years he produced timber and lumber for this concern whose name was soon changed to the Anaconda Copper Company.

In late 1890 or 1891, he moved to Thompson Falls where he operated a timber production plant. In 1891, late in the year, he moved to Russell Spur, which was one mile east of Eddy, Montana, on the Northern Pacific Railroad line and on the Clarks Fork River. This was an ideal location for river driving logs and shipping the lumber on the railroad.

Mamie A Russell bought lot S; #14, 15, 16, 17 & 18 block 22 on Sept. 8, 1892. Lots #14, 15 & 16 have a dwelling home on it valued at $750.00. Lots 17 & 18 enclosed valued of improvements $25.00. Eugene Preston was the witness stating that she had lived there since June 15, 1891.

Weekly Montanian Jan. 25, 1896-W.B. Russell, one of Thompson’s old stand-by was in the city yesterday. W. b. employs a large force of men the year round at good wages and most of it passes through the channels of trade in the city.

During these years, he bought land with its virgin timber from the mill site at Russell, east of the confluence of the Clarks Fork and Flathead rivers. The McKay farm across the river from the mill was logged by him, after which he sold the land. The Dupont property east of Paradise was also owned by him and many million feet of timber removed. For many years he owned and farmed this place. This property is now known as the Stephens ranch. There were also many other properties logged by him, including the Swamp Creek drainage west of Plains, MT.

In 1903 he sold his Eddy, Mont. property and moved the family to Missoula, Mont., to secure schooling for his sons. The family home at 1120 Gerald Avenue was the Russell residence. (until the death of Mrs. Russell and is now a fraternity at the University of Montana).

The Sanders County Ledger, Thompson Falls, MT. Friday, March 17 , 1905-W.B. Russell of Missoula, has purchased an interest in the old Iron Mountain mine. The mine was once a famous producer but was abandoned on account of the mining law requiring double sharts.

The Sanders County Ledger, Thompson Falls, MT. Friday, May 5, 1905-W.B. Russell, formerly a prominent citizen of the West-end but now a resident of Missoula, was here on Tuesday visiting with his many friends. Billy Russell as he is familiarly called by his friends still has numerous interests in Sanders County, consisting of timber land along the Clark’s Fork, fine ranches in Paradise valley and a fine residence in Thompson.

Sanders County Signal, Plains, MT., July 11, 1907-William Russell, the well-known lumberman was seriously injured the other day. A 2/6 fell end first striking him on the upper lip tearing a portion of it away and knocking out ten teeth, a part of the lower lip was also destroyed. The injured man was treated and sent to the Sisters’ Hospital in Missoula.

During the years of the family’s residence in Missoula, W.B. carried on his farming operations at Paradise and also at Woodlin, east of Thompson Falls. With the building of the Northern Pacific cut off from St. Regis to Paradise, W.B. operated a wholesale and retail meat outlet, selling beef to the contractors building the railroad, there being several thousand workers on this job making for a good meat market. He still operated his sawmills and logging camps in Western Montana and also located and patented the silver and lead mines mined on Eddy Creek, which are still sporadically promoted.

The Sanders County Ledger, Thompson Falls, MT. Friday May 12, 1911-page 3-W.b. Russell, who is in charge of the new Perma to Paradise road, was in town yesterday conferring with the county commissioners in regard to the work. Mr. Russell said the state had 54 men on the job and this number will be increased to 60 in the next few days.

With the completion of the power dam at Thompson Falls in 1912, he built the road from Thompson Falls to Burke, Idaho to use in delivering the transmission line material, as most of the power at that time was delivered to the mines in Idaho.

The Sanders County Ledger, Thompson Falls, MT. Friday, Jan.3, 1913-page 5-W.B. Russell, who is establishing a saw mill setting across the river from the town of Plains, was here on business Saturday.

The Sanders County Ledger, Thompson Falls, MT. Friday, Dec. 3, 1915-page 3-W.B. Russell, the well known sawmill man and rancher, was in town the first of the week looking after the shipment of his big grain crop that he raised the past season on the Woodlin flats. He also arranged for the winterizing of his large flock of Angora goats on this land, thus utilizing the numerous straw stacks.

William Bruce Russell died Sept. 25, 1928 Missoula, MT. with burial Sept. 27, 1928 in the Missoula City Cemetery, Missoula, MT.