Thompson Falls man shares love of history

For those looking for history of the area, Thompson Falls man Carl Haywood would say that there is quite a bit to find in Sanders County. The local author has published four books on history and is currently working on another. Haywood's new book will feature his experiences fighting fires in what he calls "old time firefighting" techniques. The books are his way of giving his relatives and descendants a written history of his life. He explained that history and finding the truth has always interested him. "History is what it was, not what we would like it to have been," said Haywood.

Born in Ironton, Missouri, Haywood moved to Arizona in 1947 at five years old with his family. His grandfather needed to move to a dry warm climate because of his failing health, and so the family came along.

Haywood studied Forestry at Northern Arizona State University, which at the time was a teaching college called Arizona State College. While in college he was also a bareback rodeo rider. However, he did not believe he was any good, so he sold all his "riggin," or equipment, to a friend for $25, but only received $10 and an IOU.

Haywood was sent to Lincoln, Montana on a hot shot fire crew in 1967, which was his first time in the state. Haywood returned from Arizona and landed in Missoula a little over a year later to call Montana home. In total, Haywood would work as a forest firefighter for 15 years, from 18 years old in 1960 until 1975.

Into the 1970s, while living in Plains, he worked with landowners to assess parcels of land using his forestry degree. He would take a couple weeks' vacation every year to work as a horse packing guide in the Bob Marshall wilderness, guiding hunters for a friend's business. He never asked to be paid because it gave him an opportunity to get out into the wilderness and it helped his friend.

Though the history of all the areas he has lived fascinated him, he was especially fascinated with the history of the Sanders County area and the state of Montana. One day, upon seeing information posted about David Thompson, the famous fur trader that explored parts of the northwest, Haywood became frustrated. The information displayed claimed several things, including that the famous Saleesh House was built on the north side of the river. Haywood, having been familiar with the story of Thompson and working from an abridged version of the original journal, knew the location to have been different.

After several failed attempts to reach out to the historical society, who had no interest in discussing their findings, Haywood decided to write his own book on the subject. It became a perfect fit, as Haywood had years of experience traveling through the wilderness and reading and understanding old maps and landmarks. He did a lot of research on the internet, which was nothing like it is today. He also used Catherine White's rendition of the journal as it related to Montana and compared old and modern maps to its contents.

He and his wife spent weekends trailing in the woods and on old roads following Thompson's trail, searching to find the most likely locations Thompson had visited. Haywood self-published his first book in 2008, titled Sometimes Only Horses to Eat. The book can still be purchased online through Amazon, or through his website rockmanstradingpost.com. It details the journeys of Thompson and the true location of the Saleesh House trading post.

After his book was published and his copies got around, that posted information was taken down, and the life of Thompson was re-examined. Haywood was even asked to speak at several gatherings to talk about the history of the namesake for the very town in which he currently lives.