Remember When?

80 YEARS AGO • NOVMBER 18, 1942

PIONEER PASSES

Jesse Barrett, Pioneer of Sanders County, Dies

Jesse Barrett was born March 23, 1907, at McGregor, Iowa. His parents moved to Nebraska during his early childhood. When he was 17 he came to Montana and lived for several years at Bozeman. At the age of 21 he established a tie camp at Trout Creek and operated this camp for the N.P. railroad for many years. In 1904 he bought a ranch at Darby and lived there until 1910. That year he opened a store at Belknap and became the postmaster there, and has been postmaster at that point ever since, outside of the last couple of years when his wife took over most of the duties.

Surviving relatives are his wife Mrs. Alice Barrett; three sons, John of Seattle, Everett and Kenneth of of Belknap, and one daughter, Mrs. Della Samson of Lonepine.

The following is an excerpt from “Crosscuts and Rails” by the Whitepine Homemakers:

Jesse Barrett was born in 1869, and at the age of 19 he moved into the vicinity of Alger and shortly thereafter filed a stone and timber claim. His party traveled into the area by covered wagon, and he told how when they set up camp, they tended their stock before they saw to their own needs.

In 1894, Jesse sold the timber rights on a half section of land adjoining the Alger site to W.B. Russell of Missoula. He homesteaded the land itself and was granted a deed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1900 for one portion while President McKinley signed the deed on the remainder in 1904. In 1907, the land was sold to Kenneth Ross of Missoula, and Barrett moved to Darby, Montana.

In December 1910, Jesse and his wife, Alice, moved their family from Darby to Belknap. At first they lived in the old store they purchased from John Winn.

Alice recalls how they rode the big train from Darby as far as Paradise and then stayed overnight and went on to Belknap on the Dinky the following day. Their son John was four at the time. Three other children, Everett, Ken and Della, were born later.

In 1911, the family moved into the big store next door. The post office was located in this store for many years (Belknap had a post office from 1901-1964), and Alice recalled that every year more and more regulations were added to the post. While the train had mail cars and serviced the towns along their route, Barrett carried the mail sacks to a platform at the track and the mail was “hooked” off, and their mail was dropped nearby.

Everett bought land a mile west of the store several years later from A.S. Ainswoth, and Ray Aldrich sawed the lumber at his mill at the Sutherland ranch. The logs off Sutherlands were used to build Barrett’s new home.

The Belknap Store standing today is the same owned and operated by Jesse and Alice. The upstairs was equipped with a dance floor, and people in the surrounding area gathered there every weekend. For a long time Mr. Gerrad provided music with his violin, and Mrs. Larson played the piano. Barretts usually provided the supper for the dancers, and at other times everyone brought food to share with their friends.

Barretts and their friends enjoyed dances, and Alice recalls how one night 17 of their neighbors took the railroad “speeder” to a dance at Whitepine. The speeder operated on manpower, and she said each took their turn on the pump, and they had a glorious time.

Alice recalled that Lanie Eley was a very good friend, and Alice often caught the train to Whitepine for a visit, and she could always count on Mrs. Eley serving platters heaped with fish for their dinner.

Belknap was a melting pot for many nationalities. When the first railroad line was laid mainly Chinese supplied the labor force, but a crew of Belgians came in with the low line. Men of Greek origin were the first section crews, and Japanese workers moved in shortly afterward. Alice recalled two Japanese, Nichio and Joshahari. Their children attended school at Belknap and later went to Thompson Falls for high school. Joshahari made a lasting impression, for every payday he bought a money order and sent it to Toyoko to help Japan support the Japan-China war campaign. The Japanese wore clothes of western style at work and at school but were remembered as wearing their kimonos at home.