Montana History:  Place Names (E-G)

         

 

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  Select brief notes about place names throughout the state, with an emphasis on towns.

A-B, C-D, E-G (more coming)

Photo above on Left:  The community of Landusky is named for
Powell "Pike" Landusky, reputed to be one of the toughest rough-and-tumble fighters of the west, who was killed by Kid Curry in 1894.

Place Names of Towns and Landmarks (C-D)
County location in parenthesis; place names are towns unless indicated otherwise. Condensed from the 1957 Montana Almanac.

East Portal (Mineral) - named for station at the east end of the St. Paul pass
Eastham (Teton) - station named for Eastham, Massachusetts
Edgar (Carbon) - station near Fromberg; Henry Edgar named, discovered gold in Alder Creek 1863
Edilou (Gallatin) - station on Bozeman-Mineral branch line, named for Edward Allen & daughter, Louise
Edwards (Garfield) - named for John E. Edwards, prominent state citizen and resident of the section
Ekalaka (Carter) - county seat named after a Sioux Indian girl, wife of scout David Harrison Russell
Electric (Park) - station named from Electric Peak, so named because of an electrical storm in 1872
Elizabeth Lake (Missoula) - lake and falls named for Mrs. Tom Francis Meagher, supposedly by husband
Ennis (Madison) - named for farmer William Enis, who came to Bannock in 1863
Erlice (Gallatin) - station named for the daughter of Taylor Hamilton, a farmer who settled here in 1885
Evans (Cascade) - named for Capt. John H. Evans, an early resident in the area
Evaro (Missoula) - station named in honor of a French count, an early journeyer through the territory
Fairview (Richland) - named by homesteader L. E. Newlon, for his "fair view" of the Yellowstone valley
Fallon (Prairie) - town & county in Eastern Montana, named for Benjamin O'Fallon, U.S. Indian Agent
Falls Yard (Cascade) - terminal named because of its location near Great Falls
Farmington (Teton) - station on the Great Falls-Agawam branch line; reflected character of farming region
Feeley (Silver Bow) - named for J. Feeley, an early settler in the vicinity
Ferdig (Toole) - named for an oil man who owned property in that section
Fergus (Fergus) - station & county, former named for settler Andrew Fergus, county named after his father
Finch (Rosebud) - station named for F. N. Finch, superintendent of a division of Northern Pacific Railway
Findon (Meagher) - named for Findon, Scotland, by Mrs. Mary C. Grant, who settled there in 1881
Finn (Powell) - post office named for a family of that name
Finn (Jefferson) - station named for J.D. Finn, superintendent of Northern Pacific Railway
Fisher Creek (Lincoln) - named for Jack Fisher, an early-day trapper & hunter
Fishtrap (Deer Lodge) - named after Lee Marsh's fish traps on the creek; he sold fish to the mining camps
Flathead (Flathead) - lake, county & river, named after an Indian Tribe
Fleshner (Lewis & Clark) - named for an early settler of the locality
Florence (Lewis & Clark) - named for Florence, daughter of Ed Lippincott & wife T. P. Fuller
Florence (Ravalli) - named for Florence Abbot Hammond, wife of A. P. Hammond formerly of Missoula
Flume (Teton) - station named for a large irrigation flume which crosses the Great Northern line here
Flynn (Rosebud) - station near Forsyth, named for T. M. Flynn, superintendent of Northern Pacific railway
Foraker (Mineral) - station on the Milwaukee railroad, named for United State Senator, Foraker
Forsyth (Rosebud) - county seat, named after Gen. James W. Forsyth, U.S. Army officer
Fort Benton (Chouteau) - named for Thomas H. Benton of Missouri, U.S. Senator (on site of old post, 1850)
Fort Keo[u]gh (Custer) - near Miles City, U.S. Army post in 1877, named for Capt. Keogh
Fort Logan (Meagher) - named for Capt. Logan, killed in battle of the Big Hole
Fort Piegan (Glacier) - station (formerly Carlow), later named after Fort Piegan, Blackfoot trading post
Fort Shaw (Cascade) - established in 1867 as Camp Reynolds, later named after Col. Robert G. Shaw
Fort Union (Roosevelt) - formerly Mondak, name changed to Fort Union in 1925 in memory of trading post
Foster (Big Horn) - post office named after a son of Mr. J.M. Hannaford
Fox (Carbon) - near Red Lodge, named after J.M. Fox, prominent area citizen, father of Judge Sidney Fox
Frenchtown (Missoula) - the early inhabitants were largely French Canadian, hence the name
Fridley (Park) - named for a man who founded the town & settled in the region early in its history
Froid (Roosevelt) - named by Division Engineer, Charles A. Walker, who got it from an old map of Nebraska
Fromberg (Carbon) - formerly named after local miner Gebo, later changed to Fromberg, a Slovenian name
Fullerton (Fergus) - named for Mr. Fuller, a rancher in that section
Galen (Deer Lodge) - named after Dr. Galen, noted doctor & physician on tuberculosis
Gallagher (Yellowstone) - north of Billings, named for B&CM engineer who was Missoula depot master
Gallatin (Gallatin) - station, county, river; named by Lewis July 27, 1805, for Albert Gallatin, U.S. Sec. Tre.
Gardiner (Park) -named for the Gardiner River, after Johnson Gardiner, a fur trapper in early days
Garfield (Garfield) - county in east & central Montana, probably named after President James Garfield.
Garneill (Fergus) - named after a local resident Mr. Garneill and his wife Garnet
Garrison (Powell) - town & railroad center, named for William Lloyd Garrison, antislavery advocate
Garryowen (Big Horn) - siding south of Crow Agency, named for the band piece of the same name
Gaspard (Missoula) - station so named because right of way was acquired from Gaspard Deschamps
Gearing (Lewis & Clark) - named for a family of that name who lived near by.
Gehard (Fergus) - named for an early settler of that section
Georgetown (Deer Lodge) - named for George Cameron, an early miner of that section
Geraldine (Chouteau) - named after Mrs. Geraldine Rockefeller, wife of Wm Rockefeller, railroad exec
Gibbons (Beaverhead) - named for Gen. John Gibbon
Gilbert (Powell) - station named for F. W. Gilbert, general superintendent of Northern Pacific Railroad
Gilman (Lewis & Clark) - named for L.C. Gilman, vice-president of Great Northern Railway
Gird's Creek (Ravalli) - creek named for A. K. Gird, deserter from Johnson's army who settled on the creek
Glacier (Glacier) - county named after Glacier Park, next to which it lies
Glasgow (Valley) - county seat, named from the city in Scotland by the Great northern Railway
Glendive (Dawson) - county seat, named after Glendive Creek by Irish sportsman Sir. George Cook
Gold Creek (Powell) - town & creek at which gold was first discovered in Montana
Golden Valley (Golden Valley) -county for rich soil and plentiful water
Gorus (Ravalli) - station near Darby, named after Mr. G. D. Gorus, successful raiser of McIntosh apples
Gould (Lewis & Clark) - named for the Jay Gould mine here, which was named for the well known financier
Grace (Silver Bow) - station, named for Mrs. Grace Penfield, wife of W. H. Penfield, engineer, C.M.&St. Paul
Granite (Granite) - county named from mountain containing Granite Mountain silver mines
Grannis/Granis Crossing (Park) - station named for Mrs. Thirza Grannis, who sold right-of-way to NP Rail
Grant's Creek (Missoula) - creek named for Capt Richard Grant who built a home here in the early days
Grantsdale (Ravalli) - named for H. H. Grant, landowner, built first flour mill & owned first store in area
Grass Range (Fergus) - name probably intended as a description of the location in a stock range country
Great Falls (Cascade) - named because it is near the Great Falls of the Missouri River
Greenwood (??) - named for a farmer of that name, who lived in that area
Grey Cliff (Sweet Grass) - town & station, named after a nearby cliff which is of gray tinted conglomerate
Grizzly (Glacier) - station in Glacier National Park, suggestive of the wild life in Glacier region
Grundy Gulch (Lewis & Clark) - gulch named for David Grundy, discoverer of the gulch
Gunsight (Glacier) - station named Admus, later named for Gunsight mountain and pass in Glacier Park
Gypsum (Fergus) - station east of Lewistown, named after Gypsum mine & plant owned
 

 

Montana History Net is produced by Bruce Gourley.  Photographs, except Clark signature, copyright Bruce Gourley.