Lincoln, in the Blackfoot Valley, Charms the Visitor
Is ideal objective for weekend trip out of Great Falls
Has Ample Hotel and Cabin Facilities, Stores, Garages. Service Station and Dance Hall; Good Fishing and Hunting in Season

Lincoln, in the Heart of the Rockies
This well built camp is set in a grove of stately yellow pines.

Lincoln!

A camp with a noble name, one the mention of which brings visions of a little community built in a setting of giant yellow pines and almost every other variety of evergreens. of cool mountain breezes and rushing trout streams.

You haven’t obtained a full conception of the beauties that he in the places especially favored by nature within comparatively easy motoring distance of Great Falls unless you have visited Lincoln. It is 125 miles from this city by the most favorable route and is reached in four hours travel if you hurry, in five hours if you take your time.

All routes lead through the town of Wolf Creek, 70 mf.es. and the trip to that pin e has been described in a previous Leader tour. Going straight on toward Helena from Wolf Creek we pass through the beautiful Prickly Pear canyon and at 90 miles, just beyond the place called Johns, turn directly to the right and we are off up Canyon creek for the mountains.

One can hardly get off the road then. However, at 101.5 miles by the Leader speedometer we come to the junction of the two main passes into Lincoln, the Stemple and the Flesher. Straight ahead is by Flesher, a turn to the left takes us up over Stemple. The latter has the better road, the grades over the Continental divide are not nearly so steep and it is four miles shorter.

There is another way to reach Lincoln; it is by way of Rogers pass and the distance from Great Falls is but 104 miles, a saving of 21 miles over the Stemple route. But it is doubtful if much time will be saved. The pass is steep and much one-way road is encountered. And then you hang at times on the edges of rather breathtaking cliffs.

To take the Rogers pass route, turn to the left up Wolf creek at 70.7 miles. At 74 miles the road forks. You take the left fork, which leads over Rogers pass and finally into Fletcher pass about 13 miles this side of Lincoln.

The town and camp of Lincoln nestle in the vaLey of the Big Blackfoot river. Ranching it from the tep of the Continental divide on this side you have traveled 23 1/2 miles, by Stemple pass, and dropped 2,000 feet to an elevation of 4,533. You have now traveled more than half the way to Missoula. 92 miles farther on. Helena is 52 miles distant.

Well Equipped

The tourist and camper will find at Lincoln at two general stores, service station, postoffice, telephone, soft drink parlor, community dance hall, large summer hotel and more than 30 cabins. P. M. Didricksen has conducted a general store there for 12 years and he has a service station in connection. George Stoner opened another general store this summer and he has also a service station and a garage. The dance hall is maintained by the community and there is a hop there every Saturday night with music by a Helena orchestra.

L. J. Lambkin moved into the camp 12 years ago and started in the hotel business. This year he tore down the old portion devoted to rooms and replaced it with a two-story log structure containing 25 rooms each with gas light. Meals are served. He owns also 20 rustic cabins, all furnished for housekeeping excepting for cooking utensils and dishes. The cabins contain fireplaces, pumps, electric lights, screened porches and other conveniences, with rooms of very liberal proportions. Others in the camp with cabins to rent are Mrs. Palmer and George Parlin, each with six. There are cabins for rent also on close in ranches. The camp will accommodate 150 guests.

Eastward from the town about five miles on the Flesher road there is a dude ranch started three years ago and operated by Edward Bower, nephew of G. C. Bower of this city. It is called the “Seven Up” ranch and represents an investment it is said of fully $50,000. At the ranch may be had cabins for short or long periods. The place is equipped with such luxuries as showers and a shooting gallery. Saddle horses may be rented for short rides and they will pack you into the mountain fastnesses to fish, or hunt in season. West of the town about 12 miles another dude ranch is operated by William and Fannie Steele.

Fishing Is Good

They Get Them Like This
The Big Blackfoot river is one of the justly famous fishing streams of Montana.

Lincoln offers good fishing, in the Big Blackfoot river and in a dozen nearby streams. You can drop your f:y into the river within a stone’s throw of the hotel and the chances are you won’t have to angle long before you begin having strikes. The average catch will be of good eating size. Go down the canyon a few miles toward Ovando, west, and you will have a chance at much bigger ones.

The camp Is in the heart of a big game country and deer are frequently seen within its confines. It is no unusual occurrence to see one or more while out fishing Copper lake is nine miles distant. Silver lake. 10 miles distant, and Han lake, 16 miles from camp. Native and silver salmon trout are caught in these lakes.

This is a favorite locality for Great Falls people. The round trip is a little too long for a one-day motoring Journey, but many go up on Saturn afternoon and return Sunday. It is seldom that some of the cabins are not Occupied by families from this city. It is patronized to a greater extent, however, by Helena people, who can reach it in two hours drive Dr J. H. Irwin of this city has owned a. home there for many years, as have W F. Kester and Stanley Totten. Chris Volk has Just acquired a tract and built a pretty cottage.

The A. C. M. company owns the townsite and has platted 150 lots, some of one acre and others containing an acre and a half. They charge $50 an acre and allow 82 50 a thousand for any standing timber there is on a tract. The lots are all separated by 40-foot spaces that might be called streets. Mr. Dedrickson is agent for the lots.

The town has a voting population of about 60 and altogether contains about 80 permanent residents including the children. It has an annual barbecue in summer and at the last one. held on July 4. about 2,000 people attended.

The Old and the New

Lincoln has an interesting history. They speak of the old town, which was a gold mining camp about six miles north and west of the present postoffice. It was established in about 1865 and in its heyday supported a considerable population, with prosperous stores, a brewery and everything, including a barracks for protection against Indian raids.

It was a rich diggin’s, but bad luck finally struck it; water got the best of the miners, caveins killed two or three, and finally mining was abandoned and old Lincoln died a natural death. The postoffice was moved to the present Lincoln in about 1890. There is talk of a mining revival in the valley and the dredging of the gulch. C. W. Robertson and A. J. Wood and Fred Mead, ft partnership, are now placer mining there.

The Big Blackfoot valley has many charms and Lincoln is no doubt destined to grow in popularity. The nights are invariably cool; sometimes after the hotteset days when evening descends you can see your breath. Lincolnites just won’t give up the idea that some day their dream of the Milwaukee, which has come a long way up the Blackfoot from Missoula, will build on through the town and up and over and onward to Great Falls, as proposed.

They cherish another hope. too. and that is that before many years the distance to Great Falls will be substantially shortened by construction of ft new highway over one of three passes. Cadotte, Lewis and Clark or Rogers, to connect with the Sun river road at Simms. Fort Shaw or some other point. It is said that Lincoln could be placed within 83 miles of Great Falls by using Cadotts pass.