We've had a bit of a problem with this cache and may have to move it. For now, we're going to leave it as it is. Our intention is to make a kind of fun, historical driving tour of the valley, not make hard to find caches. This one is going to be a freebie, just check the hint. There is no need to look anywhere on or around the mailboxes.
This is a series of micro-caches commemorating the lost historical towns in the Flathead Valley. In most cases nothing is left of the original town site, however using anecdotal evidence and a late 1990s U.S. Geological Survey project that pinned down the approximate area where these towns' post offices were located, we have placed these caches in the general vicinity. In cases where the land is privately owned, the cache will be at least within eye-shot.
In order to distinguish between an actual town (like Salish or Demersville) and a general area (like Half Moon or Deer Park) we have taken our definition verbatim from the most valuable resource we found while researching these lost places, the book "Muscle, Grit And Big Dreams Earliest Towns of the Upper Flathead 1872-1891" by Carle F. O'Neil, O'Neil Printers, 1996. A town is, "A collection of houses and other buildings wherein at least minimal human services are formally provided and exchanged, and where a public post office has been established."
The above picture is of a hand drawn map approximating where the town of Scribner/Flathead Lake was located. It was probably very close to the same site as Salish right on the river, however, since all of this area is privately owned and we can't place two caches on top of each other, we have backed the cache up to the west and repositioned it just a little down the road from the Salish cache. It's an easy park and grab.
Some interesting facts about the town of Flathead Lake Montana:
- We know Scribner was located approximately four miles north (up river) from the north shore of Flathead Lake.
- Scribner's post office was established on February 20, 1872.
- The first Scribner postmaster was Angus McLeod.
- The town was initially most likely named for Colonel Wiley S. Scribner who served as secretary of Montana Territory from April 20, 1869 to July 10, 1870.
- The U.S. Congress failed to provide transportation for the mail from Missoulia to Scribner until May 14, 1872 and it was still another year until an actual delivery contract was completed.
- By the time the mail started arriving the town's name had been changed to Flathead Lake and Valentine H. Coombes had taken over as postmaster.
- There is a record of at least one general store in Flathead Lake which was owned by Isadore Cohn.
- On September 7, 1880 the Scribner election district was formally abolished, and Scribner/Flathead Lake was no more.
- In all the town lasted about eight years from 1872-1880.