Homestead History

The last 100 years here

Curtis Peter Lafray Sr was born in Weedsport, NY September 24th, 1865 to Warren C Lafray and Jeanette Mills. At the age of 23, along with thousands of others who were attracted by the promise of jobs and land, Curtis Sr. moved with his wife Carrie Bigler and their 3 year old daughter to Hellgate, Montana (the original site of Missoula). Several decades earlier in 1855 the Treaty of Hellgate, Indigenous Americans in the area were forced to cede their thousands of year-old historical claims to this land and moved to what is now the Flathead Reservation. The mining, timber and railroad companies had acquired (illegally in many instances) thousands of acres of surface and underground rights and were aggressively seeking labor to extract natural resources

Curtis Sr. worked in the Big Blackfoot Mill (predecessor to the Anaconda mill) as countless old growth trees in the Blackfoot River Valley were felled and floated down the Blackfoot River to be cut into boards for construction of the copper mines.

In 1894, Curtis Sr. acquired water rights to nearby Lafray Creek and began farming acreage along the bend of the Blackfoot River. The property to the east of our land is where he did most of the farming and cattle grazing. In accordance with the Homestead Act of 1862, Curtis Sr. built the log cabin you see today around 1900 and in 1910 was deeded 155 acres along the Blackfoot River.

By the first decade of the 20th century, Curtis Sr. and his wife had settled on and were farming the homestead property where they had nine children. Heated only by a wood stove with no electricity or running water, Curtis Sr. and Carrie lived in the cabin for over 50 years. Their two daughters Libbie and Nina inherited the property after Curtis Sr. died in 1951 and lived together in the cabin until shortly before their deaths in 1980 and 1996.

We have kept the homestead cabin much as Curtis Sr. built in 1900, albeit with upgraded electrical service, new floors, insulated windows and safer stairs. We are honored to care for this special property, and hope you respect the legacy of the land and its history as much as we do.

Curtis Sr. was a union organizer in the 1890s and early 1900s, president of the Federal Labor Union No. 6630 at Bonner and serving in the leadership of the American Labor Union and Western Federation of Miners. He was an advocate for collective ownership of the mines and mills, shorter work hours, national insurance for work-related injuries, universal education, and equal rights for men and women. Curtis Sr. was an active member of the International Order of Odd Fellows in Missoula which hosted many union meetings and local musical events.

The orchard you see today was planted over 100 years ago, perhaps from varieties that were common in upstate New York from where Curtis Sr. had come. Nina was an avid canner and hundreds of her Mason jars are still in the root cellar of the cabin. Curtis Jr. worked in the Anaconda Mill for over 40 years and lived near River Road in Missoula where he was an expert horticulturist. After his death in 1994, the local community created Lafray Park in Missoula with a great neighborhood playground. Curtis Jr. served in the Army in World War II and his hat is in the home on display.

A decade before Nina Lafray died, the property was sold in 1985 to Dave and Bev Larsen. After living in Alaska where they raised their kids, they moved back to the state they fell in love with and retired in this home. The Larsens built the barn in 1989 and the main house in 1995. In 2022, we purchased this last 7 acres of the original Charles Lafray Sr. homestead.