Chapter Five: The Missoula Octopus

In the last episode of Land Grab, we try- as best we can- to unravel the twisted up tentacles of the Missoula Octopus. As the Great Depression washes over Montana, one organization seems remarkably immune: the Missoula Mercantile Company, which imbedded within every industry in the county, and floats the entire region throughout the turmoil.  [&hellip The post Chapter Ten: The Big Store appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

In the penultimate episode of Land Grab, we conclude our narrative on the ground on the Flathead Reservation with the story of the Flathead Irrigation Project and the construction of Kerr Dam. After tracing the path of multinational corporations like Standard Oil and Amalgamated as they took over Montana in the early 1900’s, we are [&hellip The post Chapter Nine: Under Ditch appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

In Chapter Eight of Land Grab, we take a deep dive into the  takeover of the Anaconda Company by Standard Oil, and  the vicious decades of hegemonic corporate rule  that followed in the 20th century. We look at how this reviled villain in “The Company”, and the devastating bust that brought an end to the [&hellip The post Chapter Eight: Kicked by a Copper Boot appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

The Flathead Allotment Act was passed in 1904, but the reservation was not opened until 1910. But those 6 years were far from idle. This chapter of Land Grab looks at how the white community of Missoula circled around the reservation, smelling a profit, while the native Salish, Pend D’Oreille, and Kootenai people fought to [&hellip The post Chapter Seven: Making Checkers  appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

Land Grab is back with the first episode of the second part of our series on the history of the Missoula Mercantile Company, corporate control of Montana, and the allotment of the Flathead Indian Reservation at the turn of the 20th century in Western Montna. In this chapter, we look at the rise of Montana [&hellip The post Chapter Six: Savage Habits  appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

In the cumulative chapter of the first half of our season, we find Andrew Hammond at the peak of his powers in Missoula in the 1890’s. The Bitterroot Salish have left the valley and Marcus Daly’s Anaconda Company fills the vacuum. Statewide, the Capital and the University are up for grabs, and Hammond makes a [&hellip The post Chapter Five: The Missoula Octopus appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

In the fourth chapter of Land Grab,  20 years of pressure comes to a head, as Charlo’s bands of Salish people in the Bitterroot valley are finally forced out by troops from Fort Missoula, and make the long walk through downtown Missoula and up to the Jocko Reservation. We go deep into the circumstances that [&hellip The post Land Grab – Chapter Four: Exodus appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

Welcome to Land Grab chapter three! In this chapter, the political intrigue really takes off on another level. Last episode, we laid out the formation of the Montana Improvement Company: a massive timber monopoly created to build the transcontinental railroad and the Anaconda Company smelter. In this episode, we dive into the actual operation of [&hellip The post Land Grab – Chapter Three: Depredations appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

In chapter two of Land Grab, our narrative for the season kicks off in earnest. We meet the key figure for the rest of the show: Andrew B. Hammond, and chart his journey from teenage lumberjack to prospector to partner in the corporation that will become the Missoula Mercantile.  In the Bitterroot Valley, future President [&hellip The post Land Grab – Chapter Two: The Big Deal appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..

Welcome to the first season of Land Grab! In this first chapter, we’re laying out the terms of the story we’re going to tell in this season: the story of the opening of the Flathead Indian Reservation to white settlement; and the real foundations of Missoula and Western Montana. This first chapter largely focuses on [&hellip The post Land Grab – Chapter One: Foreign Country appeared first on Montana Mint - The greatest website north of Wyoming..