Welcome to the Martinsdale And Lennep Montana Picture Tour

As we ride east on Montana 294 in Central Montana from White Sulphur Springs, Montana  you are fortunate to see some of the last well preserved landmarks of early 2oth Century Montana.  Five miles west of Lennep you can see a Milwaukee Railroad two story brick transformer building from 1914.  The Milwaukee maintained transformer stations about every 30 miles of its electrified tracks so AC power could be converted into DC current for its trains.

Milwaukee Road

In 1980, the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) abandoned almost two thousand miles of track between Miles City, Montana and Cedar Falls, Washington. Click here if you would like to read a detail history of the collapse of the Milwaukee Rail Road. If you prefer, there is a beautiful Milwaukee Rail Road museum in Harlowton, Montana.    If you are visiting Montana for the first time, you probably passed a few former Milwaukee Road buildings during your travels. You will find a brick transformer station west of Missoula along Interstate 90. The KXLF television offices in Butte, Montana are housed in the old Milwaukee Road depot. Finally, Bozeman’s incredible Gallatin Gateway Inn was built by the Milwaukee Road to offer an overnight stop for train passengers traveling south to Yellowstone Park.

Lennep Montana

In 2017, the Montana Office of Public Instruction reported, Montana has about 92 schools with fewer than 10 students. With a little luck, Martinsdale families are trying to reopen the old Lennep School house to meet the growing demand for more school facilities.  Next door of the school is the Lennep Mercantile. Above the store was a small meeting hall used for community dances fund raising events.  Just north of the school house and Lennep Mercantile is the memorable Trinity Lutheran Church. We included June pictures from 2013 and 2018 to show you this well loved landmark is being well maintained and used by the surrounding communities.

Martinsdale, Montana

Perched near Highway 12 between Two Dot and Ringling, the town of Martinsdale is far from the beaten path but close to the wide open spaces Montana you dream about.  Treat yourself the next time you ride across the state of Montana by jumping off the Interstate and follow the narrow, winding two-lane pavement they call Highway 12.  If you are heading west look for the town of Forsyth to make your break away from the herd.  Riding east, you can hit the “exit button” at Garrison, Montana.

Before you begin your Highway 12 adventure make sure your gas tank is full and you have everything you need to camp because there are dozens of picturesque vistas, historical locations and incredible campsites along the way. Martinsdale is typical of the pleasant surprises you will encounter. The tiny town of 61 residents is located near the 950 acre Martinsdale Reservoir.  During the Spring, you can watch trout skim across the water surface as they chase naturals while everything from geese to eagles soar overhead. In the morning, you can sip your coffee as you listen to the Sandhill Cranes and bellowing cattle sing in the background. In the evening you count shooting stars and satellites streaking across the night sky. 

Looking for excitement after a restful night on the shore of the Martinsdale Reservoir? Ride south and hike the Crazy Mountains. Or ride west and explore the Castle Mountains. Hungry? Make a special meal with the fresh vegetables and poultry from the Martinsdale Hutterite Colony. The colony is easy to find, just look for the Wind Farm on Highway 12. Love trains? Then ride 28 miles east to Harlowton to learn more about the all electric Milwaukee Railroad.  No matter which direction you go you will see a side of Montana that receives the least amount of publicity and that’s just fine with us because this place is special.