Fergus county communities : a consideration of economic, social and physical factors in delineating
community boundaries
by Delight Dennett
A THESIS Submitted to the Graduate Committee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Economics
Montana State University
© Copyright by Delight Dennett (1941)
Abstract:
Because of activities carried on by various motion agencies end planning groups, and in order to tasks
possible reel representation of farm people in these activities, it becomes inportent to recognize the
community as a dynamic end operating unit. The purpose of this study is to determine the nature and
characteristics of communities in Montana and the means and methods of delineating end defining
community boundaries.
Two approaches may be used in studying communities-- the psychological and the service approach.
The service approach was used in this study because it was thought to be more expedient and more
adaptable to a situation where sparsity of population and geographic isolation prevailed.
Fengus County, Montana was used as a typical Montana county for study, and an attempt was to
delineate community boundaries in the county, taking into consideration single-service areas and
multi-service communities It wee found that there are many single-service centers in Fergus County,
centers which offer only one service, such as a place to market wheat. From questionnaires sent to
farmers, it was discovered that more centers offered enough services so that they might be termed
multi-service community centers with the surrounding areas as their community There are seven
multi-service communities in Fergus County, nacely Denton, Coffee Creek, Winifred, Roy, Crass
Range, Foore and Lewistown. Each of the centers in these communities offers adequate school and
church facilities, servos as a training center for most of the surrounding area, serves as a center of
social activities , and appear to be the center of the interests end loyalty of the farmers in the
surrounding area.
Conclusions drawn from this study are, (1) that all of Fergus County is an area having a common
center, but the entire county cannot be considered a community because there are numerous points of
interest and service within the county, (2) that there are 7 distinct communities within Fergus County
evidencing a great interdependence among these ooraunitios and between the county and each
community and (3) that Fergus County is probably in a period of transition with respect to community
centers and organisation. FERGUS COUNTY 008WHITISE
A Consideration of Economic, S o cia l, and
Phyeiesl factors in Delineating
Community L untiaries
ty
DEUOBT DHBifeTT
A THESIS
Submitted to the dredatte Committee
in p a rtia l fu lfillm en t o f the requirements
for the Degree o f Master of Science
in Agricultural Economics at
Monttiiia S tete College
In Charge o f Hsjor J K r k
CheIr-ian, Exaeelning C padfttee
Chairmen, Graduate Committee
BoVCGKn, Montana
June, 1341
t f l i z
D \H (t
oo|f.
TABLE OF CONTESTS
Psye
L ist o f I IluEt r v tio n s.
.......... ................................... ..
4
LCrv::.- ''LvDGMEHTS.......................................
6
ABfTiUCT.............................................................................................
7
I.
8
II.
IN?;,JJUCTION...........................................................................
Purpose of the f t u 4 y . . . . .................... ......................... ........................
10
D efinition o f Terae...........................................................
11
•Iethc uology........................ ....................................... ..............................
14
TSPtX Of ViUhAL COi'ttiUSITieC--THEXR OiiMIHCANCE ASD
BLL TI
IXPS.............................................................................................
19
Typet, o f Cti a u n itle s e ............ ................................... ....................
kO
CIn.^le—tienrlo* com sunitlee.
.......................... ..................
iu lti-se r v ic e communities..................
I I I . FI LitiS DUKTX OOMiUisITIfS....................................................................
Single-Service Coamunltiee..............................
£0
11
£5
£3
Convenlmoe tr dlng centers......................................................
14
.......... ...................................... ..............
£8
Eho oolng centers
Specialty cen te rs..................................................
33
Sutfusary o*’ trade a r e a s .............. ..................... ............. ...........
"5
G oclsl or personal e r e e e ....................................
57
Swuasry........ ...............
41
AuItt-. • rvlee CoranunitIes........ ...........................
46
TH* Denton ;-.nd Coffee Creek L'onaunittee.................. ...........
48
Tv ■ -rInlfred Co aunlty*........................................................
M
Ths Ray Community.................................. ............ .................
59
66109
Pege
19.
The Grare Range Co-i^unity................................................................
6«i
Tht Moort1 Cearaunity........................ ......................... ..
65
The Lew ictogn Loc u n i t y .................................................. .................
63
EUhhl-Hi
;<D CiMCLOSiONS....................................................................................
PPbHvIX..........................................................................................................................
BIBUOGRAPHi
74
SO
66
-4 —
L lc t o f I l l u s t r a t i o n s
Page
F ig u re l . — L o catio n o f 400 F ergus Countj' h u seh o ld e to whom
cu estlo rm & ire e were s e n t . . . . , ..........................................
17
f ig u r e . — Lorn tlo n o f 169 f& m fa m ilie s In Fergus Count j
showing where they e e l l a o s t o f t h e i r w heat........... ..
15
F ip u re 5 .—L o c e tio n o f 174 farm f a m ilie s In F erg u s County
owing H 'e r thoy buy Tiost o f t h e i r f u e l l%&# and o i l ) . . . . .
16
F ig u re 4 .— C onvenience tr a d in g a re a s o f F erg u s County a s mapped
by m erchants in th e tr a d in g c e n t e r s . ..................................................
27
lg iire 5 .—L o c a tio n o f ItiO f a r a f a m ilie s i n F erg u s County showing
■ t : "'y buy no a t ( a t l e a s t o v er h a lf ) o f t h e i r g r o c e r ie s .
IG
f ig u r e 6 . —L o c a tio n o f 164 farm f a m ilie s in Fergus County showing
wherf th^y s e l l most o f t h e i r oretra, b u t t e r , eg g s, end
p o u l t r y . . ..................................................................... .......................................
50
F ig u re 7 . —Shopping a re a s o f F ergus County ae mapped ty
m erch an ts in th e tr a d in g c e n t e r s . .........................................................
52
F ig u re fi.— L o c a tio n o f 183 farm f a m ilie s in F erg u s County showing
where th e y buy m ost o f t h e i r farm Im plem ents and have them
; htigI r e d . ................................ ........................ ............. ............................. ..
M
F- g u re 3 .—F a r; im plem ents a re a s o f F erg u s County .-.s asooed Iy
- i t c »huntr in th e tr a d in g c e n t c r a . . .....................................................
56
F ig u re 1 0 .—L o c a tio n o f 175 farm f a u i l i e a showing where m ost o f th e
c lo th in g fo r th e fam ily Ic b o u g h t................ ................................
56
F ig u re 1 1 .—-High fc h o o l a re a s In Fergus C ounty........... ..
58
lg p re I t’, — L o catio n o f 140 farm ft u l l i e s i n Fergus County showing
where fa :.illy members u s u a lly a tte n d c h u rc h ,...................................
59
'd g u re 1 3 .—L o c a tio n o f 154 f a r e f& railleB i n F erg u r County showing
whtii-;- ?< -illy m-Tibors u s u a lly a tte n d l o c a l d a n o e e . . . # . ..............
43
F ig u re 1 4 .—L o catio n o f 136 farm f a m ilie s in Fergus County showing
where fa m ily oeeabera p a r t i c i p a t e in community c lu b and o th e r
s o c ia l e c t l v l t i e s . ................................................................. .................
41
f ig u r e I*1' i—Community c lu b houses in "crg u e C o u n t y . . . . . . ..................
43
-5 -
?ag e
I s^ire 16. —Comaun I ty c lu b h use 6 In F erg u s C o u n t y . . . . . ................
44
'%
ig u rv 1 7 .— ; I tl- B v r v ic e oombur ' t i e s i n Fer gus County.........................
47
F ig u re 1 8 ,— School d i s t r i c t s , h ig h sc h o o l e r e a e , und open sch o o ls
in F ergus C ounty, 1 3 4 0 . . . . ..........................................................................
49
AC .::0 LEDQ8E1TS
The author 1« Indebted to the formers end merchants o f Fergus
C-Vinty who, through rep lies to c:uestl<mtt&lres and Interviews, furnished
*uck i":x>rttnt material for th is stu^y*
She tould lik e to ex or ess her
e-pprecietion and thanks to I r . C. F. %r*on%el for hi a assistance and
guidance throughout the study, to Mr. Gerald O ryvetz for b is a s s is ta n c e
in drafting and i IdeographIng , to Mr* D,
. Betzner for h is help
in .V-^pfcrinfT the fin a l copies o f th e asps, and to vies Pauline Patton,
County Superintendent o f Schools o f Fergus C ounty,
r . Ralph Stucay,
Fergus County gent, and a l l other o f f ic ia ls of Fergus County who
furnished Information for the study.
F . -CiUS COUBTY CO.' U mIITIKS
ABSTRACT
"a.Ntuae of aoM vltlos carried on b y varioue action af.onolea and
planninc group#, and in order to nako ^oesiblo roal re^rosontatlon of farn
eoplo In these a c t iv it ie s , i t boaonee important to reoogni*# t»ie oor-runity
as a dyna/sio end operating unit* T!-»o nurpoae of th is study is to determine
the nature and charaoterletios of ooesaunities in VtMtom an the mime and
methods of delineating and defining co:$.iunity boundaries*
Two approadies may be used in studying ooncsmlties—th e soolopayo iologioal and the aorvloo approach. ?no serviae approach m s used in
tdds gtudy because It m s thought to be more expedient and rare adaptable
to a situ a tio n where a-areIty of population and geographic iso la tio n
prevailed*
Porgus County, Fontana m s used as a typ ical Bamttina county for
study, and an attempt m s mdo to delineate oMnmalty boundaries in the
county, taking into consideration sin gle-sorvioo ureas and m lti-u orvioo
ocoMinitdes «
I t m s found that there are many sin gle-service centers in Terpus
County, centers ahioh o ffe r only one serv ic e, such us a place to market
wiieaC From quoetlonnairca sent to fanaers, i t m s discovered that sons
centers offered enough service* so that they night be termed n u lti-sorvloe
CMasnnitgr centers with tlie surrounding areas as the Ir corinn lty.
There are seven E ulti-sorvioo caram ltios in Fergus County, naeely
Denton, Coffee Creek, =Inifrod, Roy, Crass Range, Foore and Lewistown.
r aoh o f the centers in these ooc^unitles offers adequate school and ohurci
f a c i l i t i e s , oorvos as o trading center fo r oet of tho surrounding area,
servo# as a center of so c ia l a o tiv it , and a -ours to W the center o f the
in terests end loy a lty of tho fanners In the nurroundinp area.
Conclusions drawn from th is study aret (I ) that a l l of Fergus
County is an area having a oowaon center, but tec en tire county cannot bo
eons ldorod a corvunity because there are aurserous points of interact and
service ,ith ln the county; (2) that there are 7 d is tin c t ooeasunities w itiiin Fergus Cotmty evidencing a great lnterdepsndonoo among tlmso o o m m ltie s
and between the county and each noacunityi and (3) that Fergus Count;.- is
probably in a cried of tran sition - Ith rosoeot to aoiwunity oontore and
organisation*
-B I.
ISTROUOCTIOS
Th» community i s oos o f th e f i r s t i a y o r t a n t g ro u p in g s o f ,tIUtatms
in t k ' w - I a l i r in g p ro c e s s .
sntt th e neig h b o rh o o d .
The only .tore I a p o r te n t groups e r e th e fam ily
The community i s more s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t th an th e e t h e r
t r o j and Lt I s in th e coeiaunity t h a t th e in d iv id u a l b e g in s to p ity tils r o l e
In a l l n o n -f r a l l y r e s p e c ts .
I t has been o in te d o u t ’ey s o c i o l o g i s t s sod
pay oh l o g i s t e t h a t a s tro n g community means e s tro n g 6U t e and n a tio n . J /
The community f u r n is h e s th e fram e-wort: th ro u g h which in d iv id u a ls anti groups
o f people c a n , c o l l e c t i v e l y , e x e r t t h e i r in flu e n c e to c a rry o u t c e r ta in
program s f o r th e b e n e f it o f th e p o l i t i c a l , e co n o u lc , and s o c i a l l i f e o f
th e I n d iv id u a ls th e a e e lv e s , th e grou p , and th e n a tio n .
The community h as
alw eye been ia o o rt& n t i n t h i s r e s p e c t and w i l l l l c e l y c o n tin u e to be so .
O ften th e fu n c tio n s perform ed by th e c c r i u n l t y have changed, e s has
hen tmed in r e c e n t y e a r s .
What was once th e concern o f th e in d iv id u a l has
to fk y become th e concern o f th e community and even th e s t a t e , f-e f o r
extuaple, th e m a tte r o f p ro v id in g e d u c a tio n a l s e r v ic e s .
T h is fu n c tio n was
once th e concern o f th e fa m ily g ro u p , b u t now th e community, and even
th e stfcte and n a tio n , a rc ex p ected to p ro v id e t h i s s e r v ic e ,
^ a ry o th e r
exam ples could be c i t e d , a s in th e f i e l d o f r e l i g i o n , e d u c a tio n , <md
employment.
On th e o th e r bend, what was o n e : th e concern o f th e lo c a l
community h as become th e concern o f th e s t a t e o r n a tio n , as f o r exaaolc-,
th e fin a n c in g o f sch o o ls and p u b lic s e r v ic e s .
I ' a a n d e rso n , D w ight, The R u ra l C c a a u n lty . Glnn and Co. Boston
IlG3B E C husrtte. 1A52; and K olb, J . H. and I . LeS. B runner, A tody o f
' u r a l r o c i e t y . Bcughton M if f lin Go. New TorK. Iu41.
-9 2
the fu n c tio n s o f th e c o m u n ity have changed, th e e ls e o f th e
COCisaacttgr h a s a lso undergone a change. Jg/
The coming o f modem methods o f
tr a n s p o r ta tio n and com m unication, th e s p e c i a l i z a t i o n o f eco n o o lc and s o c ia l
f u n c tio n s , and th e in te rd e p e n d e n c e o f a re a s have a l l made f o r e r e d e f in i­
tio n o f th e community.
T h is i s t r u e o f th e urb an a s w e ll a s th e r u r a l community.
tlIv e ry
f a m e r * t g a te opens onto a road end t h a t ro ad le a d s to & v i l l a g e o r town.
Decays* o f t h i s sc b o f co sau a! c a tio n and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , th e r - i s an i n t e r g esh o f town end co u n try r e l a t i o n s h i p s .* S/
"Out a t th e end o f th e ro ad
s ta n d s th e c i t y w ith I t s sm okestacks and i t s jag g ed sky l i n e .
The t r a f f i c
on t h a t g r e a t American highway -aovee i n two d i r e c t i o n s —tow ard th e c ity and
tow ard th e c o u n try .
M oreover, i t i s n o t e l ply a p h y s ic a l highway f o r th e
t r a n s p o r t o f goods and p e o p le , b u t an open c h an n e l f o r th e in te r n la y o f
Id e a s and
t t i t u d & s .8 i /
!th o u g h an l a p o r t e n t f a c t o r , tr a n s p o r t a t i o n i s
n o t th e on ly re a so n fo r t h e n e c e s s ity o f changing th e d e f i n i t i o n o f
com m unities.
I t h nodera te c h n i c a l i proven r u t s and economic advances,
th e secondary o r s p e c ia l I n t e r e s t group h a t ta k en o v er a m y o f th e E ^rv icee
fo rm erly p ro v id e d Iy th e family and neighborhood g ro u p s, th u s sp re ad in g
th e i n t e r e s t s o f th e in d iv id u a ls in sany d i r e c t i o n s .
The g r e a t e r number
o f s e r v ic e s re n d e re d to b o th r u r a l and u rb an p e o p le, and th e g r e a te r ease
o f o b ta in in - th e s e s e r v ic e s have nade f o r l a r g e r c o a a u n ltie ? and a g r e a te r
l / f m e e r s o n , Dwight and H fcert
P o iso n , R u ra l Community
O rg a n iz a tio n . Jch n ' I le y and f e n s ,
Yor.<. I-'59. .i->. 51—5 1 .
$/
Kolb end B runner, o p. c i t . p . 109.
4/
I b i d , p. 167.
—10—
Int'rdependence between the rural end urban areas.
Density of population Ie a I ro related to siz e and type of coaeunity
and the '"Unctione i t performs.
In the densely populated urban areas, the
CCRdiaunities are sn a il with regard to tp s tia l distance, while in a sparsely
se ttled area, such
se
Montana, eoauamlties are lik ely to be much larger,
aIth ugh the membership o f such a Montana oomucity can be considerably
Siaaller than in the urban community.
The services offered end the functions
psrfom sd b> the urban community are many and varied, while in the rural
coasur.ity they w i l l, as a ru le, be fewer.
P urpose o f th e Ptudy
The OnIted States Department o f
gricultur
:-ivtng much emphasis to Agricultural Planning.
has recently been
This program Ie intended
to encourage lo c a l democratic participation o f farmers and business men,
through th e ir community, in a study of th eir own situ ation and needs.
By
th is means i t i s hoped to allow lo c a l people an opportunity to influence
national agricultural policy Hating.
In order that co&munity pl anning
groups nay work e ffe c tiv e ly , there must f i r s t be a strong and e ffe ctiv e
cosaonlty action and organization.
The neople livin g in an arcs must
themselves be conscious that they are & d e fin ite part of a community.
"The lack of community organisation wad mutual feelin g of resp on sib ility
on the ? r t o f a l l fam ilies livin g within the community Is today one of the
11 I tine? ft tors In the development o f a planned agriculture.
I t is
L osrtit ir e , therefore, that the community Idea Is the f l r e t step In planning.
1 <:
3U1t look upon the community se a un it whose s e lf ir e can and must be
11-
ol'-nned in »dv n e e .
T here a u e t be d eveloped e s tr o n g , f o r c e f u l , a g g re s s iv e
coatierniity.*
The pu!*.x)se o f t h i s study I e to d eterm in e th e n e tu r e and c h a r e c tc r i s t l o * o f com m unities in Montana and th e means end methods o f d e lin e a tin g
and defining" c o eo u n ity b u n d a rie s in a re a s c h a r a c te r is e d by s p a rs e s e t t l e ­
ment and h ig h ly dev elo p ed tr a n s p o r ta tio n f a c i l i t i e s .
be c o n sid e re d in t h i s re g a r d ,
Montana?
Iiany q u e s tio n s a u e t
" o r I n s ta n c e , a r e th e r e com m unities in
h a t f u n c tio n s do Montana com m unities perform ?
Cen community
b o u n d aries be d e s ig n a te d o r s e t in a d e f i n i t e p a tte r n o r a r e they always
s h i f t i n g w ith s o c i a l end economic changes?
How end to t h a t e x te n t do
P h y s ic a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c # o f an a re a a f f e c t th e community bo u n d aries?
T>;e
f i r s t end most im p o rta n t q u e s tio n , how ever. I s th e meaning o f "community*
lts e li•
D e f in itio n o f T erae
hen d e f in in g e community, two s p e c ia l end d i s t i n c t approaches must
bo d is tin g u is h e d .
The conmunity can be d e fin e d in a so c io -p sy c h o I o g lc a l
s e n s e o r in a s e r v ic e (co n v en ien ce) s e n s e .
A c o n .u n ity say be c o n sid e re d ,
fr o a th e s ta n d p o in t o f a 3ri:«&zy g ro u p , a s an a g g re g a tio n o f p e rso n s
b a v in
many common i n t e r e s t s , in v o lv in g in tim a te , p e rs o n a l f a c e - to - f a c e
re la tio n s .
The prim ary group aay be d e fin e d a s t h a t group I n to which an
I n d iv id u a l i s b o m , a group w hich r e p r e s e n ts a l l ag es and which in v o lv e s
th e
iaJ o r i t y o f i n t e r e s t s o f i t s a e a b e rs .
I t i s c h a r a c te r iz e d by a f e e lin g
Z ^ / ' " "L'ervicr cud ’I•.sserfrcbln Community Organization.” A ai'.eo—
jrKphed le a f le t o f the Bureau of griCultural i-coccaics, United States
Department o f Agriculture, Washington, D. C ., September, 1340.
-IE -
o f b elo n g in g to g e th e r o f i t s m eebers.
by n&ny common i n t e r e s t s .
I t i s e "»e" group and Ir- I d e n t i f i e d
T h e re fo re , in c ^ n s ld e r in . th e community es a
p rim ary group end i n th e s o c io -p s y e h c lo g lc c l re u s e , i t L t s tu d ie d from
th e s ta n d p o in t o f th e a t t i t u d e s arid i n t e r e s t s o f th e in d iv id u a ls in th e
a re a s co n cern ed , alo n g w ith t h e i r l i k e s and d i s l i k e s .
A gele, in p ie c e o f d e fin in g c coasu n ity from e so c io -p s y c h e lo g ic a l
sta n d p o in t, i t s ig h t be d e fin e d ae t i i a t a re a in sh lch a l l or th e m a jo rity
o f oerwons o b ta in th e m ajority or fe ll o f t h e i r s e r v ic e s in th e same
COMSinlty cen t r .
In th e c ase o f th in ap p ro ach , i t i s assumed th a t i f
th e m ajority o f people o f an a re a o b ta in th e m ajo rity o f t h e i r s e r v ic e s in
e g iven c e n te r , they have th e m ajor p o r tio n o f t h e i r I n t e r e s t s in common
snd th er e fo re rep resen t a community.
The d if f e r e n c e between th e two a p p ro ach es i s one o f method o f s tu d y .
In th e f i r s t c a s e , th e s o c io -p s y c h o lo g ic a l community, th e method in v o lv e s a
stu d y o f th e in d iv id u a ls in an a re a to n o te th e e x te n t o f e i i l a r li k e s
and I n t e r e s t s t h a t im ply co& ,unity a c t i o n .
By t h i s means, i t i s p o s s ib le
to d e lin e a te th e a re a in which p e o p le have th e seme community o f lik e s and
a t t i t u d e s and d is tin g u is h I t from o th e r a re a s in which p e o p le have o th e r
l i k e s and a t t i t u d e s .
I n u r ln . th e s e r v ic e ap p ro ach , th e method o f d e lin ­
e a tin g th e COBtiunity l a accom plished ty d e f in in g t h a t a re t in which o cople
u se th e same s e r v ic e s .
I t i s p o s s lb ls to assume t h a t th e s e p eople have
th e same l i k e s and th e r e f o r e d i s tin g u is h th e - frost th o s e p eo p le who t r a d e ,
bu) end s e l l , and o b ta in t h e i r s e r v ic e s in a n o th e r c e n te r .
I t can be s e e n , th e n , t h a t a c o en u n lty i s an a re a in which p eople
have th o sa-te l i k e s and d i s l i k e s , a f e e lin g o f belonging to g e th e r .
Only
-IS -
th e method o f
voroach o r ftucty d i f f e r s .
The c o in u n ity aey be d e fin e d in term s o f th e Fords o f D r. R o b ert
FT. Rierooyaaie oho s a y s , "ft oommmity c o n s is ts r a t h e r o f a group o r company
o f p eo p le l i v i n g f a i r l y c lo s e to g e th e r in a s o r e o r le e s c o a p a c t, co n tig u o u s
t e r r i t o r y , who &re c o n in ' to a c t to g e th e r in th * chic* co n cern s o f l i f e . " § /
R ovcver, & community i a composed o f o r g a n iz a tio n s and i n s t i t u t i o n s a s w e ll
Br- p o p ie .
A nother more s p e c i f i c d e f i n i t i o n i s th e fo llo w in g s
”A r u r a l
coKPunlty i s t h a t fores o f a s s o c ia tio n m a in ta in e d between th e pe» o le , and
between t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n s , in a l o c a l a re a in which th e y l i v e on d is p e rs e d
fa rm ste ad ? end i n e v i l l a g e Which l a th e c e n te r o f t h e i r common n a t i v i t i e s . " Z '
D r. B u t t e r f i e l d s a y s , "A t r u e community i s a s o c ia l group t h a t i s a o re o r
le s s s e l f - a u f f i c i n g .
it:" te a c h in
I t i s b ig enough to have LU own c e n te r s o f i n t e r e s t —
c e n te r , i t s s o c i a l c e n te r , i t s own c h u rch . I t s own schoo !h o u se ,
i t s own G range, i t s own l i b r a r y , end to p o s se ss such o th e r I n s t i t u t i o n s a s
th
people o f th e conuunlty u e e d ." Q/
F roa th e shove d e f i n i t i o n s th e fo llo w in g p o in ts cv.n be tak en in to
c o n s id e ra tio n In d e f in in g com m unities f o r th e puroose o f t h i s stu^jr*
(l)
a group o f p eople U v in g w ith in & c e r t a i n g e o g ra p h ic a l a re a d e fin e d by
th e p h y s ic a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e c o u n try , such a s m o u n ta in s, r i v e r s ,
canyons, highw ays, o r e v er s p a t i a l d is ta n c e i t s e l f ; (B) o r g a n is a tio n s and
i n s t i t u t i o n s -M ch c a rry th e t r a d i t i o n s o f th e group; and (? ) s r e l a t i v e l y
la r g e d e g re e o f p U t i c a l f econom ic, and s o c i a l s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y .
Hl''
Fanderson and P o iso n , o p . c i t , ? . 40.
2/
I b i d , p . SO.
8_/ Kolb :nd B nm ne r , o p . c i t . , p . 111.
T his
-1 4 -
l u t t t r sh o u ld n o t be r t r e s s e d to th e e x te n t o f s e t t i n g th e group o f f s s
t o t a l l y e e lf-s v m p o rtin g and in d e p en d e n t,
In th e s e r v ic e s e n s e , com m unities can be- d iv id e d in to two ty p e s ;
( l ) s in g le - s e r v ic e c o a n u n itie s , end ( r ) m u lti- s e r v ic e a x s e u n itie e .
fin g le -
s-'irvice o o a n a m itie s a r e , In a s e n s e , only s p e c ia l i n t e r e s t g ro u p s and can
n o t s t r i c t l y be c a ll e d com m unities a s they have been d e fin e d ab o v e,
s in g le - s e r v ic e a re a can be I l l u s t r a t e d by & sch o o l a r e a .
A
In an a re a where
n i l o f th e c h ild r e n t.tte n d th e same s c h o o l, e d u c a tio n i s th e one s e rv ic e
cotBaon to «11, w h ile th e peo p le in th e a re a any go to v a rio u s o th e r p la c e s
f o r o th e r s e r v ic e s , such as buying goods, r e c r e a t i o n , and m e d ic al s e r v ic e ,
h e r v- r , s in c e t-. community o" any ty p e i s a liv in g
r
d y n an lc th in g , el* ay e
s h i f t i n g and changing and n e v er e x i s t i n g by i t s e l f , th e r e asy be enough
o th e r s e r v ic e s o f f e r e d to a m a jo rity o f th e p eo p le in t h a t same a re a so
t h a t i t can be d e sig n a te d a a u l t i - s e r v i c e a r e a , a t r u e r sen se o f "community".
I t h a s been d e c id e d , f o r t h i s etucfr, to u se th e s e r v ic e approach in
d e fin in g th e com m unities o f F e rg a s C ounty, M ontana.
t h i s approach was t h
One re a so n fo r u s in g
la r g e s iz e o f th e a re a to be s tu d ie d ,
b e s id e s b ein g
6 U r g e c o u n ty , th e p o p u la tio n in very s p a r s e , e s p e c ia lly in th e e a s te rn
p a r t o f th e co u n ty .
The sample used to o b ta in d a ta was n e c e s s a r ily sm a ll,
and i t was, t h e r e f o r e , d e cid e d t h a t th e s e r v ic e approach would b r b e a t
s u ite d fo r th r purpose o f d e lin e a tin g th e a r e a a .
Methodology
Fergus C ounty, f o r v a rio u s re a s o n s , a p p e a rs to have more L l l u s t r a tio n e o f th e c o m u n ity ty p e o f s o c ia l o r g a n is a tio n th a n found in most o th e r
-1 5 -
Montema c o u n tie s .
One o f th e c o n tr ib u tin g f a c to r s i s th e f a c t t h a t th e
county was one o f th e f i r s t i n which county a g en t 'Ork wes c a r r ie d on.
The
county i s , how ever, la r g e enough to f u r n is h a v a r ie ty o f s i t u a t i o n s and
c o n d itio n s to be ta k en in to c o n s id e ra tio n f o r d e lin e a tin g c o w n in ltie s ,
f a c to r s which co u ld n o t be secu red in s a a l l e r c o u n tie s .
t U v e d ry -la n d w heat f a n alo g and g ra z in g c o u n ty .
I t i s a re p re re n -
T here i s a s e & ll amount
o f i r r i g a t i o n , but i t ham n o t been d eveloped s u f f i c i e n t l y to a f f e c t th e
p o p u la tio n p a tte r n o f th e are* to any g r e a t e x te n t.
B ecause o f th e s iz e o f th e c o u n ty , n o t a l l fa m ilie s could be tak en
I n to c o n s id e ra tio n when a sk in g th e s tu d y .
T h e re fo re , & sample o f farm
f a m ilie s e&s ta k en f r o a th e t o t a l farm f a a i l i e e o f th e county t o o b ta in
f a c t u a l d a ta fo r th e s tu d y .
Kethod o f " , l e c t i n z Sam ple.—I t was d e cid e d th f t a goad re p re s e n ta ­
t i v e sample could be o b ta in e d by sen d in g 430 q u e s tio n n a ir e s to f a r c e r s
r e s id in g w ith in " e rg u s C ounty.
B ecause o f th e f a c t t h a t farm ers w orking on
e « ;r ic u ltu r a l p la n n in g c o a s l t t e e s should be more aware o f and I n te r e s te d in
th e w e lfa re o f t h e i r c o m o u n itle s, I t was d ecid ed to d e a l w ith th e s e as a
s e p a r a te sample g ro u p .
S I n ty - f i v e o f th e 400 q u e s tio n n a ir e s were s e n t to
members o f p lu m in g com m ittees.
The re m a in in g "05 farm ers were chosen a t random fross th e r e g is te r e d
y p te r s I i r t B o f th e c o u n ty .
county s e a t , were e lim in a te d .
Those p r e c in c ts a d ja c e n t to Levletow n, th e
Baaes were chosen from ; 5 l i s t s in th e
fo llo w in g B anner.
F i r s t th e l i s t s f o r each v o tin g d i s t r i c t were s tu d ie d in &n a tte m p t
to e lim in a te th e names o f th o s e p eo p le l i v i n g w ith in th e b o u n d a rie s o f
—16—
in c o rp o ra te d tow ns.
T h is was p o s s ib le because th e l i s t s ebowed th e l e g a l
d e s c r ip tio n o f th e v o te r s .
f t e r t h i s had been done, th e rem aining n a e s
on th e l i s t s fo r each v o tin g d i s t r i c t w ere numbered in c o n se c u tiv e o r d e r .
The I T gftst v o tin g d i s t r i c t c o n ta in e d 169 nam es, and th e s m a lle s t, 15.
One hundred and a lx ty - o ln e t i c k e t s s e r e th e n a a a e w ith a number on
each t i c k e t f o r th e I; r g e s t v o tin g d i s t r i c t ,
' f t e r th e numbers bed been
p la c e d In a b a t , th ey were drawn and l i s t e d in " d ra ft* s t y l e .
In o rd e r to
secu re th e d e s ir e d number o f names f o r th e sam ple (5 0 5 ), i t was n e c e ssa ry
to u s e 27 num bers, which means t h a t 27 fa rm e rs were s e le c te d from th e l a r g e s t
lis t, v/
T hree o f th e numbers were drawn f o r th e s m a lle s t v o tin g d i s t r i c t
bavin, e t o t a l o f 15 nam es.
Because o f th e p ro ced u re u se d , th e r e war, n o t
n e c e s s a r ily th e aeste p e rc e n ta g e o f names tRkc-n from esch l i s t .
F ig u re I
shows th e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f where th e 400 q u e s tio n n a ir e s s e r e s e n t.
Both
s o l i d d o ts and c i r c l e s show th e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f a l l q u e s tio n n a ir e s s e c t,
end th e c i r c l e s r e p r e s e n t th o s e ho u seh o ld s from which answ ers were re c e iv e d .
Ho;- v u ertio n n & lreE
e re Bent and R etu rn ed . —I t
d ecid ed to d e f in e
com m unities in F ergus County by u s in g th e s e r v ic e r a t h e r th e n th e s o c io psychol o g i c a l approach o f Ftudy.
The q u e s tio n n a ir e s e n t to th e s e h o u seh o ld s
asked f o r in fo rm a tio n on where th e m ajor s e r v ic e s fo r th e household were
o b ta in e d .
A lthough th e u se o f th e q u e s tio n n a ir e I s n o t - n t i r e l y s a t i s f a c t o r y ,
i t wes c o n sid e re d th e b e s t neens o f o b ta in in g th e needed in fo r m a tio n ,
.t
To i l l u s t r a t e th e manner in which th e names were s e le c te d from
th e l i n t s and d l r t r i b u t e d , th e f i r s t s ix numbers in th e o rd e r drawn ware I ,
55, 109, 158, 17, and 59. T h is means tk& t o u t o f th e f i r s t 6 numbers draw n,
any l i s t having l e s s th e n 55 names would have only one s e le c te d fo r th e
r LCiple, and in o rd e r to have s ix na-.ee u sed on a l i s t , i t would have to
have more th e n 150 names rTOta which t o ch o o se.
-17.
Kt» I.
LEGEND
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS 8 STREAMS
TOWNS ®
/ ••O
o H ouseholds answ ering q u e s tio n n a ir e s .
•H o u seh o ld s n o t answ ering q u e s tio n n a ir e s
F ig u re I . —L o c a tio n o f 400 F ergu s County h o u seh o ld s to whom
q u e s tio n n a ir e s were s e n t.
IS-
r$,r la p o c s lb le to p e ra o a a lly In te rv ie w each hourohold o r a sample In th e
e o u n ty .
The q u e s tio n n a ir e was d e sig n e d to g e t In fo rm a tio n re g a rd in g where
th e fa rm e rs bought t h e i r com m odities and s o ld t h e i r p ro d u c ts , where t h e i r
c h ild re n a tte n d e d s c h o o l, end where th ey s e n t to p a r t i c i p a t e in s o c ia l
- f fa irs .
The q u e s tio n n a ir e was s e n t from th e County Agent* Q o f f i c e
a t Lewistown, sccoouanied by a l e t t e r from him . (S ee K x h ib it « o f th e
aop endix f o r a copy o f th e q u e s tio n n a ir e and accomoanying l e t t e r . )
ke a m t i m e d ir e v io u e ly , 400 q u e s tio n n a ir e s were s a i l e d , and
t/.b le I shows th e r e s u l t s re c e iv e d .
TABLE I . __ SUMBEB OF v tiESTiGBSAlRES SWfT TO IDOStBOLDS aSD
BOBBER ASD P ERCBST RKtORSID BI B .'OSBiDLDB,
FERGUS CGUBTY, SOBTANA.
Uuaber o f
q u e s tio n n a ir e s
sent
To thorn.
E n tir e sample
P la n n in i? com m ittee members
F L ndon s a a p le
Number o f
q u e s tio n n a ir e s
Per cent
re tu rn e d
48
4J0
184
95
Si
54.7
505
151
4 5 .k
K aabers o f p la n n in g com m ittees who re c e iv e d th e q u e s tio n n a ir e were
more i n t e r e s t e d i n th e s tu d y , because a U r g e r p e rc e n ta g e o f the® r e p l i e d .
However, a 43 p e r c e n t r e tu r n shows a g r e a t i n t e r e s t o f a l l far-sere in t h i s
problem s in c e m ost s tu d ie s show ab o u t a 20 p e r c e n t r e tu r n o f q u e s tio n n a ir e s .
In te rv ie w * . —In o rd e r to o b ta in In fo rm a tio n from th e to m s -p e o p le
in r u r a l a re a s a s w e ll a s from fa rm e rs , i t was n e c e s sa ry to I n t e r v i e r v a rio u s
—1.9""»
merch' n t t In e l l o'" th e s m l l e r tow ns i n th e c o u n ty .
Those In t- rriew e d were
g r o c e r s , d ru g g e s tc , g e n e r a l aerch tm d iee ien, e le v a to r o p e r a to r s , »nd f e ra
im plem ent d e a l e r s .
Euch I n d iv id u e l was eased to dre* oa e a a p , e s n e a rly
a s he c c u ld , th e a re a from which he could gey th e m a jo rity ( a t l e a s t h a lf )
O f th e p eople d id th e m ajor p a r t o f t h e i r t r a c in g w ith him .
be p re s e n te d in a I*-t e r s e c tio n .
These maps w i l l
In fo rm a tio n was a ls o o b ta in e d re g a rd in g
n u b ile s e r v ic e f a c i l i t i e s in th e community, such as l i b r a r i e s , m ed ical
f a c i l i t i e s , c h u rc h e s , community c lu b s , and s e r v ic e c lu b e .
Such i n t e r e s t was
shown In th e stu d y end v ery f in e c o o p e ra tio n g iv e n .
F e c o rd ln c o f r a t a . —From th e d a ta g a th e re d from th e q u e s tio n n a ir e s ,
d o t mcpp have been p re p a re d sh o e in g , f o r I n s ta n c e , where th e fa rm e rs marketed
t h e i r w heat, where thcr/ a tte n d e d lo c a l d a n c e s, and where th ey bought th e
a s j o r i t y o f t h e i r go d s .
By t h i s means i t was p o e tIb lf to d e lin e a te th e
s e r v ic e com m unities w ith in th e c o u n ty .
High sc h o o l a r e a s were a ls o used to
show th e o& ttern o f s e r v ic e s o f f e r e d .
II.
TYPEE OF RURAL COMlfiJBITIFE—-THSIn SIGbIPiCALCE
AND REUTI,*SHIPS
Com m unities, fo r th e purpose o f t h i s s tu d y , s e r e c o n sid e re d a s o f
two ty o e a , nam ely, th o s e b u i l t up around s in g le - s e r v ic e c e n te r s and th o s e
o rg a n lre d around ^ tu lt i- s e r v ic e c e n te r s .
The purpose was to d e lin e a te , by
d e fin e d c r i t e r i a , th e service-com m unity b o u n d a rie s w ith in F erg u s County in
an a tte m p t to in d ic a te th e number and d i s t r i b u t i o n as w e ll ae th e n e tu re o f
th e eosm unity p a tte r n in an a re a h v i n g a s p a rs e p o p u la tio n , g r e a t d is ta n c e s ,
and l i t t l e I n d u s t r i a l developm ent.
A c o e p le te - e e r v lce c e n te r i e one having
a lm o st every ty p e o f s e r v ic e needed by th e fa m ily .
T hie in c lu d e s n o t on^-y
—i 3 —
fond RBd c lo th in g a r t i c l e * , b u t a ls o some o f th e s o d a l l r in g m d so re r e f in e d
such <g a r t , o u s lc , e n te r ta in m e n t, and r e c r e a tio n s e r v ic e s o f v a rio u s
ty o e s , t h a t go tc a a k r up a w e ll rounded l i f e .
not
These l a t t e r s e r v ic e s a re
bund to a g r e a t e x te n t in th e sm all v i l l a g e s in M nU -ua.
Ho e v e r,
th e p re s e n t day w id esp read e x Letance o f th e r a d io , n ew sp ap ers, m agazines,
end icdera tr a n s p o r t a t i o n p a tte r n s uaker i t le e s e s s e n t i a l i h t t a l l o f th e s e
S e rv ic e r a re n e c e s s a r ily lo c a te d in e given a r e s in o rd e r to d e s ig n a te
fu ch ttn a re a br a c o u p le te community.
1'he technique o f d e fin in g com m unities by u s in g th e s e r v ic e approach
r a t h e r th a n th e eocLo-peychol o g i c a l ap p ro ach was th o u g h t to be more e x p e d ie n t
KBd
-lore
d a p ta b lft to a s i t u a t i o n where s p a r s ity o f p o p u la tio n and geogra­
p h ic i s o l a t i o n p r e v a ile d .
Types o f C o m u n itle s
r im tle - f c rv ic e ''oK :un t l t c . — a s ln g le - f ie r v ic e c e n te r should n o t be
c l a s s i f i e d e s a com plete community.
By s i n g l e - s e r v i c e c e n te r i s meant
th a t s e r v ic e c en ter which perform s only one s e r v ic e , such as e d u ca tio n o r
church r r -rv ic e s , f o r th e p eo p le in f g iv en a r e a .
The m a jo rity o f th e
s. Iii 4.e—s e r v ic s c e n te r s s e rv e a re a s t h a t o v e rla p w ith on a a n o th e r o r ^ x th
M u lti-se r v ic e c e n te r a r e a s , so t h a t a d ju stm e n ts must be a llo w e d .
T h e re fo re ,
th e name s in g le - s e r v ic e community w i l l be u sed to d is tin g u is h i t from th e
■
3 0 r<
c o iip le te community, having a c e n te r » i t h a number o f s e r v ic e o f f e r i n g s ,
re d th u s b e in g store ( s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t .
• s i n g l e - s e r v ic e community I s a dynamic th in g and e v e r-c h a n g in g .
I t could p ro b ab ly be d e s ig n a te d aa bein g a
u a o i- p r ia a r y g ro u t r a t h e r th a n
a primary sroup in tk • s t r ic t eeoee o f the word.
In another s-nee, the
eIr.gle-E«rvice community i s s tr ic tly a neighborhood, functioning ee a
corv r.lenc" e t tto n , not involving a batsif? for group action as in the case
o f the COza^unity.
For instance, in a church, the people may meet for
the sole purioae of attending religiou e serv ices, but sh ile there may engage
in discusslni" m-ny of th eir every day problems common to a ll In the area.
Thus, i t Ir impossible to define e sin g le-serv ice center and say that such
a service center performs one function clone uid can therefore not be celled
a complete community.
However, for the iuruoce of th is Audy, sin g le-
service centers cmd sim .le-G ervice areas w ill be distinguished from a u ltiservice centers and sm lti-serv ice co&aur.ities and the relationships
between them w ill be not^d.
nrvice f
u n itie s. —"The home, the church, rmd the school
are th* three U- Ic in stitu tio n s o f any cora: unity.
I t i s doubtful i f a
community could have much organisation i f there were not considerable
Mc t Ivity on the uart o f these in stitu tio n s." j g /
from th is evolves the
idea o f a v u lti-ssr v ie e co a ^ n lty , for a number o f sin gle services, when
correlated or Id en tical (e t le a s t nearly so) as to commonality of center
and area served, resu lt In a lu lti-s e r v ic e center and community.
However,
the ;mI t i -Service ty >e o f center o f community' includes more than the
; rvicos associated ;lth the three in stitu tio n s mentioned above.
Economic
trf.de areas are also I oortant, because oeople are brought together when
trading, tmd i t i s at the store that many o f the problems o f the community
in / Uodsun, fn swinger, and Woodworth, "Rural Community Organlistipn in Washington and Frederick Counties, Maryland”, MaryUad Agricultural
rXpcriaant Ftstlon B ulletin 457, College Park, Kaiylend, "^tob r, 1340.
tre dlscurred &nd Folved.
reanect.
Recreational areas are also I
jorian t
In t is
I t I r at the coaajunlty-elub meetings, dancer and other social
gaV rings that r.asiy ieople cone together at the game tin e .
Thus, the lu lti-e e r v ie e con iunlty i s the real or e ffe c tiv e community
ith which ee are concerned.
0Srhaps the a o tt important point to consider
in roeacin/ o f coiacunLties i s the f or i of association between the Mtople
and t' etr in stitu tio n s La a given area.
group.
"The rural commonit} Is a lo ca lity
I t if- composed o f the people and th eir in stitu tio n s Rhich nr#
located In a given geographical area; bat, as i s true o f ay group, the r e e l
cosMinIty co n sists o f the established relationships which are recognised ty
the:a as r.ore or le s s controllin g their behavior. I t i s a fora o f association,
a pattern of behavior, o f psychic interaction between the >eoole and between
th eir In stitu tio n s within a lo ca l area.1 J6V
Another >oint which i s of pri ary consideration I s the loyalty o f
the Individuals.
I s loyalty given f i r s t to the in stitu tio n s or organised
grc .oe within the coam nity or i s i t given f i r s t to the community ee a
whole?
"In the email r u r a l community with only a h alf dozen or so organized
gr >.’os, the problem® of Interrelationship between the d ifferen t groups w ill
usually not be i soi tant because most of the people *111 belong to a l l o f
thea, or to «11 for which they are e lig ib le because o f age or sex charac­
t e r is t ic s ."
Ghangee in in te re sts and in transportation and communication f a c i l i t i e s ,
especially in sparsely populated areas, r esu lt in changes in community
il/
Fancierson and Po Icon, op. c i t . p. 50.
J1E/
Ibid, p. 51.
centers.
Pecnuse o f sh iftin g In terests end d esires, the boundaries o f a
COGTMnLty S=Ight also change,
io r Instance, before the automobile and good
highways, co m unities were of necessity smaller ana more compact.
Pwrhape
too, beceuse o f the eparcity o f population, increased e ls e o f farms, and
broadened In ter ests, the neighborhood has dieeoieerod en tirely from Bone
areas.
I t should be recognized that Fergus County may be in a tran sition al
era Involving changes in community centers and boundaries.
This study,
however, made no attempt o f loctiting previous coaaunity centers and areas
and so no conclusion can be reached in respect to such tra n sitio n .
XII.
FLRGJi CuJBTl COM^UhlTIES
'ne hundred and eighty-four o f the 400 cuestionn*tree sent to Fergus
County fern h ufeholrir *ere answered sod the data was recorded, largely In
the form ox' dot maps.
Each maj >r tuestion was analysed separately in order
to show f i r s t the sin g le-serv ice areas within the county,
^sch fare was
located, ae nearly as possible, according to - ertion , township, and rysge
a? indicated on the registered voters l i s t .
Single Service Communities
In order to group the data for a n alysis, the c la s sific a tio n was
broken into two d is tin c t parts:
( l ) maps showing trade areas and (?) maps
showing personal or s o c i a l service areas.
The f i r s t group included buying
end se llin g areas, the second showed the school, church, and recreation
areas.
The trading areas were again c la s s ifie d into:
( l ) those showing
convenience centers—that i s , nearby service centers that are easy to
—* 4 -
reach :-nti a t erich the individual trades because o f the convenience and
"titnd;.rdired character o f the product being bouglit or sold; ( l ) those
in v o lv in ' shopping &r und or bargain hunting, perhaps farther removed from
the fen s, but Involving the Idea o f trading around for advantage in price
or quality; and (?) those involving purchases at specialty stores for s ty le ,
luxury end personal appeal.
Etorer o fferin
These purchases are H a lted , and therefore
such services mat have a eider trade arcs.
Convenience TvedinJ Center*. --Thla type of trading service, close
to the people, i s f un d pore econouicsl and i s best illu str a te d by answers
to where farmers do th eir se llin g o f wheat end purchaeln/ o f fu e l, o i l , and
A, (ggn figures I am 5 ).
Becaue- of the very nature o f wheat as &
saleable oroauct, i t would naturally be marketed at the nearest or most
convenient eIrvrto r .
In nope few cases th is would not seen true, tut where
a greater distance is covered, i t Is usually due to better roads or other
physical c h a ra cteristics.
Trom figure 2, sin g le-serv ice areas arc very
evident, the xain ones being centered around the larger town: In the county
Kuch &$= Denton,
Lnlfrrd, Roy, Grest Range, and Leaietown.
Meny of the
othrr centers shown are merely elevators end cannot o ffe r any other
services to the farmers.
figure 5 shows where the farmers buy most of th eir fuel (gas end
o il).
Most o f these centers have a Camera' cooperative gae or o il company
o f which a majority of the farmers are members.
Many o f the grain elevators
Blro handle fu e l, and the farmers purchase fu el where they market their
wheat, e sp ecia lly i f credit Ie available and necessary.
' lgurc 4, which i s a composite map made uo from interviews with
—25"
* .t» e.
*. * 4 C.
W. CS
s.
■ • 4 E.
LEGEND
T*##
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS 8 STREAMS
TOWNS O
T. IS IL
*. 84 t.
H16c.
Figure 2 .—Location o f 159 farm fam ilies in ^ergus County showing
where they s e l l most of th eir wheat.
-2 6 -
* t t t.
ft. Ift t .
ft. SB * .
f t . Ift C .
*t»fc.
ft. ftft c.
T tO ft
ft. M t
ft. f t* ft.
x
: t ft.
LEGEMD
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS 8 STREAMS
TOWNS ®
t . i s «•
ft. 1« ft
ft.
ftft ft
F ig u re 5 .—L o catio n o f 174 farm f a m ilie s in F ergus County showing
where th ey buy most o f t h e i r f u e l (g a s and o i l ) .
-2 7 -
R t t t.
*. SS «•
■ IS c.
R. S4 E.
R. ZS C.
R. t «
IT S* M
T SO R-
T. ISM .
LEGEND
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS » STREAMS
TOWNS 0
t. n *.
K is e.
R. ZZ C.
R. ZS
t.
f t IS C .
F ig u re 4 . —Convenience tr a d in g a re a s of Fergus County as mapped
by m erchants in th e tr a d in g c e n te r s .
elevator m^-n uid fuel de&lere, coincides closely with figures I tad 5.
The
merchants were asked to draw on s. mao the area froa w? Lch the majority of
t' e Te -jl€ did the majority o f th eir trading at a particular store or
elevator.
The explanation o f the area taken In by Brooks according to
figure 4, i s that there i s a large feraers* cooperative o i l cottpany with
headquarters at Brooks which serves quite a large area.
The wheat ares la
more in lin e ”lth that shown in figure ►•
S u sa r v . —Figures %and 3 indicate that the following trade centers
serve as convenience-service centers?
and 0: r n e lll.
Rossforit# 'are* Moulton> Forest Grwe,
The following represent a u lti-se r v lc e trade centers*
Buffalo,
oore, nicngarry, Levis town, fanvers, lenton, Coffee Creek, M nifredt
u ffo lk , C h r istin a , H llger, Brooke, Fergus, Boy, and Grass Range.
I t should
be remembered that thus far the analysis has been only in terms o f conven­
ience trading centers,
i-ven the nm lti-eervice centers mentioned thus far,
namely thos- purclifcsing sheet and those s e llin g fu el, cannot he t nought o f
as r*presenting s u ffic ie n t reason for c e llin g any of these centers
communities.
Rhooolns Centers. —In th is group are Included food stores, dealin; in
s e llin g and purchasing of goods to and from farmers, including cream,butter,
end eggs.
I t can ea sily be seen from figures 5 and 6 that there i s con­
siderable shopping around by farmers.
In figure 5, 30 out of 180, an even
50 per cent, buy most of th eir groceries at Lcwiatown.
are s t i l l many trading at Lenton,
However, there
Lnifred, Roy, and Grass %<***"
One exp lan ation for t h is Urge nuiab r , some o f whom have to go CS
m ile s , buying t h e ir g r o c e r ie s a t Lewietown I s th a t the sm aller to r e s cannot
—2 9 —
LEGEND
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS 6 STREAMS
TOWNS S
Figure 5 .—Location of 180 farm fam ilies in Fergus County showing
where they buy most (at le a s t over half) of th eir
groceries.
-5 0 -
». i» i .
**'E-
«. t e e
r , l J_
hitc.
LEGENO
SURFACED R O A D S ----------RIVERS 6 STREAMS -------TOWNS 0
tM *
LI
n
t r/
U
i in .
it n I
» .t o t .
t-tit.
tu t
mat
«t«i.
tm .
Figure 6 . —Location of 164 farm fam ilies in F ergus County showing
where they s e l l most o f th eir cream, butter, eggs, and
poultry.
c o sp e te w ith th e c h ain s to r e s In Lewlstown ac to o r t c e s .
given by one o f th e m erchants In te rv ie w e d i a t h i s :
a re
A nother e x p la n a tio n
he s a id , "When tim es
p o d find th e w eather h o ld s o f f , th e fa rm e rs g e t In t h e i r c a re and go
to Lewis tow n.
When tim e s a re n o t so good !.nd they need c r e d i t , o r when
th e roiidf) s r e bad because o f th e w e a th e r, th ey come to u s ."
A nother o b se r­
v a tio n made ty t h i s in d iv id u a l *as "They j u s t liic e to g e t in t h e i r c a rs
and g o ."
F ig u re 6 , shoving where th e fa rm e rs m arket t h e i r c r e a a , b u t t r , eg g s,
end i o u l t r / very c lo s e ly r e s e e b le s th e p a tte r n found in f ig u r e 5 .
The
l o g i c a l e x p la n a tio n f o r t h i s I s t h a t fa rm e rs o f te n tr a d e t h e i r farm produce
f o r needed g r o c e r ie s .
The r e s u l t s shown In b o th o f th e se f ig u r e s would
in c lu d e th e e n t i r e county in & s in g I e - s e r v ic e a re a when a m a jo rity o f th e
sample ip c o n s id e re d .
F ig u re 7 shows th e m e rc h an ts’ answ er &e to th e a re a f r o a which th e y
draw t h e i r tr a d e .
in figures 5 &ad 6 .
The a r e a s shown h e re a re com parable w ith th o s e shown
F ig u re 7 wou^d reefs to in d ic a te t h a t th e m erchants d id
n o t know how such o f t h e i r groceiy b u s in e s s was g o in g e lse w h e re .
Perhaps
th e fa rm e r goes to th e n e a r e s t town once o r tw ic e a weak to buy p e ris h a b le
p r o d u c ts , t u t when he w ants to la y i n a su p p ly o f canned goods (w hich
c o n s t i t u t e s e l r r g e p a r t o f th e g ro c e ry b i l l ) he w i l l go to L e x lrt o m .
P erh ap s th e m erchants judged t h e i r o p in io n s upon f r e uency r a t h e r than
c u a n tity .
Aowaery. —Fron th e s ta n d p o in t o f g r o c e r ie s p u rch ased ( f ig u r e 5) and
far® ,red u ce s a le s ( f i g u r e 6 ) , th e fo llo w in g a re s in g le - s e r v ic e c e n te r s :
H anover, D anvers, B rooks, F e rg u s , and F o r e s t G rove.
The o th e r s a re m u lti-
s e r v ic e c e n te r s , namely B u ffa lo , Moore, L ew isto wn, L en ten , f o f f e s C leek,
32-
LEGENO
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS 8 STREAMS
TOWNS ®
F ig u re 7
T .1 4 * .
■Shopping a re a s o f Fergus County a s mapped ty m erchants
in th e tr a d in g c e n te r s .
-5 5 -
ln if r f id , S u f f o lk , P o j, end G res': Range.
S p e c ia lty Snnterp.. —The t h i r d group to be c o n sid e re d in th e tr a d in g
a re a * a re th e s o e c i& ltj s to r e s which depend upon & la r g e r a re a f o r t h e i r
s u p p o rt.
C lo th in g and fa n s im plem ents and liv e s to c k s a le s a r e th o e e
com aicaitlee c o n s id e rtd in t i l e group.
p : r e , a c c o rd in g to f ig u r e 8 , a l i t t l e d i f f e r e n t p ic tu r e I e again
p re re r.te d .
A lthough p ro b ab ly & m a jo rity o f th e p eo p le t r a v e l q u ite a
d is ta n c e t o buy t h e i r farm im plem ents a t L e v is to e n , s t i l l th e two coam unitiee
o f Denton and
l n t f r e d a re f a i r l y s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t in t h i s r e s p e c t.
The o n ly
. th e r towns s e rv in g in t h i s c a p a c ity a r e C o ffee C reek, Roy, and B u ffa lo .
Ag
can be seen from figure. 9 , th e n e rc h e n ts heve f ix e d t h e i r b o u n d a rie s q u ite
d e f i n i t e l y f o r th e com m odities th e y s e l l .
However, m ost o f th e goods in
t h i s l i n e c o n s is ts o f lum ber and hardw are w ith few lin e s o f f e r e im plem ents
b e in g c a r r i e d .
Fans Im plem ents a re sto c k e d in : en to n and Si n I f r e d .
L ew ietosn i s th e o n ly town In th e county i n which f a r a
t h e i r c lo th in g .
>eoole p u rch ase
A few o f th e farm ers s a id t h a t th ey bought m ost o f th e
fa m ily c lo th in g from m a il o rd e r (s e e f ig u r e 1 0 ).
T h is i s done p ro b ab ly
to is IftBf e r d e g re e , how ever, th a n in form er tim e s , Fince Lewietown has
a :• on tu rn e ry '<&rd end o th e r c h a in s t o r e s .
L iv e sto c k i s c o ld a t Lewistown o r B il l i n g s o r i e sh ip p ed to te rm in a l
m a rk e ts.
Durruary o f T rade / r e a s . —Fro^ a tr a d e a re a s ta n d p o in t, th e only
m u lti- s e r v ic e tr a d e c e n te r s t h a t o f f e r s e r v ic e s in th e co n v en ien ce, shopping,
end s p e c ia lty c a te g o ry a re L esletow n , B enton, C offee C reek, W in ifre d , doy,
end B u ffa lo .
I t i s lik e l y t h a t G rass Range, S u ffo lk , and Moore should a ls o
be c o n sid e re d I a o o r ta n t tr a d e c e n te r s , s in c e they a re o f a m u lti- s e r v ic e
-3 4 -
LEGEND
SURFACED R O A D S ----RIVERS B STREAMS
TOWNS S
F ig u re 8 . —lo c a tio n o f 169 farm f a m ilie s in F erg u s County shewing
where they buy most o f t h e i r farm im plem ents and have
them r e p a ir e d .
-3 5 -
*. ie e.
c-
SURFACED R O A D S ----------RIVERS 8 STREAMS ------TOWNS S
*
e-
K 17 C
t l 4 e I
IL n c .
il i>
I.
"
«. «o e.
«. t i t .
••11*•
e
13E
*• '*
F ig u re 9 . —Farm im plem ent a re a s o f F ergus County as mapped fcy
m erchants i n th e tr a d in g c e n te r s .
-3 6 -
LE SE N O
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS » STREAMS
tow ns
e
# Those buying from m a il o rd e r
• Those buying a t Lewistown
F ig u re 1 0 .—L o c a tio n o f 175 farm f a m ilie s showing where most
o f th e c lo th in g f o r th e fa m ily i s bou g h t.
-3 ? ~
ty p e though l e t s l e o o r t s n t th&n th e o t h e r s .
I t s u ld a p p e a r, in s u m a ry ,
t h a t f r o a a p a r tly tr a d e s ta n d p o in t, o n ly th e shove c&n be c e ll e d com plete
o o R iu n ity c e n te r s ; th e rem ainder o nly r u r a l s e r v ic e s t a t i o n s , a t th e a o e t
convenien e c e n te r s o f th e neighborhood ty p e , u n ie r e they a r e a ls o s tro n g
" o c t a l c e n te r s .
T h is l e t t e r i e d is c u s s e d in th e n e x t s e c tio n .
S o c ia l o r P trc o n u l A reas. -^ In th e p e rs o n a l and s o c ia l s e r v ic e c e n te r s
ar*' two i n s t i t u t i o n s which were e a r l i e r d e s c r ib e s a s b ein g th e b a s ic
fo u n d a tio n o f th e community—th e sch o o l and th e c h u rc h .
F erg u s County
s u p p o rts one county h ig h sc h o o l a t Lewistown, and s ix sma l l e r h ig h sch o o ls
a t D enton,
i n l f r e d , Roy, G rass Range, M o r e , and one a t B u ffa lo which ie
a b o u t e q u a lly s u p p o rte d by F erg u s and J u d i t h B asin C o u n tie s.
Ths b o u n d a rie s
fo r th e s e a r e a s e r e shown in f ig u r e 11» and were f u rn L-: ed by th e County
S u p e rin te n d e n t o f fc h o o ls a t Lewistown.
Of c o u rs e , i t I e n o t compulsory
f o r a l l s tu d e n ts w ith in each a re a to a tte n d th e h ig h sch o o l i n t h a t a r e a ,
b u t s in c e tr s n e s t a t i o n o r th e e q u iv a le n t in tr a n s p o r ta tio n allow ance I s
fu rtiis h e a only to th e n e a r e s t s c h o o l, m ost fa m ilie s ta k e ad v an tag e o f t h i s
s e r v ic e .
B ecause o f th e n a tu r e o f th e s e r v ic e , th e s e a re a s a r e w e ll
d e fin e d and t h e i r b o u n d a rie s s e t by law .
O thnr s o c i a l ere&e a r e n o t a s w e ll d e fin e d a s th e sc h o o l a re a* in
th e c o u n ty .
F ig u re 1 2 , d e s c rib in g th e ch urch a r e a s , shows a g r e a te r
d is p e r s io n .
However, i t I s found a g a in t h a t th e m a jo rity o f th e people
f t r y c lo s e r to home f o r t h i s s e r v ic e , showing q u ite d e f i n i t e s in g le - s e r v ic e
c e n te r s a t D enton, S i n l f r e d , Boy, G rass Range, and L evictoR n.
T here i s s t i l l a store s c a tte r e d d i s t r i b u t i o n a s f a r a s p eo p le
a tte n d in g l o c a l dances i s concerned (s e e f ig u r e 1 5 ).
To a sn y , a an c in g
-S B -
*. 8 1 E.
I t t « C.
M. 8# C
T. 8 0 I t
P 8^ V
I
LEGEND
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS a STREAMS
TOWNS S
«. « 2 «.
*. It «.
F ig u re 1 1 .—High School e re a s in F ergus County
-3 9 -
ft. «• e .
*. 17 C.
* . l» I .
e. t 4 e .
R .te t-
*. 12 e
T. I f M.
».
e
LEGEND
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS a STREAMS
TM*
TOWNS ®
T, IS M.
*. It t.
K 2 3 E.
Figure 12,—Location of 140 farm fam ilies in Fergus County
showing where family members usually attend church.
—4 0 —
n.
r.
<t e.
n. toe.
R B* I -
it e.
*.«» c.
m.
*4e .
*.*5 1.
T t« * .
T *1 M.
*. I*«
T. l»M .
T. IT * .
LEGEND
SURFACED ROADS —
RIVERS 6 STREAMS
TOWNS ©
H15*.
*. to e.
* . * 2 C.
t. i i *.
F ig u re 1 3 .—L o catio n o f 134 farm f a m ilie s in F ergus County showing
where fam ily members u s u a lly a tte n d l o c a l d a n ce s.
would n o t eeea to be a very good c r i t e r i a to d e f in e c o e a u n ltle s .
H o tev er.
I t I s c u i t e Im p o rta n t when I t I s c o n sid e re d t h a t d an cin g i s orobebly the
m eIn, and i n many c a se s th e o n ly , f o r a o f r e c r e a tio n t h a t f u r a p eo p le in
F e rg u s County have o u ts id e o f t h e i r own h o a e s .
Old and young go to th e
l o c a l community c lu b d a n c e s, many n o t to dance i t e l l , h i t j u s t to v i s i t
w ith t h e i r n e ig h b o rs .
F ig u re 14 compares q u ite fa v o ra b ly w ith fig u r e 1 3 .
T h is i s p ro b ab ly
t r u e because th e r e e re community c lu b o r g a n is a tio n s in a o s t o f th e c e n te r s
in d ic a te d on both maps, w ith th e e x ce p tio n o f G rass Range, end m ry o f th e
l o c a l dances a r e sp o n so red by th e c o a a a n ity c lu b and h e ld in th e lo c a l c lu b
h o u se .
P ic tu r e s o f some o f th e community c lu b houces in th e v a rio u s
co - ^ u n itie s are. sh o rn i n f ig u r e s IS and 16.
I d is c u s s io n o f th e s e clu b s
w i l l be found in th e s e c tio n on e m l tl- s e r v ic e com m unities in F ergus C ounty.
Sunmar v . — An a tte m p t was made to r a t e th e im p o rtan ce o f each c e n te r
f o r efcch o f th e s e r v i c e s , a s shown in diagram A.
A b lan k { -) in d ic a te s
th a t a very s m a ll number o f f a m i l i e s , som etim es only one o r two, in d ic a te d
th e y o b ta in e d s e r v ic e s in th e c e n te r co n cern ed .
A s c o re o f I war given to
th e l a r g e r c e n te r i f i t se rv e d a h ig h p ro p o rtio n o f f a m i l i e s .
In com parison
w ith th e o th e r c e n te r s in th e c o u n ty , Lewistown sh o u ld h tv e re c e iv e u s o re
than a s c o re o f I f o r each o f th e ite m s l i s t e d .
I f th e s e r v ic e l i s t e d , f o r
any one c e n te r , was le er, th a n what ap p eared to be th e p o s s ib le maximum,
m easured in term s o f th e t o t a l fa m ilie s o b ta in in g s e r v ic e s t h e r e , a f r a c ­
t i o n s ! s c o re was assig n ed *
I t th e t o t a l s c o re i s I e s r th e n 2 , i t i s assumed th e c e n te r i s o n ly
& f in g le - s e r v ic e c e n te r end does n o t c o n s t i t u t e a community c e n t e r .
Those
-4 k >
W.*IC-
*. it
e.
R- ft
K «t e.
i.
t. Cl I.
I t * 4 C.
T SI W.
* *4 e.
Tt**
It It E
*. It «.
X l**.
n. esc.
T I t N.
I IS*.
LEGEND
SURFACED R O A D S ----RIVERS a STREAMS f
TOWNS ©
X. IS
M.
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F ig u re 1 4 .—L o catio n o f 136 farm f a m ilie s in F erg u s County showing
where fam ily members p a r t i c i p a t e in community c lu b arid
o th e r s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s .
-4 3 -
D e e rfie ld Community
Club House and
. School
F ig u re 1 5 .—Community c lu b houses in F ergus C ounty.
Brooks Community
Club House
F ig u re 1 6 .— Community Club Houses in Fergus C ounty.
-4 5 -
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—4 b—
w ith rev-res o f fro a i to 4 e r e .-a u lti-e c n rlc e c e n te r s , w ith c e r t a i n s e r v ic e s
b e ir ^ very o u ts ta n d in g , b u t t h e r e a re n o t enough o a ts ta n d in g s e r v ic e to c e l l
th e s e a re a Es e o o m ro ltte s —they m ight be c l a s s i f i e d a s qu sa I - coewan ! t i e s o r
e o s e u c ltle e w ith in e c o a s im ity .
e re a ls o d e fin e d e s
Those c e n te r s h av in g a s c o re o f 4 o r s o r e
i l t i - s e r v i c e c e n te r s ano ««gr be c a l l e d c o m u a ity c e n te r s .
Tt-e r e a re 7 co asam ity c e n te r s Ln F ergus C a n t y , namely Lev i s town, D enton,
I n t f r e d , Hoy, G rass F '-n /e , Moore, .uad C o ffee Greek*
Tfce o th e r s a re s i n g l e -
s e r v ic e c e n t e r s , o f f e r i n g convenience s e r v ic e s l a r g e l y , and fu n eticm in g
In th e etm ce o f n e ig h b o rh o o d s.
H ilg e r , B rooke, FuffoU c, end B ssv era
e p o ro x ia a te c o s r u n ity c e n te r s , and a lth o u g h th ey p-re a u l t i - s e r v i c e c e n te r s ,
th e tr a d in g s e r v ic e s they o f f e r a r e n o t s u f f i c i e n t to d e s ig n a te them s t r i c t l y
a s eo%i0 u n ity c e n te r s .
f i g u r e 17 shows th e lo c s tio u o f th e s e c o se u n ity c e n te r s and th e
su rro u n d in g c o a a c ty a r e a s .
T ie L e< iato en community p ro p e r I s d e fin e d a s
In c lu d in g t-’^oSe a cue n o t covered by o th e r c o a o u c itle e a d ja c e n t to
L ew lsto -n I t s e l f , a lH iugh Lewiatowa o f f e r s c e r t a i n c e r v ic e s v.hich a r e
c o u n ty -s lu e an-- extend ever, beyond th e b o u n d a rie s o f th e co u n ty .
I t sh o u ld be n o te d t h a t a l l th e cow xanlty c e n te r s have & h ig h s c h o o l,
e -cpt C offee C reek , a l l have chore! e s , a l l have d a n c e s , end e l l have •
c o arito ity c lu b ,
a l l o f th e * serv e th e fa rm e rs w ith th e m ajor ty p e o f
s e r v ic e s e x c e p t I n t h
c a s e o ' f a r? Im plem ents, c lo th in g , u-vu a -Livestock
m a rk e tin g c e n t e r .
M u lti-S e rv ice Communities
In o rd e r t o show whet e-.-rvicec e r e o f f e r e d in c e r ta in a r e a s , i t
-4 7 -
LEGEND
SURFACED ROADS RIVERS 8 STREAMS
TOWNS S
F ig u re 1 7 .—Mu I t i - s e r v ic e com m unities in F erg u s County
-4 8 -
w i l l b r Bece85?..ry to have b ase a re a s fro® which to work.
B ecause th e h ig h
sc h o o l a re a s ( f i g u r e 16) in th e county a re w e ll d e fin e d and th e b o u n d aries
5 f t , t>ioee a r e a s w i l l be used a s the b a s is f o r d is c u s s in g sc h o o l f a c i l i t i e s .
F roa fig u rr- 13 i t can be seen t h a t th e r e a r e 7 such a re a s in Fergus County
which in c lu d e 117 r u r a l sch o o l d i s t r i c t s .
These a re a s w ill be r e f e r r e d to
by th e nane o f th e town in which the h ig h sc h o o l I s lo c a te d .
I t s h u ld not
be u n d ersto o d t h a t a l l s tu d e n ts o f h ig h sc h o o l age i n each a re a a tte n d
th e sc h o o l a t i t s c e n t e r .
However, t r a n s p o r ta tio n o r tr a n s p o r ta tio n allo w ­
ance I s g iv en to r tu d e n ts w ith in each a re a to th e sc h o o l lo c a te d in t h a t
a re a .
I f th e c h ild w ishes to a tte n d a n o th e r sch o o l In th e county o r th e
F ergus County High Cchool a t LewiStown, he aay do so , b u t w i l l re c e iv e
t r a n s p o r ta tio n a llo w an ce only from h ie home to th e h ig h sc h o o l n e a r e s t h is
r e s id e n c e .
Figure 17 rep re sen ts a e o n o o s lte o f s ln g le - e e r v lc e a re a s from which
th e com m unities were d e te rm in e d .
T h is shows 7 a u l t l - s e r v i c e com m unities in
Fergus County— L e sisto w n , D enton,
C o ffre Creek—w ith
i n i f r e d , hoy, Q rass dange, Moore, and
u f f o Ik a s an e ig h th which m ight be c a lle d , a s u b -c c a a u n ity .
The Dmntnn :.nd C offee C reek Communities
Becaur- o f t h e i r p ro x im ity and o v e rla p p in g , th e Denton and C offee
Creek a re a s w i l l be c o n sid e re d to g e th e r .
Enough s e r v ic e s a re o ff e re d a t
C o ffe e C reek ro t h a t th e su rro u n d in g a re a which i t s e rv e s I r q u ite
d e f i n i t e l y a community.
However, D m ton a ls o s e rv e s a s & c e n te r f o r many
s e r v ic e s o f f e r e d to th e a&ae a r e a .
The Denton C o aa u n lty , ly in g In th e n o rth w e st c o m e r o f F ergus C ounty,
M l
R. 15 E.
T 22 N
ZtfZ
I
CO
I
LEGEND
— HiGH SCHOOL AREA BOUNDARIES
___SCHOOL D IS TRICT BOUNDARIES
•
OPEN SCHOOLS
F ig u re 1 8 .-—sc h o o l d i s t r i c t s , h ig h sch o o l a r e a s , and ooen sch o o ls in Fergus County, 1940
—5 0 —
cun be d e fin e d n o t o n ly fcrj sc h o o l b o u n d a rie s b u t by th e county l i n e on th e
n o rth and s o u th , th e J u d ith R iv e r on th e e a s t , tmd t h e C o ffee Creeic Coammnlty
on th e ^ e s t .
Tl Is I r f o r th e a o a t p e r t a d iy - le a d farm in g a re a in which
wheat I e th e c h ie f p ro d u c t r a i s e d ,
i-en to n , th e c e n te r o f t h i s co ssiu n lty , I e
th e second, l a r g e s t town In F erg u s County w ith e p o p u la tio n o f 406. J j /
The C o ffee G reek C oasu n ity j o i n s th e te u to n C oaaunity on tb - e a s t
and i s bounded on th e n o r t h , w e st, and so u th by th e county l i n e .
Like- th e
fen to n C oeaam ity, wheat farm ing i s th e c h ie f o c cu p a tio n i n th e a r e a .
fc h o o I " V c l l l t i e i i . —Lince th e sch o o l i s one o f th e moat im p o rta n t
i n s t i t u t i o n s o f th e c o n ;.u n ity , i t i e is o o rt& n t to know th e s e r v ic e s which
a community o f f e r s In t h i s c o n n e c tio n .
F ig u re IS shows th e sch o o l d i s t r i c t s
w ith in th e v a rio u s h ig h sch o o l a re a s in F erg u s C ounty.
Tht Lenton conrm nlty c o n ta in s 11 s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s , in c lu d in g 7 open
r u r a l sc h o o ls in th e y e a r 1940 end one g rad e sc h o o l and one high sch o o l in
th e town o f d e n to n .
(fe e ta b le I I . )
These sch o o ls shew a t o t a l e n ro llm e n t
o f i l l s tu d e n ts , 77 o f whoa a re e n r o lle d i n th e Lenton s c h o o l.
The seven
r u r a l ^chopI r show &n a v erag e e n ro llm e n t o f a l a o s t £ p u p ils p e r sc h o o l.
The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f th e s e sc h o o ls In th e s r e a can be seen fro® f ig u r e IB.
The h ig h sc h o o l a t l e n t e n , which s e rv e s b o th th e Letiton and C offee
Creek c o - n u n l t l e s , i s th e o nly one i n th e a re a and had a t o t a l e n r o lls c n t
o f 91 f o r th e sc h o o l y e a r 1953-43. 1 4 /
ly p j
p o p u la tio n d a ta shoim in t h i s s e c tio n were ta x en :'ro a th e
S ix te e n th Connue o f th e U nited t t e s , 1 4 0 , U nited S ta te s D epartm ent o f
C o a se rc e , Bureau o f th e C ensus, W ashington, L. ...
1^ / A ll s c h o o l d a ta u sed in t i l s study were o b ta in e d d i r e c t l y from
th e County S u p e rin te n d e n t o f Fchr o le a t Lewietown, M ontana, nigh School
dr t e wore n o t a v a il a b le f o r th e y e a r 1340-41, b u t a l l r u r a l sch o o l data are
a s o f O c to b er, 1340.
-5 1 -
Tadil- I I , — fiTTCULinil Oh AND SCHOOL CfeHflOS WtTA FOl-. OftnLE
SC'W LS IN THi-: DBSTON .-Oiy (X)FFEK CMEK COMMUNITIES
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1940
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D i s t r i c t H o..
i Under 6 i 6 -2 1 i Under 6 I 6-21
i
I O aea t C losed
Denton
4
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8
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85
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57
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176
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152
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84
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68
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102
56
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T o ta l
G o ffm S regk
52
108 V
97 s J
200
T o ta l
4
£./
Town o f von to n .
Jj/
J o i n t d i s t r i c t w ith J u d ith B asin C ounty.
a/
Town o f C o ffee C reek.
The.Coffee Cri ex community contains four school d is tr ic ts including
5 rural schools end the torn school a t Coffee Creek.
The t o t s I enrollment
o f the Coffee creek school res £7, with a to ta l enrollment for the three
rural sohoole o f 15 or an average of 5 punils per school.
(See tsb le I I .)
I t si LI be noted froo table II that the school oopuL-tion in both
t
Denton end Coffee Creek communities has decreased in the- 6-11 age
group during the o -s t fiv e years, but the age group under 6 has Increased.
Horever, the school f a c i l i t i e s now available w ill probably be adequate for
r-oae time to co e.
Chunf F a c ilit ie s . —Denton has two churches with resident m inisters—
one the Church o f God, and the oti r the Methodist Church.
&r- held rv«ry other Sunday
Catholic services
lth the P riest from Geraldine o ffic ia tin g .
Church rervices are held once a month bj, the Presbyterian Church and
joce a month by the Luthema C urcb In Coffee Creek, but there i s no resident
m inister.
M inisters come from Levistosn and Ptanforc to conduct these
services.
Other n-j?runlty Pervleef.. —Only one resident doctor Ir available to
both the Denton and Coffee Creek arec .
There &rf two nursing homes e t
Tent n, h it no r gular h osp ital f a c i l i t i e s closer than L-wlstoan.
The only library service available In these co aunitlea Is the
school library
t the high school at Denton.
Movies art she am twice a
w<vr-k it Dontoa, but according to answer# received on the questionnaires, sort
o f* the people in both coamunitles go to Le^l-to n for t ’.jws.
fion:.,ur Ity Clobr. —Th1.re are three active coo-:,unity clubs in the
Dcmton area.
These
re known as the rvwrson, Alton, and Bear Springs clubs
-5 3 -
lacatpd s t the places b? those names,
/nother club
as active at Hoosac,
but has held no meetings for about two years.
A questionnaire *&s sent tc secretaries o f community clubs In the
county (see exhibit B of the apoendix).
questionnaires *ere not complete.
However, rep lies from these
• s an exazole o f some of the work carried
on by these clubs, the Bear Borings Club reports, "Some of the aesbera
o f th is club liv e as far as twenty-eight miles froa the town of Denton.
Through the cooperation o f the club members and the county commissioners,
th is mtid i s a l l graded and raveled ....& e also have beet; working on EEA,
and the oroject i s now approved.*1
Three Home rem onetrtion clubs are active in the Denton community.
T' oi e ore Bear Springs, Denton, ad Everson and liave a to ta l o f 6f. members.
There i? only one 4-H club in the community, that being located at Denton
»ind having a memberchip o f 10.
The Coffee Creek Community has only one comimlty club at Coffee
Creek.
Tvie club has i t s own clubhouse and holds dances for the community
quite frequently.
The membership in the club Is large and i t is one of the
strongest community clubs I d the county.
t io n club has & saesabershl
The Coffee Creek Home Deaonstra-
o f 35, while the one 4—K club in the COSK-U n lty ,
located : t Coffee Cr- ek, has a aeabcrshlo o f 15.
Tenure of Farm er . —Taking the Denton end Coffee Cr ee: Communities
together. I t would seem that the majority of the people in these communities,
I f the sasiole is at a l l r p resen tstlve, were permanent resid en ts.
The
average tenure of the group was IO years on the seme farm, these periodf of
tenure ranging from 5 to 34 years.
Of the 87 farmers answering cuestlonnsires
-5 4 -
from these two coai;iaaities, 16 osn their farsse, 8 rent th eir ferae, snd 5
o f the grouo
oer te lend both owned end rented.
tenure o f tho r.
I he fa c t that the average
who rent entirely i s 16 years would sees to indicate &
certain so lid a rity in the coeaunlty.
Fu/raary. —?ron an maiyslc of the trade areas presented in e former
i ticti n , and from the evidence presented above, i t would sees that Denton
end Coffee Crrsk could quite d e fin itely he c tile d community centers and the
tiiirr. undin.-; areas th eir respective coaau cities.
The school, church, and
recreational f a c i l i t i e s o f f red are adequate for the communities.
The .Mnlfred Co^ iun Ity
The
in lfred area i s located in the north-central part of Fergus
County, with the town of Winifred as i t s center.
I t i s bounded on the north
by the county lin e , on the west by the Judith River, end on the east by
Amdls Creek.
The area extends south about as far as the town of Christina.
Dry-land farming and c a ttle ranching are carried on In t is area.
There might be some <ueetlon as to whether the area surrounding
the r a l l town o f Suffolk should be considered as community In i t s e l f or a
,art of the Winifred Community.
Froa Diagram A I t w ill be noted that
PuffoLt o ffe r s quite a number of services, but in comparison eitte the 7
muI U -s-T v i ce communities, i t i s f e l t that the service b are not adequate,
nor do they serve & large enough geographical area to designate Pui folk
as & community center proper.
In a so c ia l service sense, i t i s no doubt
t. eoBiaiiiity, but in the m ulti-service eenee, i t could only be considered
. vueai-or p a rtia l community, end thus w ill be considered a part o f the
r-In i f red Co® unity.
-5 5 -
Lu L frtd I s th e o n ly In c o rp o ra te d town In th e e re e w ith a pooul& tion
o f 500.
I v l t I e an in c r e a s e o f 49 o v e r 1950; how ever, t h i s I e n o t in d ic a tiv e
o f t>> e n t i r e a r e a a s 'sany f s r a e have been d e s e rte d in th e l a s t few y e a r s .
S chool F e c i l l t l e B . —The
l n i f r e d C onsunity su p p o rts 10 r u r a l
sc h o o l U s t r i c t s and D i r t r i c t 115 which, in c lu d e s th e town o f W in ifred (s e e
ta b l e I I I and f ig u r e 1 8 ).
o p en.
A ll o f th e d i s t r i c t s e x ce p t one hee one sch o o l
The av erag e e n ro llm e n t in th e 9 r u r a l sc h o o ls i s 4 .1 u e r sc h o o l.
The %rade sc h o o l In W in ifre d showed an e n ro llm e n t o f 77 in 1940, w h ile th e
h ig h sc h o o l e n ro llm e n t was 68 f o r 1950-40.
There were 4 t e c h e rs In th e
h ig h sc h o o l.
I n s p i t e o f th e growth In p o p u la tio n in th e to u o f
l n i f r e d d u rin g
th e I l s t decade, i t w i l l be seen fr o e th e s c h o o l census f i g u r e s in t a b le I I I
t h a t th e r e h a t been a c o n s id e ra b le d e c lin e in th e p o p u la tio n in th e age
groups under I I .
Church T: e i l i t i e r . —Three churches h o ld s e r v ic e s in W in ifre d .
The
C a th o lic P r i e s t whose re s id e n c e i s a t H ilg e r h o ld s services? in W in ifred
tw ic e a month, ana s e r v ic e s a r e h e ld once a month In both trie
fIorw eigen L utheran c h u rc h es try m in is te r s from Lew ! a t o m .
e th o d ls t
T here i s no
r e s id e n t m in is te r in W in ifre d .
O th e r Courauaity Services.--T h e re i s no r e s id e n t d o c to r In th e
U n if r e d e r e e .
T here i s u T o il C o n se rv a tio n CCC camp lo c a te d about one
a i l c n o r th o f f l n i f r e d t h a t has a r e s id e n t d o c to r which i s a v a ila b le in tim e s
o f em ergency, b u t o th e rw is e the n e a r e s t d o c to r I s a t Lew istow n.
no h o s p i t a l f a c i l i t i e s w hatsoever in t h e a r e a .
There a re
The only l i b r a r y I s th e
h ig h school l t b r e r y e t f I n l f re d which say be u sed by r e s id e n ts o f th e a r e a .
T-BLi U I,-A TTEN iU H G t Aliu SCHOOL CEtiSOE DAT* POH QiULE
ECHQOLE IN THE / iSIPKED COMMOHm
l_
*
t
Sobool CaaaBi___
1L&5___ __ i_____ 1340
D i s t r i c t Ho*i Nuaber o f Schoola i K a ro lla e n t i
Itlnrlerl 6 i 6-11 i TTnder fi I 6-11
t
L Ooaai i C losed
199
I
I
6
10
18
6
18
£4
I
I
7
8
3£
6
19
iS
I
O
5
8
8
I
9
116 V
I
5
77
£7
150
51
US
HS
I
O
5
4
£0
4
6
29
I
O
6
4
ES
4
14
160
I
I
5
4
18
£
10
119
I
I
4
15
46
I
16
161
I
O
4
SE
7
5
U
166
I
O
5
£
17
12
7
25
O
I
O
9
7
4
5
11
10
10
115
111
S£6
85
£59
Totfel
>J
Town o f - I n Lfred*
-5 7 -
b u t th e s e le c tio n o f a t . t e r i e l i s E a a ll end in a d e q u a te .
The afcin f a r e o f r e c r e a tio n f o r th e people o f th e a re a a re th e d an ces
which a re u - tia lly h e ld once a week in " in I f r e d .
bu t n o t a s r e g u la r ly a s
a tte n d th e e e d a n c e s.
a o n th .
in ifre d .
S u ffo lk a ls o h o ld s d a n ce s,
^ e o o le co-ae from th e e n t i r e a re a to
The on ly a o v ie s a v a il a b le a re shown ab o u t tw ice &
However, most o f th e r e s i d e n t e gp to L ew ietorn ehen th e y a tte n d
showe.
g o a n r .i U C lu b s. —T h ere a r e fo u r a c tiv e eo -r-u n ity d u b s which serv e
th e liI n i f r e d C oasitoity, lo c a te d a t
fire d .
i n i f r e d , S u f fo lk , C h r is tin a , anu S a i t
Of th e s e , th e Cf I t Creek C onw m ity i s p ro b ab ly th e o l d e s t h aving been
o rg a n iz e d in 1913 o r 1314.
I t i s e stim a te d t h a t th e r e were ab o u t 50
fa m ilie s b elo n g in g to t h i s c lu b a t t h a t tim e .
At th e p r e s e n t tim e th e r e
a re ab o u t 16 f a m ilie s who a r e members o f t h i s c lu b .
The c lu b h o ld s i t s
m eetings a t th e balky H orse S chool Housa which i e lo c a te d in School D i s t r i c t
156 ( s e e f ig u r e 1 8 ).
The ' i n i f r e d c lu b i n e s tim a te d to have around 50 f& ally members,
w hile th e C h r is tin a c lu b has about B I.
have ab o u t 60 n e c b e rs .
The r u f f o lk c lu b i s r e s o r te d to
Q u ite & number o f p erso n s have membership in b o th
th e S u ffo lk and S a l t C reek c lu b s .
As w e ll as b ein g o rg a n is e d on a s o c ia l
b e s t s , th e s e c lu b s s u o o o rt a g r i c u l t u r a l p la n n in g , weed and i n s e c t c o n tr o l,
road work in th e c o u n ty , r u r a l f l e c t r i f l c a tio n developm ent, end asny o th e r
p ro g rs a s o f b e n e f it to th e e n t i r e community.
There a re th r e e a c tiv e Rone D em onstration C lubs In th e community
„ l t h a t o t a l ,.H b a r r tio o f 6 6 .
A ccording to d a ta f r o . th e C ount, A g e n t-,
o f f i c , I t K -uld s o p e e r t t c t th e 4-H C lubs a re n o r . e c U r e In t h i s s e c tio n
o f th e count) th en in any o t h e r .
A lto g e th e r th e r e fere 7 c lu b s In th e a r e a ,
5 g ir ls * c lu b s , 5 boys’ c lu b s , snd one raised g ro u p , w ith & t o t a l membership
o f 75.
Tenure o f F e rm e rr. - The c v c rtg e le n g th o f te n u re o f th e form ers
q u e stio n e d in t h i s community I e o v e r 15 y e a r s .
However, th e r e has probably
been a o ro m o b ility o f p o p u la tio n and a m ig ra tio n o u t o f th e a r e s in t h i s
m ention th a n any o th e r i n th e co u n ty .
However, i f th e p o p u la tio n f ig u r e s
a re any c r i t e r i a , th e r e h as a ls o been e m ig ra tio n i n .
T h ere a r e , however,
v ery few fa m ilie s l e f t in th e a re a n o rth and e a s t o f W in ifre d .
Of th e 33 answ ering th e q u e s tio n re g a rd in g te n u r e , ;£ own t h e i r fa rm s,
1 3
r e n t , and one o p e ra te d b oth owned and r e n te d la n d .
o f te n u r e f o r th o s e r e n tin g fn ra a i s 7 .6 y e a r s .
The e v e rtg e p e rio d
However, t h i s average
i s b ro u g h t up c o n sid e ra b ly by two fa rm e rs , one who h as r e n te d th e t& m he
l a on f o r £7 y e a r s , th e o th ^ r f o r 28 y e a r s .
Sunaery,. — A lthough rT ln ifre ri i s ty no means a com plete s e r v ic e c e n te r ,
i t doer o f f e r s u f f i c i e n t , s e r v ic e s so t h a t i f th e y were u sed by th e p eople
in th e a r e a , I t could be d e s ig n a te d d e f i n i t e l y a s a m u lti- s e r v ic e community.
A ccording to th e County A gent, t h i s i s !&*. problem a re a o f th e cou n ty .
In
s p i t e o f th e s p a r o ity o f p o p u la tio n i n some p r t s o f th e a r e a , th e r e a re
s t i l l sort: p eo p le In th e a re a than i t can a d e q u a te ly s u p p o rt.
fc h o o l f a c i l i t i e s in th e a re a s e e a ad eq u ate w ith an open sch o o l in
every d i s t r i c t e x c e p t o n e.
R e c re a tio n f a c i l i t i e s a re a v a ila b le and used
to R c o n s id e ra b le e x te n t.
The number o f c lu b s in th e a re a would in d ic a te
a coming to g e th e r o f many o f th e fa rm e rs to d is c u s s and p la n f o r t h e i r
problem s.
-5 9 -
The Roy CoaytUSilty
Tv
: oy Cosirsunlty l a lo c a te d In th e e a s t - c e n t r a l p a r t o f Pergus
C ounty, being bounded on the n o rth and w est by A z a e lle Creek end th e
county l i n e , end on th e so u th by a fe * low m ountains betw een Roy ^nd G rass
Range.
Th
n o rth e rn «nd e a s te r n p’ r t o f th e a re a Ie very s p a r s e ly p o p u la te d ,
I TC--Iy due to th e re p u rc h a s e program o f th e % vernm ent which h as .coved
m ost o f th e f a m ilie s o u t o f t ' l s a r e a .
The town o f Roy I s th e only s e r v ic e
c e n te r In th e uron snd h as an e stim a te d p o p u la tio n o f betw een «:00 and ISO#
The V.'.y Comsnmlt;- I s la r g e ly a ran g e co u n try w ith some wheat farm in
Lr th e so u th e rn and c e n t r a l p a r t e ,
Cchooi
n l I l t l eg. —A lthough th e a re a I s la r g e and h a s 16 sch o o l
d i s t r i c t s , th e r e a re o n ly 7 open sch o o ls In th e e o m m l t y , one o f which i s
lo c a te d
t Roj (wee ta b l e IV und f ig u r e 1 8 ),
The Roy g ra d e s c h o o l has an
. fi.r -c lln e n t o f 71 p u p ils , w h ile th e h ig h sc h o o l had an e n ro llm e n t o f 71 in
l"'iy -4 0 e
Four o f th e s i x r u r a l sc h o o ls had an e n ro llm e n t o f S each , w h ile
th e o th e r two had 5 p u p ils each .
By com paring th e sch o o l census date- f o r j-355 r l t h t h a t o> 1340,
i t can TfcfdUy be Bicn how th e p o p u la tio n o f th e a re a has d e c re a se d only
In th e l a s t f iv e y e a r s ,
Gvu r c h F a c i l i t i e s .--C h u rc h s e r v ic e s e re h e ld in Roy and In F e rg u s,
t! • only o th e r p o s t o f f i c e lo c a tio n in th e a r e a .
In Roy s e r v ic e s a re h e ld
by th e C a th o lic P r i e s t from R llg e r t r i c e a month, and P r o t e s t a n t s e r v ic e s
fcrr h e ld once a month by church fle lc U e n and m in is te r s fro-a Let. Lato wn,
f e r v i c e r a re h e ld a t Fergus tw ic e a month a t t ' e F ergus Community Club
"»60-"
TABLE I T .—ATTEtiDAHCE WV SCHOOL CENSUS DaTA $08 GRkjDE
SCHOOLS IN THE IiOI CONMDNITI
L tffitrtc t
I
'. I
:
i
:
. Dchop I C e r d a s .............
u sh e r o f ■choQ.l6...-i E n ro llm en t t______ ,LSjiy_____ :......... 1S4G ......
I n ; CiQ^fd
:
(Under 6 i C - j l i Under G .» 6-L1
101
O
S
O
S
£3
I
8
207
O
5
O
4
82
I
12
it?
I
3
6
19
46
7
21
106
O
I
O
5
IS
S
4
811
I
O
6
6
8
I
10
£05
O
I
O
3
1£
S
10
156
O
I
O
4
6
2
6
130
O
I
O
O
£
O
O
I
O
71
IEO
103
SI
79
131
I
I
6
3
EO
£
9
140
I
£
5
8
15
&
7
73
O
I
O
£
11
6
$
165
I
I
6
5
18
2
14
178
O
I
O
£
4
O
4
3
2
O
I
6
14
14
5
7
106
116
3 SO
84
196
74 e /
169 V
90
I
I
T ottsl
16
7
20
Totn o f Eoy.
b z J c i n t d i s t r i c t w ith sc h o o l in P e tro le u n County
-6 1 -
Touse with m inisters from Levisto-nn In chsr^e.
o th o r Com unit? S e n r ic e e .—The C onan's Ulub In Roy eiiintaine 6
library vhich is . >er. once . week.
There are no such f a c i l i t i e s at Fergu?.
There Ir n su flly ane dar.ee s reetc somewhere in the community.
IT ncer ,re held in Roy - bout twice a month end in "ergus about twice e
nnth.
ni f O r m t organisations eoonaor nov ie s end there i s usually & ehow
I V - 1 once ••• weak*
There i s no doctor in the community, the nearest one being at
Lot'"tom .
by
No h osp ital f a c i l i t i e s are availab le, hit the area i s served
good Sired drug store at which medical supplies sncy be purchased*
goraiunLtv .Iubs. —Community clubs are organised i t ^oy and Fergus.
• 9 exists are available regarding the membership or organization of these
clubs.
There are three a ctive Koae Temonetratlon Clubs in the area—
one at Roy Junction with 1% members, one at Rcy with 19 members, and one
at Fergus with 1T> members.
the area.
These arf orokbly the most active clubs In
There Is only one 4-H Club in the area, that being located t-t
Foy fend ht /tng only 5 m embers.
This seems to be the only youth organisation
in the community, outside o f high school organisations.
-jic FpraerS1 Onion has a strong organisation at Koy ■Itb a good
majority o f the farmers as members, according to information obtained from
the -uc e ti onn&i re s .
Tmur cj: Famnrs. - The average tenure for fcl farmers In the area
„ « ,1 years#
Ct t n U ,
HghtMB o f these I l owed th eir ferae,
toth eened and r«.ted lend.
It
rented, tod
-WeM f r o . these date th et
6<-
nopi of th
fftrsers who fo ve not l e f t th« commialty o$n th eir lend.
' -J :• r j . —This connunity h*» probably euffered sore than any other
in tbs io unty from I oes o f population, but i t would seem tha.t those l e f t
hav< bser there for e long tlsie anu irobebly plen to stay.
Gomaunity
organI • stlon does not appear to be very strong.
School f a c i l i t i e s are ample for the community.
offered , b it participation ooee not seen to be generis I.
Other services are
A lthough th is a r e s
i s l s o l it e - In & certain ae&eure from other sreae in the county, and
although i t ie considered 6 ;auit I - service community, the s e r v ic e s offered
do not seem su ffic ie n t to hold the p eo p le together.
The lrrast- Kanee Co iiauni.tr.
The Gras-' ^snge Community i s located in the south eastern part of
pry *3 $ County, bounded on the e a s t and south ty the county li n e and on the
north and south by low h i l l s which form e natural boundary.
area i s barren and largely used for grazing.
Host of the
Gramm Ronge 1» the only
in c o rp o ra te d to*n in the community with a population of 106, according to
th e 1040 Census*
Although & number o f people have moved from the area in
the lu st 10 years, the population of Grasc Range has decreased by only 6
p e rso n s since 1939#
; JhQQi V a c llitlo a . - There are 16 school d is tr ic ts in th is community,
but only 10 open grade schools (tee table V and figure 18).
There are also
10 other schools available in the area, but a l l were closed In 1940.
One
o f the 10 upen grade schools i s Ioc ted In the town o f Gr&r Range and has
m
,tten-Jauce o f 41.
The average attendance o f the other nine rural schools
-GBTABLE Ve-A TTK iC A SC I ASL SCHOOL CENSUS LiTA FOR uE»LE
SCHOOLi Ui TKL OftiiSS IUHCE COf-OISITY
t
I
t
Hc h o o l-Census
13 ES
i
1943
D is t r ic t H o.:. Himbmr o f Schools t E nrallnent I
lOnrier 6 i 6-21 :Under ti iI 6 .1 1
:
nen i Ciaaed
. ;
5
0
2
0
4
11
5
12
94
I
0
5
5
SB
5
19
f? V
I
I
41
24
85
El
65
82
0
I
0
7
19
I
7
IM
0
I
0
6
IP
2
7
142
I
0
6
5
16
I
16
118
I
0
4
6
16
5
U
205
I
0
6
7
15
6
6
165
I
0
4
5
17
6
8
49
I
0
‘9
11
16
8
11
59
I
2
5
I
15
I
18
41
0
I
0
4
E
I
I
194
0
I
0
E
if;
0
0
115
I
I
11
8
19
e
20
61
I
0
15
4
21
$
£1
15
10
10
.104
38
298
65
£17
T o ta l
ji?
Town o f Ortif-R ^ a n g e e
■64-
M&B 7, which i s & elig h tly larger average than in other areas in the county.
Howev r, ap w ill be n^tzd from table V, the population o f echool age M s
decf raced in the la s t fiv e years.
"he one high school in the area, located Kt Grass Range, Md an
enrollment o f 44 In 1889-40»
Church F a c ilit ie s . —lour church danomin&tlong hold services In Irass
pange—the German Lutheran once a month, the Scandannvisn Lutheran once a
mouth, the Catholic Church once a month, end the 1Jethodlst Church twice a
month.
There is no resident minister in Grass Range, those who conduct
&• rvi.ee s rowing from i; Lnnett '-nd Lewis town.
Other Community -'rrvices. —There i s no doctor in residence at
f.rttK.' Range and there r.re no hospital f a c i l i t i e s .
w here s e d ic w l supplies may be obtained.
There i s a drug store
The nearest doctor i s at
Petroleum County, about >0 miles fro;u Grassr Range.
lnn ett in
Hoaever, so st of the
residents in the community go to Lewistown for medical atten tion .
There i s no library available to persons liv in g in the area.
ar-: Bhnwn about twice e week by operators from lnnett end hoy.
Movies
Usually
ther» i s a dance held In the town o f Grass range one* & month.
Community Clubs. —There ere no organized community clubs in She
Orase Range area.
However, there i s ft Home Demonstration Club in Grass
it«ngr w ith 14 members.
There i s also a g ir l's 4-11 Club with about 15
wemberB•
"enure of ,J* - "erv~>— The average tenure for tr® 11 farmerB in tlie
cc-munlty who answered the questionnaire was only If years, «Cth 9 owning
th eir f.ra a «.nd two renting.
However, th is sample i s hardly large enough
f r r i w" ie h to drew ?ny c o n c lu sio n * .
Sum@ary. - - I t would be d i f f i c u l t to d e term in e v n e th e r o r n o t t i t s
e re '
be c a llc u & community, a lth o u g h i t I c a a tu ltl- e e r v ic e a r e a .
- o u ld
” ro: • t li■' Fitondp? ' n t o f s o c i a l o r g a n iz a tio n , th ? t o f th e p eo p le co aicg
to g e th e r to t a l k o v ^r t h e i r common p r o b lt -i», th e G rass Range a re a would
Q i i t e d e f i n i t e l y n o t be a community.
I
The r a d iu s o f tr a d e f o r G rars Range
r a t h e r gmeU a s can bo seer, from th e v a rio u s s i n g le - s e r v ic e maps.
Church and sch o o l f a c i l i t i e s seem to be ad eq u ate to c ar* fo r th e
n e e d i' o
th e community, a lth o u g h a c c o rd in g to in fo rm a tio n from in te rv ie w s
w ith tow n sp eo p le, th e ch u rch es a re n o t w e ll su p p o rte d .
The Moore C o iv u n ltv
The Moore Community i s lo c a te d i n th e so u th w e ste rn p a r t o f
Fergus County Mid i s r e l a t i v e l y e m a il.
o f th
I t i s n o t n e t o f f from th e r e s t
county by any s ie c it l p h y s ic a l b r m d e r l e s .
Tv - town o f Moore h a s a p o p u la tio n o f 141, 47 lo s e th a n in 1980.
f i n e s th e _-u I ; an o ile d s t a t s highway from Moore tc Lewie town, which i s
tob i t 15 d i e s d i s t a n t , a la r g e m a jo rity o f th e tr a d e from th e a re a goes
to L v l a t o n .
The s e r v ic e s o f f e r e d a t Moore a rc few.
r oho-X F a c i l i t i e s . —The Moore community su p p o rts 7 sch o o l d i s t r i c t s ,
jt o f v; ic h h.tive open s c h o o ls .
which e r
to-,in o f
1
n o t being u s e d .
T here a re C o th e r r u r a l sc h o o ls in th e a re a
Of th e nIv u open s c h o o ls , one I t lo c a te d in th e
pore end has an e n ro llm e n t o f 78 p u p ils .
The a v erag e e n ro llm e n t
o f t h ‘ o th e r
4
r u r a l sc h o o ls i t o p u p ils p e r sc h o o l,
( f e e t a b l e Vl and
f ig u r e I .)
A ccordln . to th e sch o o l census d a ta in t a b l e V I, th e r e h as
-6 6 -
TABLL V I ,— ATTOjDMCB M D SCHOOL CENSUS DATA FOR ORmDE
SvH-UvL-. IR THL -CORt. fJ JX-M iLU
t
S ch o o l Census
:
...
:
J i s t r i e t - .* Ruraber o f S ch o o ls ( B o ro lla e n t i
1955
t
1:140
j Cp so i Cloeed
:
IUnder G i 6-11 !Under G t 6-11
15
O
I
O
E
10
S
11
66
I
O
7
6
8
13
10
44 V
I
I
78
59
77
24
99
53
O
I
O
9
40
3
29
66
I
O
6
9
17
£
12
21
I
O
6
10
10
7
9
IO
I
2
7
11
19
13
12
7
B
5
102:
86
181
65
18£
T o ta l
%r Town o f Moore,
-
87-
been l i t t l e oh>nge In the school aopul^tlon In th is fare* in the la st 6
yafara*
'!’here I s & 4 -teacher hijh school a t Moore which had an attendance
Of SB in ID ,3-40,
OuLto a number o f the children in th is comnvmity attend
sc h o o l at Loeietorn,
Church r a c llltl& e . —There i s a resident Catholic P rieet at Moore
r , servicer are held every UrUtirhiy,
' ethodiat service# are ulao conducted
every 'utiday hy e resident M inister.
Many people from the Moore Coia-rIunity
attend church in Lewistcwn.
Other Cirviunlty Services. —Moore supports a public library which la
open to the tublic every day.
M0 doctor i s in residence at Moore nor are
there eny sv a liab le hospital f a c i l i t i e s .
Ho Movies are shown at core, nor ore d&nces held there regularly.
Co :u n ity Clubs. —There are no regularly organised community clubs
in the Moore Community.
There i s a Home Lemonstration Club at Soore
which has a membership o f <5.
The eOean1B Club at Moore la perhaps the
mor t 1ctlv a organization in the community and takes an a ctive in terest in
the welfare o f the community.
There i s also a 4-H Club organization at
Boore which b&a = aeuberehip of 15 g ir ls .
Neither youth nor W ult farm organiaatlone are organised to any
■front extent In th is community.
Farmers . —The tenure atabuB o
the 9 farmers in the
ioore -rea from which data were obtained was 17 years.
Four of the 9
owned th eir land, *hile 5 were renters.
rura’.u. r . —The data for tills community were not in clu siv e enough
to arew any conclusions.
The school and church f a c i l i t i e s se«a to be
-6 8 -
adequntc for the oosraunity since i t Ie m a ll geographically.
Although the Moore Community o ffer s cu ite & number o f services end
1» clROslfled i e e m ulti-service cMsmmlty, community orgsnlretion seeam to
be teaker in V ia or r t o f the county than In most of the other communities.
Ih e Le*.lsto*n Coanunlty
The Leeristown Community i s the largest of any in the county ( see
figure 17), and includes a l l areas in the county not considered, as part
of th' other 6 communities.
H ilger, Brooks, DenVera, and itiffa lo are
the m a ll towns in th is community, with Lewis town, the county seat, as
i t s center.
Dry-land farming i s the ch ief enterprise in the community, with
a small irrig ated crea near Dtmvere.
Lewietown has a population of 6,674 which Indicates an increase in
population of 616 since the 1950 Census rss tti%en.
Legist)fT. i s dependent
for support upon the surrounding farming areas in the county.
Since the
four Srriail towns o f R llger, Brooks, D&nvers, and Buffalo are not incorporated,
population data are not available for then.
f-ince, as a service center, Buffalo serves Judith Basin uounty to &
greater extent than Fergus County, the town i t s e l f cannot be considered a
community center o f Forgus county.
In the d iecusFion of the various services offered, the city Oi
Lewtstoim w ill not be greatly considered, since i t may bo dealgnatea as. &
OOiTplete service center for the entire county.
S chool , , c l l l t l e p . - - O u ts id e o f D i s t r i c t I , th e Lewlstown c ity s c h o o l,
and T e r County Blgh School, th is community supports 54 school d is tr ic ts
-
62-
wlth 46 open rural EehooI* (see figure 18 end table V II).
There are >33
o u iils enrolled in rural schools in th is area, or an average o f 7,8 pupils
per school.
Of theBe 46 rural scboole, 4 (D istr ic ts HO, 98, 168, and 184) hold
school in the spring, summer end early f a l l , d o sin-;: sometime between
Eppteaber and December.
Transportttien f a c i l i t i e s to these schools arc not
available in the idnter months bee use of bad roads and cold roathtr,
',ocordlng to the achool census for IB85 and 1940 (refer to table VII)
the population o f school age has decreased considerably in th is community
during the oast fiv e years, showing c decrease in the age group C-El of
431.
However, the Densue shows l i t t l e change in the age group under 6.
There are two high schools in th is comwnity—the Fergus County High
School at Lewis town with an enrollment o f 615 in 1340-41, and a high school
at Buffalo, supported equally ty Judith Basin and Fergus counties, with en
enrollment of 4E in 1953-40.
Although any student in the county may attend
the: county high school, aoet of the students come from the area indicated
ns the Lawlrtown Community.
Lewietown also has a Catholic grade and
high school.
Church F m o illtlc f. —Church services are conducted t» d c e a month at
Hllger by both t i e Catholic and Presbyterian churches.
There Ie a resident
P r i e s t at HiI g e r who also serves other areas in the county.
K lrleter co n d u cts the P r o te s ta n t services at H ilger.
are held a t Brooks.
No church cervices
The Catholic P riest from Hilger holds services at
D envers every two weeks.
twice a month.
The Lewistosn
The Moore m inister conducts services at Buffalo
-7 0 -
TABLK T I I , - ATTfeiiDAKOE -Jii SCHOOL UfcKLOS LaTa FOi CKaBS
SOKu LG UN Tm; LLi ILTO K COfeMU;,ITZ
i
I
I_________ School Liuizus ............
Dif t r i e t Ho. I Dn^bt-r o f S ch o o ls Z S ttroIL nentt
^SSS ,
t
1340
___ __________ L -Aoen ; ciot-ioA____ :____________㤠;.
.,iir ll
I
5
6
6
u a/
14
Ifi
Iy
19
n V
M
18
SI
SS
LewiflUoen sch o o ls
0
I
I
2
Q
I
0
I
I
0
Q
I
0
I
0
I
0
I
0
I
I
0
0
I
0
I
40
$2
I
0
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
41
43
45
46
43
56 £ /
59
60
63
66
67
70 £ /
71
77
37
91 V
93
98
103
104
no
m
117
L-O &/
0
0
0
0
I
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
16
IF.
81
0
6
S
6
6
0
4
U
9
9
6
1 1
6
16
1 1
4
24
67
8
19
14
0
6
47
45
19
17
7
1 0
57
29
7
17
9
£
44
1 0
16
SI
£
16
I
£
£ 2
45
1 1
56
41
1 0
14
13.
55
26
1 £
SI
1 2
55
5
16
F
0
8
1 1
2
8
7
10
14
9
14
££
10
17
6
8
12
6
5
18
£ 6
40
5
FS
9
7
8
10
0
S
I
I
I
4
I
42
I
I
I
0
0
0
0
4
4
4
18
0
6
I
0
6
2
0
16
I
I
I
I
I
I
8
0
6
2 2
2 1
7
6
U
32
15
£
9
S
5
£
S
2 2
S
15
7
6
11
11
I
11
4
£
10
£
6
5
6
1 2
7
17
16
62
0
4
17
0
8
4
1 0
0
7
I
1 0
1 0
2 2
4
4
3
IS
I
$4
7
6
0
18
U
S
3
17
7
S
19
£
I
I
I
I
4
16
6
I
I
IS
5
7
SI
IS
9
a
15
15
8
42
7
U
7
14
9
-7 1 -
VII. r&.Rt I
t
l l s t r i o t S o .i
t
irn
156
Ui
146
160
151
IQS
171
164
187
198
195
196
£01
106
£08
i
I
s a b e r .o f S e h o o it i E n ro llm en t t
j'.Ji t
Clo: %
'u
O
I
O
I
O
I
I
O
I
I
O
I
I
I
I
I
I
O
I
O
I
O
O
I
O
O
I
O
O
O
O
O
:
19*6
n.r.dfer
O
7
O
14
O
a
IZ
O
7
46
£0
I g - l l i LncQr fc : c -,1
O
4
4
7
?
8
£
4
O
5
O
I
5
£
6
4
O
5
6
5
5
4
16
16
IS
£1
6
11
£0
15
17
14
O
7
16
14
IS
BE
534
Si 6
1176
4
Totc-I
54
C
Uch io l Census
!
1943
5
O
£
6
O
5
5
£
6
£
I
5
4
I
O
10
595
a T.; .-n of Brooks*
Town o f F o r e s t Grove*
s/
Town o f B tlg e r*
j,/
Town o f B u ffa lo and j o i n t d i s t r i c t w ith J u d ith B aein County.
j/
Towrx o f L-JtnvorB*
X7 T--m o f Christ in s.
jf /
J o i n t d i s t r i c t w ith J u d ith B aain C ounty.
14
6
4
£9
5
9
IS
10
U
9
O
7
IE
IE
5
14
784
-7 1 -
A ll d en om inations h o ld s e r v ic e s In L evletoim and p e o p le from th e
e n t i r e county a tte n d church th e r e ( s e e f ig u r e
1 1
),
O th er ''o v iu n ltv f e rv ic c .;. —T here a re few o th e r s e r v ic e s o ff e re d in
th e cor -u n ity o u ts id e o f sch o o l and ch u rch f a c i l i t i e s , e x c e p t f o r th o s e
o f f e r e e At L<'-"il" tow n,
Lewictowm h as an e x c e lle n t f r e e p u b lic l i b r a r y , a
c i v i c c e n te r Vhich c a r r i e s on an e x te n s iv e r e c r e a tio n program , both f o r
y -u th and a d u l t s , and u a ln ta in t a f r e e swimming p o o l and ic e r i n k s .
The
o n ly ,ocv i e s a v a il a b le in th e a re a a re a t Lewistovm,
D ances, how ever, a re h e ld a t BrooJts a t l e a s t once a month, a t H llg e r
ev ery two veoke, and f r e q u e n tly a t th e fe n v e rs and D eerfield , community c lu b s .
M0 Bt o f t h i s community n u e t depend on Lew ietoxn o r sm all neighborhood
g$.t) w rings f o r i t s r e c r e a tio n ;»nd e n t rt& in m en t.
Loavuni tv D lubs. —The community c lu b s in th e a re a do o f f e r m
o p p o rtu n ity foa‘ p e o p le to g e t to g e th e r w ith t h e i r n e ig h b o rs to d is c u s s
p ro h le o s o f th e n eig h b o rh o o d , and p e rh a p s th e e n t i r e community, a lth o u g h
t h ? i n t e r e s t s o f th e L m v isto m Goamunity a r e d i v e r s i f i e d .
T here a re n in e a c ti v e community c lu b s in t i l l s a r e a , n s c e ly B rooks,
Cottonw ood, D envers, D e e r f ie ld , O le n g a n y , K ilg e r , H eath , K o Iln , end -Ium
F r re k .
f i x o f th e s e c lu b s have r e p lie d t o - u e s tio n n a lr e e s e n t to them and
show stsmbership a s follow s*
Cottonwood, 17 fam ily members| D e e rf ie ld ,
60 In o iv id u fv l members; G le n g a rry , SB in d iv id u a l members; B ro o k s, 60
in d iv id u a l lum bers; H U g e r, 36 In d iv id u a l members; h e a th , BI in d iv id u a l
a so b ers.
Each o f th e s e c lu b s m eets once a month th e y e a r aro u n d , w ith th e
e x c e p tio n o f th e Cottonwood Club which does n o t m eet d u rin g th e summer
m onths.
-7 3 -
Tbere are 15 o r g t o l t e d Posae iv^w onstr-tio n c lu b s In th e Lerrlstown
Comiaunlty s l t h e. t o t a l a e a b e r ^ il > o f £.67 o r m av erag e o f a lraost £0 n e a b e rs
p e r c lu b .
o f 145.
F if te e n 4-S c lu b s a re a c tiv e In th e a re a w ith
6
t o t a l m enbershi •-
Theme In c lu d e boye*, g i r l s * , and a ix e d c lu b s , and a r e w e ll
d i s t r i b u t e d th ro u g h o u t th e OOSBBtolt y .
f'-.nur’ o f yf-.i-raerr. —I t I e rro b a b le t h a t th e te n u re d a te gain ed from
th e 74 Fem erfl In t h i s a re a answ ering th e f u e e tlo n n a lr e a re more re p r e c s o t : t l v t h e n In o th e r a r e a s , n o t o n ly b ecau se o f th e l a r g e r a re a co v ered ,
b u t b ecau se o f th e l a r g e r ssm ole.
Q f th e 71 f* m e r e g iv in g Inform., tlo n re g a rd in g te n u r e , th e av erag e
te n u re ru a found to be 19 y e a r s .
. .«> »111 be n o te d frum th e --u e s tlo n n a lre ,
tills does n o t aeon te n u re in th e county o r community, b u t on th e same farm .
Of th e 7 1, 4? owned t h e i r own farm s, £5 r e n te d e n t i r e l y , end 4 fa m e d lan d
p a r t o f which th ey owned and p a r t o f which th e y r e n te d .
Some t h a t owned
t h e i r la n d had o n ly liv e d on t h e i r p r e s e n t farm f o r from one to th r e e y e a r s ,
while, one atm in th e a re a had liv e d on h is p r e s e n t farm 60 y e a r s and a n o th e r
f o r 69 y e a r s .
;~uv : -v. —f ln c e Levletow n I s th e c e n te r o f t l d s community and i s a
COplete s e r v ic e c e n te r , th e a re a co u ld be c e ll e d a community in th e sen se
t ' : t th e p eo p le in th e a re a have a common tr a d in g c e n t e r , sc h o o l and church
fa c ilitie s ,
-nd o th e r s e rv ic e # a v a il a b le w ith in th e a r e a .
However, th e
l n t o r e r t e o f th e fa rm e rs In t h i s oaea p ro b a b ly l i e f i r s t '- I th th e n e ig h b o r­
hood.
Thic a re a s su rro u n d in g B rooks, H ilg e r , D anvers, and B u ffa lo i r e e tro n g
s i n g le - s e r v ic e a r e a s , b u t m ight b e t t e r be ta m e d neig h b o rh o o d s r a t h e r th a n
communities*
Community c lu b o rg a n iz a tio n i s F tro n g i n t i d e a r e t , end I t Ie a t
c lu b fu n c tio n s t h a t th e f a r w r o g a th e r to d ie cu e e t h e i r su tu & l problem s.
T ® Lewlstown c e n te r o f f e r s eo#e K ervlcee to th e e n t i r e c o u n ty .
The Lew-
I f town Community p ro p e r would In c lu d e & nuch s m a lle r a re a th an th e one
e,' Ignate d and In c lu d e o n ly t h a t p o r tio n o f th e counts' Im m ediately
su rro u n d in g th e c i t y .
However, i t m ight be s a id t h a t th e r e a re o rg an -
i : ad g roup*, p ro b a b ly b e t t e r d e s c rib e d a s n eig h b o rh o o d s, B lth ln th e
ectoimmity.
IV .
GUtm m
CONCLUSIONS
In d e fin in g com m unities t o ap p ro ach es may be u s e d .
The community
rUy he d e fin e d e i t h e r i n th e s o c lo -p s y c h o lo g ic e l sen se o r t h e s e r v ic e s e n s e .
For the- p u rp o ses o f t h i s s tu d y , th e community has been d e fin e d in th e
s e r v ic e s e n s e , a s s u a ln g t h a t i f th e m a jo rity o f p eo p le o f an a re a o b ta in
th e m a jo rity o f t h e i r s e r v ic e s In a giv en c e n te r , th e y have th e m ajor
p o r tio n o f t h e i r i n t e r e s t s in common and th e r e f o r e r e p r e s e n t a community.
The puroose o f t h i s stu d y was to d eterm in e th e number o f com m unities
In Fergus C ounty, t h e i r n a tu r e and c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , th e ty p e s o f s e r v ic e s
o f f e r e d and th e I n f lu e n c e o f s p a r s ity o f p o p u la tio n on community o rg a n i­
s a tio n .
An C tte rIpt was a le c made t o d e fin e th e b o u n d a rie s o f th e com m unities,
Vy re n d in g q u e s tio n n a ir e s to a sam ple group o f th e fa rm e rs In
F ergus c o u n ty , a ta were sec u re d re g a rd in g th e fa rm e r’ s o p in io n o f t: r
scope o f h i s community by d e te rm in in g
con-on to a l l com m unities.
he o b ta in e d v a rio u s s e r v ic e s
By In te rv ie w in g m erchants and tow nspeople, d a ta
were secu red re g a rd in g the- o p in io n o f th o s e who o f f e r e d v a rio u s s e r v ic e s
-7 5 -
to th e f re& which th e y s e r v e .
Th" d a ta p re s e n te d rhour th e e ! s ta n c e o f RingI e - and m u lti- s e r v ic e
c’e n te r s
Io p
nr u,
l t h l n th<: c o u n ty .
From th e d r ta on tr a d e a r e a s , I t would eoem
I , In m:-«ny c a r e s , to eon e ld e r th e e n t i r e cvunty ns a s ln g le - e e n r ie e
However, i t was found t h a t w ith in t h i s l a r g e r a re a were sm a lle r
c e n te r s which had d e f i n i t e a re a s o f dependence.
Iu stu d y in g th e s in g le - s e r v ic e a r e a s , i t I s c u i t e o b v io u s t h a t th e
m ajority o f th e jeo:»l© in th e Denton a r e a c o n s id e r Denton a s t h e i r
community c e n te r .
The naae i s e q u a lly t r u e o f th e
to a la r g e e x te n t o f th e C o ffee Greek a r e a .
■e t o f f from th e r e s t o f th e county by th e
L n ifre d a r e a , and tr u e
The Denton co* -unity i s a ls o
'b y f tc a l b o u n d a rie s o f th e
J u d ith F iv e r and th e M occasin so u n tsin s on t h e e a s t.
A lthough n o t s e t o f f
ae much by o l y s i c a l b o u n d a rie s, th e F ir.I f r e d imd Roy com m unities a re
I s o l a t e d in some r e s p e c ts from th e r e s t o f th e co u n ty , l a r g e ly by d is ta n c e
n d th e absence o f s t a t e highw ays.
!th o u g h n o t a s p red o m in ate, Roy and O ra sr Range a r e cornu; I t i e s ,
b u t th e community c e n te r s do n o t o f f e r ae many s e r v ic e s a s th e Denton and
Ii i f r a d a r e a s ,
i t could n o t be s a id t h a t a m a jo rity o f th e s e r v ic e s
o b ta in e d by th e l o c a l p eo p le o f th e s e a re a s were lo o te d a t th e r e s p e c tiv e
ce ite r s .
T e se
sig h t be to r s e d a s tu a s i-o o a m m I t i e e , th e Roy co
u n ity
b ein g thf s tr o n g e r o f th e two because o f u c lo s e r a s s o c ia ti o n o f i t s
members th ro u g h l o c a l c lu b s .
r re g a rd s m u lti- s e r v ic e a r e a s , D enton, C o ffse C reek , ana flI--Ifre d
$tv3
u-> c s th e s tr o n g e s t com m unities where mrqy serv ice.- e r e o ff e re d and
a c c e p te d ty a ,n jo r lty o f th e p o p u la tio n .
T e c h n ic a lly s p e a k in g , th e a re a
-7 6 -
su rrn u n d in g Lf v. in town c o u l i be c a l l e d n com sunlty# but th e d i v e r s i f i e d
Lntc v e s ts would nuuko f o r t weaker community In m«eiy r e e o e c ts , In c e l t e of
th e Bifany s e r v ic e s o f f e r e d .
The Voore end Gras's Range com m unities a r e dependent f o r some
s e r v ic e cn e i t h e r Le la to e n o r town* o u ts id e o f th e co u n ty , b u t s t i l l may
b
c le a re d a s nuI t l - s e r v ic e com m unities o f F ergus C ounty.
The Roy
Cost !unity c o u ld be c la s s e d a s such In th e se n se t h a t t h e o eo p le have a
m ajor o o rtio n o f t h e i r I n t e r e s t s in common, a lth o u g h th ey may n o t o b ta in
th e majority o f t h e i r s e r v ic e s In one g iv en c e n te r , b u t two— Roy end
Lewistown•
Thp c o n c lu sio n s drawn from t h i s stu d y a re t h a t in many in s ta n c e s
v h ere s in g le - s e r v ic e s a r e c o n s id e re d , a l l o f Fergus County i n an a re a
h rv ln g
common c e n te r , namely L e r la town, b u t t h i s doe;- n o t
man th e
e n t i r e county i s a community f o r t h e r e a r e numerous p o in t* o f i n t e r a t
and s e r v ic e w ith in th e c o u n ty .
HpiQl;*, floor9 ,
The D enton, Ooi fe e C reek , ? in I f r e d , Grasu
nd Koy a re a s a re com m unities w ith in a s p e c ia l tr a d e a r e a ,
each having i t s own i n t e r e s t s and o f f e r i n g i t s o ra s e rv ic e * ., b u t f t i l l
S r v irg i n t e r e s t s and s e r v ic e s in common w ith one a n o th e r,
" h e re I s an
in te rd e p e n d e n c e o f a r e a s , so t h a t th e s m a lle r community becomes le s s
im p o rtan t in some r e s p e c t s , b u t c o n tin u e s to be im p o rta n t i n o th e r r e s p e c t s .
I t i s in com m unities t h a t o ro b le s s and i n t e r e s t s a re f i r s t d is c u s s e d and
b ro u g h t to l i g h t .
O ften th e r e s u l t i n g a c tio n ta k e s p ie c e in th e se
r - H e r com m unities; f r e q u e n tly a c tio n i s tr a n e f e r e d to th e la r g e r a r e a ,
only be' r i s e th e county i s & l e g a l in s tru m e n t t h a t can a c t on m a tte rs t h a t
can n o t be d e a l t , i t ’ in fo rm a lly by th e community.
T h is i s e s p e c ia lly
-7 7 -
t n i e o f county-w ide p u b lic w e lfa re , l e g a l , and p u b lic s e r v ic e f u n c tio n s .
T h is , hoiD ver, doee n o t mean t h r t th e county it- a community.
I t I s only
a l e g a l e n t i t y , a c r e a tu r e o f th e s t a t e , t-nd can only l e g a l l y a d m in is te r
what h as b°en c o n sid e re d a s an e s s e n t i a l b a s ic fo r a c ti o n .
In s h o r t, th e
c n in ty I s only r. l a r g e r and a l e g a l frame o f re fe re n c e a g a in s t t Lch o r w ith
t v e a id o f which community a c tio n can a c h ie v e r e a l i t y i n soiat th in g s .
In
o t h e r ro e ,s e c ts , e s p e c ia ll y in in fo rm a l and group i n t e r e s t n a t t e r s , the l o c a l
c o :;rn in ltie r a c t in d ep en d en t o f coun ty -w id e fu n c tio n s and urogram.
In a d d itio n to d e fin in g th e number o f c o r^ u n ity c e n t e r s , t h e i r
r e s p e c tiv e a re a s o f dependence Known as oom m unltles, and the- v a r ie ty o f
s e r v ic e s perform ed by th e r e s p e c tiv e c e n t e r s , i t has been m in te d o u t
t ' a t o th e r c e n te r s o f f e r s p e c ia l o r s in g le s e r v ic e s .
These a re f r e q u e n tly
o n ly convenience e w ite r s , re n d e rin g co n v en ien ce f u n c tio n s .
th e coasiunity c lu b s .
T h is in c lu d e s
At p r e s e n t, th e word coauwnity c lu b I s a le le a d in g .
Tho fu n c tio n s t ' oy perform a rc p ro b ab ly b e t t e r d e sc rib e d tc neighborhood
f u n c tio n s , m d neighborhood c lu b s m ight be a b e t t e r d e s c r i p t i o n .
some o f th e o th e r s in g le s e r v ic e
S im ila r ly ,
e n te r s fu n c tio n as neighborhood c e n te r s .
T h le stu d y was n o t concerned w ith th e h i s t o r i c a l d e v elo raent and
grow th o f com m unities n o r th e fu n c tio n s o f community o r g a n is a tio n w ith in
t vH l a r g e r w r a o f county o r s t a t e .
I t b o p e u rs, how ever, t h a t Fergus
County I r in a p e rio d o f t r a n s i t i o n w ith r e s p e c t to community c e n te rs and
o r N r i l / a t i -n.
P ro b a b ly , when tr a n s p o r ta tio n means -ere slo w er and lo s s
c ,n v e n le a t, many o f th e s in g le s e r v ic e c e n te r s and what a r e n o t n r lg h b o rk -o d
c e n te r s were community c e n te r s .
To have & com plete u n d e rs ta n d in g ol th e
il: re o f th e r r e s e n t com m unities in th e l i v e s o f people and t h e i r f u tu r e
-7 8 -
c ^ a reio ter end fu n c tio n , i t would be n e c e s sa ry to have a b e t t e r u n d e rsta n d in g
o*- t h l ' h i s t o r i c a l grow th and change in community c e n te r s , community a r e a s ,
end n o s ru n lty f u n c tio n s .
The seven com.’,n m itie .e o f F erg u s C ounty, n&sely ^ e n to n , C offee C re ek ,
!.n ifre d , Roy, Gr&fB F enge, Moore, end LewiEtown, e re however a c tiv e fu n c tio n in g
com m unities,
r In ce co m n u n ities and community o rg a n iz a tio n a r e mediums
th ro u g h which peo p le a c t and ex p re ss th e m se lv e s, i t i s in o r d e r to su g g e st
some program s w ith r e s p e c t to communities! and t h e i r I jp o rta n c e a s a
fu n c tio n in g rr up w ith in a l s r g e r a r e a .
F i r r t o f a l l , i t sh o u ld be p o in te d o u t t h a t th e r e h as b%en Sn
IneroaBing im p o rtan ce in th e number end ty p e o f fu n c tio n s and s e r v ic e s
perform ed bj,. th e county as a le g a l and )oI L t i s a l e n t i t y .
I n a d d itio n to
t a x fu n ctio n ?-, e d u c a tio n a l s e r v ic e s , and o th e r t r a d i t i o n a l county f u n c tio n s ,
th e r» a d b u ild in g , p u b lic w e lfa re and p u b lic s e r v ic e fu n c tio n s have in c re a s e d
in number and im p o rtan c e .
F in o s th e county i s only a p o l i t i c a l and le g a l
e n t i t y , i t i s n e c e s s a ry f o r th e county to d e le g a te c e r t a i n a s p e c ts o f
th e s e fu n c tio n s beck to th e community, a t l e a s t th e e d u c a tio n a l a s p e c ts ,
so t h a t th e y can become a d e f i n i t e p a r t o f th e mores and way o f liv in g and
th in k in g .
I t a p p ea rs to be n e c e s s a ry , th e r e f o r e , t h a t th e county and th e
co -a u iiitie s become aw are o f th e s e fo rm al f u n c tio n s , and th e In terd ep en d en ce
between co m n u n ities and th e county in th e s e r e s p e c ts .
I t i s n e c e ssa ry
f o r th e com m unities and th e county to d ev elo p th e n e c e s sa ry channels so
t h a t t h i s i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p can fu n c tio n ,
i t would ap p ear t h a t th e
d e sig n a te d com m unities w i l l have to assume th e s e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s on a
community b a s is .
-7 9 -
Se tu n d ljr, th e re a so n f o r d e lin e s t la g ooajsui.ity b o u n d a rie s and t> s u se
’-Ioh can b< made o f each m a te r ia l sh o u ld be b r i e f l y p o in te d o u t.
If
d e m o cratic p la n n in g l a to be c a r r ie d o u t f o r th e r a t i o n o r even f o r s m a lle r
a re a s w ith in t h e n a tio n . I t I e n e c e s sa ry t h a t such p la n n in g beg in w ith
th e fa rm e rs th e a e e lv e e .
H orever, e f f e c t i v e p la n n in g can n o t be done i n d iv id u a lly ,
b u t can be done thro u g h th e c o n c e rte d e f f o r t s o f a group, th e f i r s t group
b e in g th e community.
A ll a c tio n program s and p la n n in g m ust have some b ase
ro a w hich to dev elo p program s and p o l i c i e s In z-gri c u l t u r a l p la n n in g .
O oaounlly d e lin e a tio n r e p r e s e n ts th e f i r s t s te p in stu d y in g community
o r g a n is a tio n and a s s i s t i n g th e p lan n in g program*
-8 0 -
APPEKDIX
-■
—6 1 —
L lK liilT *
C o o p erativ e E x ten sio n Work
in
A g ric u ltu re and Home Economics
S ta te o f Montana
Montana S ta te C ollege
U. S. Departm ent o f
A g ric u ltu re and Fergus
County C o operating
Ja n u a ry
2
E x ten sio n S e rv ic e
County Agent Work
Lew istow n, Montana
, 19^1
Dear F rie n d s :
ssS sliB ssisE s
p eople s h a re many common i n t e r e s t s and problem s.
=IiiEiiSEr
i
i
l
S
I
E
i
l
E
th ro u g h a s tro n g community o r g a n iz a tio n .
EililISIliii:
o r a town.
a d d re sse d envelope w ill be g r e a tly a p p re c ia te d .
Very t r u l y y o u rs,
H. R. Stucky
County E x ten sio n Agent
HRS/d
-
82 -
COMimNITY AREAS IN FERGUS COUNTY
To th e R e s id e n ts o f F ergus County:
In c o n n ectio n w ith la n d use p la n n in g , s o i l c o n s e rv a tio n , sch o o l d i s t r i c t
r e o r g a n iz a tio n and s im ila r a d ju stm e n ts f o r a g r i c u l t u r e , th e q u e s tio n a r i s e s a s to
what i s a community. T his s tu d y i s an a tte m p t to lo c a te and d e s c rib e th e commun­
i t i e s in F ergus County. The in fo rm a tio n re q u e s te d in the fo llo w in g q u e stio n s i s to
be used to lo c a t e such com m unities.
Your name was chosen a t random from a l i s t o f r e g i s t e r e d v o te rs in th e
co u n ty . S ince i t would be to o c o s tly to ta k e e v ery name, i t was f e l t t h a t t h i s
would g iv e a r e p r e s e n ta tiv e and w ell d i s t r i b u t e d sample o f a l l p eople l i v i n g in th e
co u n ty . We a re t h e r e f o r e most a n x io u s to have you c o o p e ra te by f i l l i n g in th e
fo llo w in g q u e s tio n s . A s e l f a d d re sse d stam ped envelope i s e n clo se d f o r your
r e p ly .
Your h e lp i s needed and w i l l be a p p r e c ia te d . The answ ers re c e iv e d w i l l , o f
c o u rs e , be s t r i c t l y c o n f id e n tia l and o n ly used in summaries w ith no in d iv id u a ls
r e f e r r e d t o . Won't you p le a s e ta k e a few m inutes to f i l l ou t th e fo llo w in g
q u e s tio n s now?
D e lig h t D ennett
Montana S ta te C ollege
Bozeman, Montana
A ddress
I.
Name
2 .
M arried
O'
O
; o v er l 6
CD
CD
7.
-l6
0
6
S in g le
No . o f c h ild re n l i v i n g a t home:
Age o f Husband
Under
6
y r s . old
N a tio n a lity
you s e l l most o f your w heat, hay, w ool, o r liv e s to c k ?
Where do you s e l l most o f your o th e r farm p ro d u c ts (eggs, p o u ltr y , b u tte r ,
cream )?___________________ __ .
I f you s e l l y o u r produce a t more th a n one c e n te r ,
which do you c o n s id e r your c h ie f tr a d in g c e n te r fo r s e l l i n g p ro d u c ts? ______ _
4.
Where do you buy most (a t l e a s t over h a lf) o f your g ro c e rie s ? ___________________
Do you c o n s id e r t h i s your c h ie f tr a d in g c e n te r fo r buying?______________________
5«
Where do you buy most o f th e c lo th in g f o r th e f a m i l y ? ___________________
.
Where do you buy most o f your farm im plem ents and r e p a ir s ? __________________
7.
Where do you buy most o f your f u e l (g as, o i l ) ?_______________________________
$.
Where do your c h ild r e n a tte n d grade sch o o l?__________________ M iles from home
6
.
- 8 S- 210.
Where do your c h ild re n a tte n d h igh sch o o l?_______________ M iles from home_____
11.
Where do you and your fa m ily members u s u a lly a tte n d church?__________________
M iles from home_____________ .
12.
Where do you and your fa m ily members u s u a lly a tte n d m ovies?__________________
M iles from home_____________ .
17.
Where do you and your fa m ily members u s u a lly a tte n d lo c a l dances?___________
l4 .
Where do you and your fa m ily members u s u a lly a tte n d o th e r th a n lo c a l dances?
15.
Where do you and your fa m ily members u s u a lly a tte n d community club a c t i v i t i e s
and o th e r s im ila r s o c ia l fu n c tio n s ? ______________________________________________
16.
Do you and your fa m ily members u s u a lly a tte n d b a s k e tb a ll games?_______________
U su a lly where?_____________________________ .
.
What i s th e name o f th e neighborhood in which you l i v e ? ________________________
id .
What i s th e name o f th e community in which you liv e ? ___________________________
.
What i s th e name o f th e m eeting p la c e in t h i s community?_______________________
1 7
1 9
20.
What youth o rg a n iz a tio n s do your c h ild re n a tte n d ?
Name
P la c e o f m eeting
21.
To what farm o r g a n iz a tio n s do you belong?
Name
?2.
P la c e o f m e e tings
How lo n g have you liv e d on your p re s e n t farm?____________________ y e a rs .
Do you own_____ o r r e n t_____ i t ?
27.
Did you move h e re from a n o th e r p la c e in th e county?________ th e S ta te ? _
o u ts id e th e S ta te ?
_______ .
COMMUNITY CLUBS T^TERGUS COUNTY
U i rS B l t
lame o f Community Club________________________________________________________________
,o c a tio n o f m eeting p la c e _________._________ _________________________________________
S e c tio n Township Range
)o you have a clubhouse?_______ I f n o t, where do you m eet?__________________________
/hen was your club o rg a n iz e d ? _______ How many o r ig i n a l members were th e re ? ________
Year
low many members a re th e r e in your c lu b a t p re s e n t? ________ Are th e y fa m ily o r
in d iv id u a l members?___________________ Does your clu b have dues?____ How much?___
low o f te n does your clu b meet a month in th e w in te r? _______________________________
low o f te n does your club meet a month in th e s u m m e r ? __________________________
’le a s e check th e a c t i v i t i e s in which fa rm e rs a s members o f your clu b p a r t i c i p a t e
s ith e r a s com m ittees o r a s th e e n t i r e c lu b .
Number o f
E n tir e Club
M eetings p er y e ar
Jlub A c t i v i t i e s
devoted to a c t i v i t y .
D ances
_______________________________ ________________________________
O th e r s o c i a l g a t h e r i n g s ________ ___ ______________________________________ _
Home D e m o n s tra tio n C lub_______ ___________________________________ __________
M--H C lub _______ ______________________________________________________.
C h u rch m e e tin g s ___________________ ____________________________________ _____
M usic an d d r a m a tic s __________ ________ __ _________________________
.
T a lk s - e d u c a t i o n a l
_________________________________________ __________ __
Forum s ________ ____________________________________________________ _
Jo m m ittee P ro b le m s
En t i r e C lub
C om m ittee o n ly
F a rm e r's c o o p e ra tiv e s ________________ ___________________________ .
A g r ic u ltu r a l p la n n in g
_____ _____________________________________________
Weed and in s e c t c o n t r o l _______________________________ _______________
Home improvement________________________________________________ _______________
R e lie f work in community
______________________________________________
Road s i t u a t i o n ____________________________________________
____________________
L ib ra r y s e r v ic e _ __________________ __________________________ ___________________
M edical s e r v ic e ______ ______ _______________________________— ________________
E l e c t r i c s e r v ic e (REA)__________ __________________________________ ___________
S ta n d a rd o f l i v i n g p r o b l e m s ___________________________________________
F a rm e r's te le p h o n e company
__________________________ ________________
O ther community problem s o r a c t i v i t i e s sponsored by your c lu b :(P le a s e l i s t )
’le a s e send w ith your answ er a l i s t o f th e members o f your club in o rd e r th a t
:hey may be lo c a te d on a map to show th e a re a which your community club s e rv e s .
B
-8 5 -
hIBaOORkPHX
hO-.'AU
K o lb , J . He i.nd Ee d e t . B ru n n e r, A C tudy o f R u ra l S o c ie ty ,
M i f f l i n Company, Sew Y o rk , 1 3 4 0 .
B ru n n e r, E. de*:. end J . He K o lb , r u r a l G o c la l T ra n d e e
C onoany, i’-ew Y o rk , 1 9 3 5 ,
S e o d e rs o n , D w ight, The R u r a l Community.
c k u e e t t e , 1952 ,
Houghton
McGraw H i l l Book
G inn and Cot ia n y , B o s to n , y a s e a -
f e n d e r s o n , D w ight, en d R o b e rt A. P o is o n , R u r a l Community O r g a n iz a tio n .
Jo h n I le y & B one, I n c . , Ne* Y o rk , 1 9 3 3 .
B u lle tin s
I o d fo n , L inden S e , D n ig la a Ftoeminger, and R o b e rt 8 . v o o d w o rth , " R u ra l
Coraaunity O r g a n iz a tio n in V u eh in g to n and F r e d e r ic k C o u n tie s , M ary lan d ",
ry la n ti A g r i c u l t u r a l E x p erim en t S t e t l o n B u l l e t i n 4 5 7 , O c to b e r , I 4 0 .
H o lt, John Be , " R u r a l >?»if Ltorhoods end Conum m itiee o f L<-e C o u n ty ,
t lab&rui" U n ite d S t e t e s D ep artm en t o f A g r i c u l t u r e , B ureau o f A g r i c u l t u r a l
'c o n - ta lc s , a p l l n g t o n , Se Ce , F e b ru a ry 1 9 4 1 ,
fin d e rs , l r » l n I e and D o u g las Enc-aLnger, Alabama R u r a l C om tuunities - a
Stu d y o f C h ilto n C o u n ty " , b u l l e t i n p u b lis h e d q u a r t e r l y by Alabama C o lle g e ,
7 1,
X X III, Ho. n , J u ly , 1340 .
T h fd e n , J . f . , "The L a n s in g R egion an d i t s T r ib u ta r y Town-C u n t r y C oxm rait i e s * , lIio h ig tin A g r i c u l t u r a l E x p erim en t R t e t l o n , S p e c i a l B u l l e t i n 3 1 0 ,
Mareh 1340.
I ^<?ugrr-ahed and ^-Ifccellan eo u ti ■ 'n b llc e tlo n a
H olt, Jo h n Be , " R e p o rt o f a R e c o n n a issa n c e Survey o f Seighborhoode and
C om m unities o f C a s w e ll C o u n ty , S o r th C a r o l in a , w ith h e c o m n e n d a tio n s" ,
U n ite d T tL tpS D ep artm en t o f A g r i c u l t u r e , B ureau o f . g r t c u l t u r a l Econom ics,
- fih in g to n , D. C ., A u g u st, 1940 ,
" G e ttin g a t th e F s c t r A bout A g r ic u lt u r e " , S u b je c t M a tte r ^ e n p h le t, DS 1 9 ,
U n itP d S t a t e s D ep artm en t o f ; g r i c u l t u r e . B ureau o f A g r i c u l t u r a l Econom ies,
a s h in g to n , D. C ., 1940 .
" S e r v ic e and r^eseeirch i n Community O r g a n is a ti o n " , U n ite d S t a t e s D epartm ent
o f A g r i c u l t u r e , cure& u o f A g r i c u l t u r a l E conom ise, W ash in g to n , D. C .,
Se a t e n b e r, 1340.
R378
Dtl86
cop.2
6 6 1 0 9
Dennett, Delight
Fergus county com­
munities
IS S U E D TO
N376 *
cop. £
Wt
61109