STOELTINGTON:
The town of Stoeltington was named for my grandfather Benjamin Stoelting who owned the Merchantile in the town of Expansion, north of the town to be, Hazen. It was later renamed Ree. He also owned quite a bit of land around the area and raised cattle. According to my late father, Hubert, the cattle got sick during the winter of 1917 - 1918 and most of them died. My dad used to tell me how the horse drawn wagons, loaded with grain would back up to the river boat, that came up from St.Louis, and unload into the hold of the boat. Also, when the railroad came and the town of Hazen was started in 1913, my dad would travel by wagon to Hazen for supplies, which was an all-day trip.
~Contributed by Bruce Stoelting, Great Falls, MT