Mineral County to turn 100 years old

MINERAL COUNTY – As Mineral County gets set to celebrate its 100th anniversary, centennial event organizers are hoping more people will show up to participate in the event scheduled for the afternoon of Aug. 3.

The event will feature a variety of activities including live musical entertainment starting at 2 p.m. on the courthouse lawn in Superior. There will also be a pig roast sponsored by Mineral County Commissioners, a reading of a statement proclaiming the establishment of Mineral County and other refreshments and entertainment.

Mineral County Museum Secretary Kay Strombo said the event marks an important milestone in the history of the county. She said while interest in putting together the event has been relatively light, she was hoping to generate more interest within the community in celebrating the centennial.

“We have been trying to get people together in the various towns to do more but there hasn’t been much interest,” Strombo said. “On Sunday there will be a Dixieland band and between sets, someone will portray Governor Sam Stewart who will read the proclamation for the formation of the county.”

Sam Stewart was the Governor of Montana in 1914 when Mineral County was established. At the time, what is now Mineral County was part of Missoula County.

Due to rumblings among area residents in the early 20th century about a general lack of concern by Missoula County about the area, two men took it upon themselves to make changes happen.

On a Sunday in January 1914, Dr. Elmer Fessler and Ed Riberdy traveled to Missoula and walked into the office of a local attorney. The men wanted to know about the possibility of forming a new county. The attorney told the men it was possible and a movement was born.

It took nine months, a number of committees, an assessment of the county’s value and a contentious debate over where the county seat should be but on August 1, 1914, an overwhelming vote of “yes” was received and Mineral County was established.

Strombo said the significance of the event lay in the fact that these things only happen once and it’s important to recognize historical milestones when they happen.

She said people should be interested in the event because it represented a successful effort to break off from a governing entity that was ignoring people in the area. Strombo said when residents of Mineral County decided to govern themselves, it was an effort to take their future into their hands.

“We have been a legal entity for one hundred years,” Strombo said. “They broke off because they felt Missoula wasn’t taking care of them. They thought all their tax money was going to Missoula and not much of it was returned to this area. So they wanted their own government.”

Strombo said because of the successful effort to govern themselves, area residents began to receive the attention they felt they deserved. She said things began to improve under Mineral County governance.

“The people wanted more involvement on a local level,” Strombo said. “They wanted better roads. They wanted a sheriff. They wanted legal representation. They just wanted to be separate but equal and be able to make their own decisions.”

The Mineral County Centennial Celebration will be on the courthouse lawn in Superior beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3 after the fair.