REESE CREEK SCHOOL

The Reese Creek area was first settled by John E. Reese, a Welsh mining engineer, and his family in 1864, with the stream draining the area to the East Gallatin River taking the Reese name.  The Reese family had originally traveled overland to Salt Lake City in 1860 as part of a Mormon emigrant train, and in May of 1863, they arrived in the gold mining camp of Bannack, in what is now Montana.  After having witnessed the hanging of George Ives, Clubfoot George, and Boone Helm by the Vigilantes in Alder Gulch, John E. Reese decided to move on to the Gallatin Valley, where he ultimately settled with his sons Thomas and Evan.  His son, John J. Reese joined him in 1866.

Over the next 20 years, other families settled in the area, most of whom were associated with the LDS church coming from Salt Lake City.  Included were the Gees, Normans, Warwoods, Courts’, Pritchards, Moores, Sextons, Turners, Saisburys, Benbrooks, and Harris’, among others.  These families intermarried and had children, and soon, a school was needed.

A log school house was built across the road from the current structure in 1879, and in the center of this small community was a LDS church (still standing at the base of the cemetery hill and now being used as a garage), 2 blacksmith shops, a post office, a cheese factory, a lumber company and a general store (now the Stevens home on the corner of Rocky Mountain Road and Springhill Road).  Numerous saw mills operated in the area, harvesting lumber from the nearby Bridger Mountains to build homes, outbuildings, and fence posts.  At least one moonshine still was operated by Bill Smith near the mouth of the canyon that bears his name, although rumors had it that there were more stills in the draws and hollows of the area.

The current Reese Creek school (now the community center) was built in 1904 to replace the 25 year old log structure by local carpenter Bill Davis for a total cost of $452.50.  In 1905, there were 58 children living in the area between the ages of 6 mos. and 17 years.  It continued to serve the area for the next 59 years.  It had a playground with play equipment, his and hers outhouses, and a small, one room “teacherage,” which was moved next door to the east in the 1970s.  The school closed in 1963, and the remaining children of the area were bussed to Belgrade.  Since then, it has been the scene of many celebrations, including milestone birthdays, anniversaries, and family reunions.