Small Towns of Montana

Ovando sits on the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness and is one of the most spectacular landscapes you’ll find anywhere. It would be naive to think people just end up here inadvertently. Instead, they are drawn here — lured by the opportunity to live in such close proximity to such an amazing place. 

Ovando is home to only about 50 people. That’s right — there’s just one zero in that number. Most people assume residents of small communities are introverts of the highest order. It’s often the opposite.

It stands to reason that the places where people gather in these communities take on an outsized significance. In Ovando, two of those places are the Stray Bullet and the Brand Bar Museum.

“I will definitely say the school is the heartbeat of the community. And then you have the little community store, and then you have your post office. It's very important to these little rural places. And then the church and then the restaurants,” explains Leigh Ann Valiton. Leigh Ann owns the Stray Bullet, which serves breakfast and lunch for locals and anyone passing through who knows a good thing when they see it. Wednesday nights, Leigh Ann adds some tablecloths and serves dinner. Just down the way, Trixi’s Antler Saloon is the regular night-time gathering spot — a burgers-and-beer affair. “It just all works together,” says Leigh Ann.

Working together is as much a part of Ovando as the pines lining the road. Neighbors looking after neighbors is a fundamental part of survival and for many, it’s just another part of the attraction. That human connection is not something that happens in passing, but is an integral part of life.

And so, these relationships grow beyond the confines of their initial role. You’ll find Leigh Ann doing things that might not fall under the job description of restaurant owner. “I get groceries for certain people that don't like to drive all the way to Missoula because they're older. They'll give me a list and I pick it up for them. Those are some of the little things we do for each other.”

Another misconception might be that these communities are infinitely insular, treating anyone they don’t recognize with indifference — at best. Ovando’s proximity to the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route brings in a steady of stream of cyclists — especially during the Tour Divide race on the route — and they receive a limitless welcome from Leigh Ann. “I love it when the cyclists come through.” Much to Leigh Ann’s delight, the cyclists also carry with them substantial appetites. She recalls the impressive order of one cyclist in the race who stopped for breakfast: “It was a record. It was a nine-egg omelet, hash browns, two pancakes, an order of toast and he ate every bit of it in one sitting and then was off.”

Long before the cyclists discovered this area, there were the homesteaders. They were granted 160 acres and left to make their way in this remote wilderness. Some of today’s residents are descendants of those early settlers and many people who pass through have a connection to those homesteaders as well.

Once they’ve wrapped up their breakfast at the Stray Bullet, many head over to the Brand Bar Museum.

“To this day, we still get people coming in that had family in the valley and they come here and want to know if we have anything on their families. We haven't turned anybody away yet without some little tidbit of some kind.” That’s Howie Fly, a long-time Ovando resident and local historian who helps out at the museum.

The museum is an impressive repository of local antiques that paint a vivid and visceral picture of what life was like in those homesteading days of early Ovando. “Everything that’s in here is local. We don’t take antiques or anything from outside sources. It has to be from the valley here so it has history connected to the valley.”

There is one exception, however. A large photograph of cowboys working a herd of cattle takes up a large section of wall. It has taken quite a journey to eventually end up here in Ovando. “That picture there of the cattle came from France.” Howie explains that an Ovando local, Gene Copenhaver, found it when he was in France during World War II. “It was taken by a Frenchman and Gene brought it back to Montana. That's a herd of cattle here in Montana and we've got the information on the people,” Howie recounts.

But the museum is more than just a collection of artifacts — there are functional and hands-on pieces as well. Alongside some of the original blacksmithing tools used in Ovando, is a device that will be just as foreign and confusing to young visitors: an actual old-school telephone. “Blackfoot Telephone started in Ovando. And most people don't know that, but it started right here. And it went from here to Drummond on fence posts, and those are some of the old insulators that were right there on that wall from the Blackfoot Telephone [Company].”

Back in the day, with the phone only going as far as Drummond, the town of Marysville must have seemed pretty far away. Today, it only takes about 90 minutes in a car to go from Ovando to sitting at a table at the Marysville House.

Marysville is another small community in a spectacular Montana location. It’s so sparsely populated, in fact, it’s technically a ghost town and one of the few places you’ll find with a smaller population than Ovando. And the Marysville House, much like the Stray Bullet, is a place people in the know don’t miss a chance to visit. Judging by the map adorned with pushpins from all the hometowns of the people who’ve stopped by, there’s a sizeable population of people in the know these days.

“We’re famous for our steaks,” says Denise Wolf, who, along with her husband, Russ, owns the place. Apparently that fame has reached every corner of the country as well as points in Europe.

Like so many places in Montana, the history of Marysville House is not as straightforward as you might think. Case in point, Marysville House was not always in Marysville. “This building was originally the depot down in Silver City and during the mining, it was a very busy depot,” Denise says. “When the mining stopped, the depot was vacant for several years, and Rick and Jan O’Connell in 1975 decided to move the building up to Marysville to make it a bar and restaurant.” 

With Great Divide Ski Area just up the road and mile after mile of national forest land all around, there’s always a steady stream of people looking to refuel after a day outdoors. Denise points out that as the only restaurant and bar in Marysville, it’s the go-to for residents. On any given night, you’ll find the locals gathering for ribeyes and laughs and offering the best ski report available.

Just as much as the magnificent natural wonders, small towns like Ovando and Marysville are part of what makes Montana such a rich place to explore. There are plenty more out there, but you wouldn’t go wrong starting with these two.