HINSDALE
Hinsdale, Montana is located approximately 30 miles west of Glasgow on US Highway 2. Hinsdale is an unincorporated town with a population of approximately 431 residents.
Hinsdale is another town that mushroomed as a result of the foresight of James J. Hill, the railroad empire builder.
The town had its beginnings in a railroad boxcar that served as a depot at the siding east of the present town. By the middle of 1887, the railroad had stretched west past Hinsdale, and the heavy influx of settlers came after the turn of the century.
The town nestles close to the Milk River bordered by its cottonwoods, ash and willows that stand out in the vast prairie landscape, which is Northeast Montana. Irrigated farms and hay flats in the valley are edged by the north bench and south bench. Cattle ranches reach from the Missouri to the Canadian line. The front gate could easily be 30 miles from the front porch.
For decades, the town has held a Fourth of July celebration, which features a rodeo that reflects the days long past when the cowboy and his horse played a key role in the ranching business. The annual special event usually extends into a three-day celebration that includes a parade and barbecue in the park near the river that is used for water recreation from Hinsdale downriver 7 miles to Vandalia Dam. The river offers good fishing opportunities, and the coutryside teems with wild game, including one of the state's most elite mule deer populations which roams in the badlands and prairies north of Hinsdale to near the Canadian border.
Inside the Hinsdale city limits and near Vandalia are two skilled potters, Gloria Klind and Penny Strommen, who both have shops displaying their "Made in Montana" labels.
