The old grain elevator in Wilsall, Montana forms the skyline of this tiny, hamlet way outside of Bozeman and Livingston, Montana.
Located along the historic north-south highway of U.S. Route 89 which runs from Canada to Mexico.
In the early 1900s the Northern Pacific built a spur line to Wilsall to move people and goods to the growing population in the valley.
The new community’s name, Wilsall, came from a prominent citizen and local landowner, Mr. Jordan. He named the town after both his son and daughter: William and Sally – “Wil-Sall”.
The community thickened into a bustling little town by the 1960’s. The original Wilsall Water District was created to support the expanding needs of the people, delivering water to homes, school, churches, and many businesses; such as restaurants, gas stations, grocery and hardware stores, a creamery, grain elevator, and bank-turned-bar. At one point there was even an operational jail to restrain ornery citizens.
U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north-south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for 848 miles (1,365 km) from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern section runs for 404 miles (650 km) from the northern entrance of Yellowstone National Park in Montana, ending at the Canadian border. Unnumbered roads through Yellowstone connect the two sections. Before 1992, US 89 was a Canada–Mexico, border-to-border highway that ended at Nogales, Arizona, on its southern end.
Sometimes called the National Park Highway, US 89 links seven national parks across the Mountain West. In addition, 14 other national park areas, mostly national monuments, are also reachable from this backbone through the Colorado Plateau, Wasatch Mountains and northern Rockies.
National Geographic named US Route 89 the No. 1 Driver’s Drive in the world.
Sights along Route 89 have inspired artists of all types for decades.
Edward Fielding is a New England-based artist living in the Upper Valley Region in the foothills of the White Mountains along the Connecticut River but travels extensively around the USA, Canada and beyond.
Fielding’s work has appeared in magazines, TV commercials and graced the covers of novels around the world. Edward Fielding’s photography is available for purchase here as well as offered by select fine art retailers. There are also several books of Fielding’s work available on Amazon and rights-managed licensing via Arcangel Images.