TOBIN RANCH (Birdseye, MT)

As of the late 1980s, a family story relates the Tobin ranch home still stands, but has not been lived in for many years.  In August 2009, my husband and I tried to locate the original Tobin homestead in Birdseye, Montana.  We drove northwest from Helena about 8 miles and located the Austin turnoff.  Family stories indicate the ranch was located on Seven Mile Creek near the Austin turnoff. 

Birdseye does not have a town center with store fronts.  In fact, this is a rural community with farms and homes only.  I googled a map for the Birdseye Post Office and found the following:

Helena, MT circa 1883

View from Mount Helena Looking East - 1919

During our exploration, we found most of the homes or farms are farther apart than one would find in an incorporated township.  We came across several old wooden structures and found a street sign called "Austin" which turned to the east.  We backtracked to these weathered wooden structures.

I believe we found the original Tobin ranch based on the above map and family descriptions.  Thank you to Susan DeBree Moran, Justine Tobin, and Jeff and Marie Tobin for confirming after the fact the following photos are of the Tobin Ranch.

Google Earth Map. 31 Mar 2004.  Latitude: 46°39'53.02"N, Longitude: 112° 8'59.78"W

I drove to Montana with my brother, Kevin Butt, in January 2011 to meet with Jeff and Marie Tobin, who generously drove us to the Tobin ranch and also the Birdseye School.  The following are photos of this trip:

Jeff Tobin and Karylyn Bliss [2nd cousins once removed]

Karylyn Bliss standing in front of the Tobin ranch house [taken 17 Jan 2011]

Kevin Butt at the ranch [taken 17 Jan 2011]

In June 2011, I was contacted by Dennis Milburn via an e-mail stating he had found this blog.  He and his wife Debbie are the current owners of the Tobin ranch property. 

"We also own land that was homesteaded by other family members in the 19-teens. I am certainly interested in the history of the place. We are working on a conservation easement that will prevent any further subdivision of the property. The actual building site will be donated as a public access to the creek area. I have seen the write-up in the Prickley Pear Valley book and have also looked up the homestead info for the area. Like what you have found, I cannot find any information on how the property left the government ownership and passed into private hands. Most of the surrounding lots are easy to find, but the small building site is a mystery. I would greatly appreciate any additional history of the area and family that you would be willing to provide. I  ... would like to know as much as possible about this property and its owners."

A follow-up e-mail from Dennis Milburn:

"There were 2 other houses on the property near the cabin. One was originally built near the Birdseye School but later moved down to the cabin - it was east of the cabin and other ranch buildings. I had it torn down as a safety hazard for local kids. We found a board in one of the eaves that was signed by R D Tobin, Nov. 9, 1915. I assume that was done during the original construction. We have saved that board. This house was occupied by the Senecal Family in the 1950's, maybe into the 60s. We bought the property from George Senecal in 2003.

The other house was two-story and served as the Birdseye Section Foreman's house. It was located on the south side of the creek, right next to the railroad. The Hardie Family moved it years ago to their ranch on Three MIle Creek, about 2 miiles north on Birdseye Road. I have a photo of this house taken in 1916 with the some of the family posed in front.

I did have the hand-dug well filled in as it was also a safety hazard. It was located within a few feet of the cabin. There was an extremely large root cellar, probably 14 ft. wide by 30 ft. long. It was partially caved-in and was also a hazard, so I had it filled-in. The entrance end to it was built of a rock wall with a door. We tried to keep the wall intact so that it could be excavated at a later date if someone wanted to restore the site. 

I really don't know much, if anything, reliable about the cabin being inhabited by a native american. This was told to me by a guy who was salvaging the lumber of the house we tore down. He was 93 at the time and has since passed away. If true, it would have been in the 60s, maybe into the early 70s. I have also been told (I can't remember by whom) that a high school kid stayed there during the week in winter time. His family lived up near Austin and they couldn't count on getting down to Birdseye Road to catch the school bus when it was snowing. This would have been in the 70s. We have lived in the area since 1984 and the place has always seemed pretty run down by the time we arrived."

NOTE:  Justine Tobin sent me this link concerning the Tobin property and the Milburns: 

http://helenair.com/news/article_52fd4182-2e9a-11e0-b73f-001cc4c03286.html


~ RESEARCH NOTES ~
Lewis and Clark County Clerk/Recorder Office, 316 No. Park Avenue, Room 113, Helena, MT  59623, 406-447-8335

Records found on 18 Jan 2011: