Alberton MT
607 Railroad Avenue
Alberton MT 59820
mailto:townofalberton@blackfoot.net
MUSEUM
On July 19,1909, the Missoulian headline was "Yellow Car's Are Running At Last." The first regular passenger train from Butte to Alberton arrived on time. What only a few years earlier had been the homesteads of Henry Brown and Charles Poirier, was now a Milwaukee railroad town. This was to be the headquarters of the Missoula Division of the Puget Sound Company. A large depot, a brick, eight-stall roundhouse and concrete turntable were all ready for operation. In one end of the depot was the Interstate restaurant, which was owned by the railroad company and called the "beanery." Alberton became known as a railroad town and still cherishes it's railroad history today with its annual Alberton Railroad Days every third Saturday in July.
The town of Alberton was incorporated in 1920. The first Mayor was Elmer Slater. Cement sidewalks replaced the boardwalks in 1925. Electricity came in 1929 and telephones in 1954.
The first Senator from Mineral County was Mr. Willett from Alberton, MT. He became sick while serving in the Legislature in Helena in 1917. Mr. Willet was diagnosed with leprosy. An article in the Philipsburg Mail of 1923 states that the Willett's were not lonely, as they had been given a radio that would receive broadcast from distances of up to 2,000 miles away. Mrs. Willett also had a piano and a victrola to help pass the time. They gardened and did as much as the weakened Mr.Willett could do. He and his wife were quarantined to a house on the river bank two and one half miles west of Alberton. This is now where the eastbound rest stop sits. They stayed there for over five years before they were taken by train to the new leprosarium that was in Carville, Louisiana, with his wife, who, wished to remain with him and care for him. Mr. Willett passed away on January 10, 1928. To learn more about the town of Alberton, stop by the museum and see the history for yourself.
