P a g e 2 Kendall, Montana- General Store G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Thomas R. Matlock was a progressive, independent merchant with unlimited faith in the gold deposits of the North Moccasins. He bought a lot in Kendall early in 1902 while still operating a boarding house in Whiskey Gulch near Gilt Edge. The cornerstone for the Matlock General Store was placed in April 1902, and business opened in August of that year offering staples and “fancy” groceries, dry goods, notions and “gent’s furnishings”- all at Lewistown prices. T.R. Matlock General Merchandise Store, date unknown, Courtesy of Lewistown Public Library and www.mtmemory.org When the gold gave out in 1911 and most businesses left, Matlock hung on until 1912 before building a new store in Hilger and closing shop in Kendall. He then ran a weekly delivery wagon from his store in Hilger to serve the few remaining Kendall residents. Matlock always believed that the gold mines at Kendall would revive and never dismantled his Kendall store. He was right. In the 1980s and 90s, the renewed mining at Kendall by Canyon Resources Corporation extracted over 300,000 ounces of gold; but by then Matlock’s store had crumbled into ruin and Matlock was long since gone. -Interpretive Sign, Kendall Townsite Current Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The Sourdough Schoolhouse was built in 1912 on the David Nevin property in what became known as School District 43. In the school year 1951-1952 the teacher, Evelyn Larson Willson, taught at the school. Since a teacherage, a house or accommodations for the teacher to live, wasn’t available she lived in the one room schoolhouse. She partitioned part of the one room schoolhouse off with a blanket to serve as her bedroom at night. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
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