JUNE 2024 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From The Roundup Record, June 24, 1910 MONTANA CLAIM BRINGS WEALTH Accessed via: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ George L. Omstad, Former Store Clerk, Has large Possessions—Known Here. Grand Forks Daily Herald– Jan. 17, 1916. George L. Omstad of Westby, Mont., a former resident of Grafton, N. D., and well known in Grand Forks, spent Sunday in the city as the guest of his former employer, O. L. Sateren, manager of the Guarantee Stock Food company, while en route to his home from Minneapolis, where he has spent the past few days attending to business matters. Eleven years ago, Mr. Omstad was a store clerk, working in a general store at Grafton for Mr. Sateren. Today he is the owner of about 2,000 acres of rich farming land, one of the richest coal mines in northeastern Montana, two lumber yards, four elevators, hardware stores, general stores, banks, and with a fine chance of becoming an oil magnate also within the next few years, and all without the aid of outside help. A little over ten years ago, Mr. Omstad left Grafton to try his luck on a Montana homestead. He settled on a 320 acre claim, near the present site of Westby, bought a pair of oxen with his savings, and erected a small one room board "shack." in which he ate, slept and stored his goods. One day, as he was plowing up his land for the first time with a small walking plow and the pair of oxen, the plow share, struck a hard "rock" and broke. As Omstad was pulling the rock from under the plow, he was struck with its appearance, and took it to an assaying office to be tested. The "rock" proved to be a very fine grade of lignite coal. Photo by Seth Haines Old oil Infrastructure near Westby, MT
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