Price Townsend: Forest ranger and Miner

                                   Price Townsend photo from "The Philipsburg Story"

A personality worth mentioning is Price Townsend. One of ten children, he was born Augustus Price Townsend October 23, 1887 in Luray, Missouri and arrived in Montana in the early 1900’s where he attended the University of Montana Forestry School. An article in the Mail, December 31, 1920 stated that Price received an “assignment to Mather Field Sacramento, California for a course of instruction on aerodynamics and radio aerial observation.” Then a second article on February 25, 1921, stated Price returned from Mather Field February 22 and reported he had successfully passed the test for liaison officer and got through the “stunts” without mishap. Next, in September, 1921, “Price who was in charge of the local office of the Missoula National Forest left for Missoula where he would be headquartered while doing grazing survey work for the northwestern part of the state.” 

The next week’s paper stated: “Deputy Forest Supervisor A. Price Townsend, who has been in charge of the Philipsburg District for the past 18 months has been selected as an aid to prepare sample reports and instruct the various rangers of the Missoula Unit regarding this grazing reconnaissance work. He will be occupied with his new duties for an indefinite period of time.” 

Photographs of Price show a very handsome bareheaded, light-haired young man. Bus Hess believed Price lost his forest service job because he took off for the Dempsey-Gibbons fight in Havre while there was a fire he should have been present at. This caused the Supervisor to become aware of his absence. The Dempsey-Gibbon’s fight was the fourth of July 1923, in Shelby, Montana. The chapter about Price in “The Philipsburg Story” described his employment period as 1920 through 1924 for the Forest Service. Price probably did attend the fight, but that is not the likely reason he left the forest service. An article in the Mail on May 8, 1925 that described mining operations in the Frog Pond Basin stated “Mr. Townsend, until the first of the year was district ranger at Philipsburg for the forest service but resigned to go into the mining business.” He was now president of the Frog Pond Development Company, backed by capital from South Dakota. Two other companies: Montana Prince, a New York Syndicate and Miller Brothers backed by local capital were mining in the basin at this time and the groups hoped to be able to build a road “…under the supervision of the government on the Granite county side as a continuation of the road from Moose Lake. It is understood that another road is to be completed into the Basin country from the Ravalli side.” 

In September, 1904, there had been “BIG STRIKE AT FROGPOND A mammoth gold lead, said to be 1200 feet in width, is reported to have been discovered in Frogpond Basin, near the Moose Lake District, by Dave, Lou and Ed Miller. Some samples from the lead run as high as $100, but the average is about $7 a ton.” This strike had continued to be mined at intervals every since. By March,1929 Price was involved with A.D. Stoddard in mining operations at Black Pine with the great development in Frog Pond Basin put on hold. Then in July,1935, when his sister Greta Settle arrived from Rapid City, to visit with Price, he was back in Frog Pond Basin. 

“The Philipsburg Story”, stated Price ran for Sheriff of Granite county but got drunk on Election Day and: “Even up there they got so disgusted with him for getting pie-eyed right before election that he lost out.” Research of the 1920’s failed to identify Price ever running for office. 

My first memories of Price were in the early 40’s and he was a very handsome man who wore light colored well pressed trousers and a narrow brimmed hat. He was a hermit that would come out in the summer to help my family hay. 

Price had many little lean-to’s throughout the Ross Fork and South Fork areas plus his cabins in Frog Pond Basin and Table Mountain. Price liked to be called “Table Mountain Townsend.” He became disoriented from so many years without social contact in about 1950. Someone contacted one of his sisters and he was taken back east until he recovered. In 1953 Price returned to Philipsburg and became the liquor vendor on January 1, 1960. Bus recalled that Price was removed from that position when he began sampling the wares and was serving the customers in an inebriated state, clad only in his long-handled underwear. 

In 1959, at the age of seventy-two, Price was “found dead at the Geiger House” and Mortician, Roy Wilson believed he died around December 30. He was interred in the Philipsburg cemetery.