DescriptionJudith Gap is a low pass that forms the divide between the Musselshell and Judith rivers. It provided a convenient route for travelers moving between the Yellowstone River and Fort Benton on the Missouri. In 1877, Chief Joseph and the Nez Perces came through Judith Gap, fleeing the U.S. Army. The Carroll Trail and early stagecoach routes also passed through the gap en route to the Missouri River. In 1904, the “Jawbone Railroad” (Montana Railway Company) built a section house north of present-day Judith Gap and called it Ubet, but when the Great Northern Railway embarked on completing the line, they moved the townsite to the Olof Sandberg homestead. The first issue of the Judith Gap Journal, November 20, 1908, proclaimed Judith Gap “the fastest growing town in Montana,” praising the climate and soils for growing wheat, oats, and barley. The Great Northern Railway established a locomotive shop and roundhouse in Judith Gap that employed 250 men. The town lost population during the drought of the 1920s and the depression that followed. Judith Gap’s economic prospects soared in 2005 with the construction of a major wind farm, featuring 90 turbines generating 135 mW (enough to power 30,000 households), which has been touted as the most productive wind farm in the United States. The 260-foot towers dot the agricultural landscape. Judith Gap, like the river and mountains, derives its name from Capt. William Clark’s fiancée, Julia (Judith) Hancock.Personal NamesClark, WilliamHancock, JuliaOther Name(s)Moccasin MountainsContributing InstitutionMontana Historical Society Library and ArchivesGeolocation[1] Elevation4639 ft.CountyWheatland County
