Cowboys, cowgirls, Indians, buffalo,
horses, wild animals, fish, trees, hot mineral healing springs,
ranching, the great out of doors - it has all happened in Hot Springs,
Montana.
Our Buffalo Range Ranch is a homestead property.
The Baxter family homesteaded this land around the turn of the
century. There were 11 children in this family. Their descendents
have visited us on our ranch and told us their story. The parents
and all 11 children started out living in a two story shed that
is about 12 feet by 12 feet, and this historic shed is still
on the Ranch! The father of the Baxter children was killed
in an accident. Mrs. Baxter had the old ranch house built here
with the insurance. Check it out - you won't believe that
13 people lived here.
The quaint town of Hot Springs
has a personality all its own. It was founded in 1910 and
is named for the local hot mineral springs that still bubble today. Hot
Springs had its beginning during the time of the big buffalo herds
where the "Big Medicine" waters once bubbled freely in
the open, flowing up from the pit of a natural hot water spring.
The steamy pool, created from the overflow, churned with volcanic
mud; and the smell of sulfur was carried in the breezes and was
mixed with the spicy scent of wild sage.
It was here that
Indians constructed small log cabins in the hot water, and in these
improvised huts Indians and later Settler's, relaxed in the frothy
water, breathed its steam, and felt the soothing affects of "The
Big Medicine" and its healing springs.
Today
thousands of people seeking rest and relief from pressure, travel
to the town of Hot Springs, Montana to bathe in the fine mineral
springs and mud baths. The log cubicles are gone, but in their
place stand the public pools, hotels, and motels that today draw
bathers from around the world.
Hot Springs is
a friendly community of roughly 600 inhabitants. It was named for
the "big medicine" hot mineral springs discovered by
the northwest Indian tribes and enjoyed by residents and visitors
ever since.
The healing
waters of Hot Springs have drawn people from as far away as Finland
and Taiwan, to a leisurely and peaceful vacation in Montana's
western mountains. Many revisit on a regular basis, enjoying
the benefits and relief that the natural hot mineral waters bring
in the treatment of arthritis, skin diseases, rheumatism, stomach
ulcers, high blood pressure and many other kinds of ailments.
There are several privately owned facilities that offer indoor
bathing and hot tubs, including the Symes Hotel, the Hot Springs
Spa, and Wild Horse Hot Springs. You will also find a new outdoor
hot mineral water swimming pool at the Symes Hotel.
