In 2011 the Three Forks Historical Society rescued the Trident Northern Pacific Railway Station, moving it to Three Forks. The station was scheduled for demolition by its owner, Montana Rail Link. Built at Trident, Montana in 1910 by the Northern Pacific Railroad, the station was the town's major link to the outside world until the advent of improved highways and motor vehicles. Built by the Three Forks Portland Cement Company, the town of Trident was a company town with but one product, cement processed from the surrounding limestone hills. When, in the 1940s and 50s, it became easier to commute from nearby Three Forks, employees, despite the cheap rent available in Trident, began to build houses in Three Forks. Slowly Trident emptied, the post office closed and the railway station closed, remaining unused until being threatened with demolition in 2010.
When the station arrived in Three Forks it was placed at the northern end of a small historical park named
John Q. Adams Milwaukee Park alongside the now trackless Milwaukee Road right of way in Three Forks. The Three Forks Historical Society has turned the building into a museum, becoming an addition to the present
Headwaters Heritage Museum, a few blocks south on Main Street.
Nearby is a Milwaukee Railroad caboose which serves as the Three Forks Visitor Information Centre. The rest of the park is dedicated to educating visitors to the town on the importance of the Three Forks area to the settlement and development of Montana. Signs and placards, large and small, relate the story of Three Forks, the Headwaters of the Missouri River, and the natives, fur traders, explorers and others who came to the area, if only briefly.
Much of the content is dedicated to the Headwaters of the Missouri, where the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin Rivers meet to form the Missouri River, only four miles northeast of Milwaukee Railroad Park.
Along the south end of the park are a series of nine plaques which cover an array of historical subjects, telling the stories of both the land and the people who have had an influence on it. To the north of the placards is a gambrel roofed shed/barn with a mural covering one side, the mural depicting a view of the nearby
Sacajawea Hotel and a bit of Three Forks.
NB - While there are a zillion informational signs and plaques in the park, there are none which say "John Q. Adams Milwaukee Park". A sign at the south entrance to the park, "Headwaters State Park" is a commemorative sign denoting the setting aside of Headwaters State Park as a memorial to the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
John Q. Adams Milwaukee Park
Named for the founder of the City of Three Forks, this park houses the old Trident Depot building. The Three Forks Historical Society saved the depot when Montana Rail Link dissolved the old Trident station. It was an original icon in the former town (which is now all gone) which was more like what we would call a neighborhood today, but was in fact a town filled with people, most of whom were employed by the Ideal Cement Company.
This park offers a large grassy area, shaded with spruce trees, picnic benches and is home to the Three Forks Chamber of Commerce’s welcoming caboose. This park also plays host to the summer Farmer’s Market. The Historical Society has relaid train tracks within the park to give the user a real sense of the history of Three Forks as a railroad town.
The Depot houses more of the Historical Society’s museum artifacts.
From the City of Three Forks