Misfortune For Townsend Livestock Yards Has Positive Ending
Author: MT 43 News Staff Reporter
Misfortune for Townsend Livestock Yards Has Positive Ending
MT 43 News Staff Reporter
What began as an unhappy incident for owners of the Townsend Livestock Yards, ended with the facility receiving an all-new rebuild.
Sometime in July 2023, robbers helped themselves to valuable old wood planks used in building the Livestock Yards, located across Highway 287 from Top Gun Auto Repair. They stole about $10,000 worth of weathered lumber close to the railroad tracks, according to Chuck Hahn, president of the Livestock Yards Association. “Apparently they did some planning for the heist because they had sprayed the weeds in back away from the highway,” he explained.
This week Onsite Management, a construction company that does renovation of old buildings, sent its contractor, Kendal Carpenter, with his crew to replace damaged planks in the facility. Carpenter said OSM company helped replace the stolen lumber without charge. Townsend Livestock Yards then paid for the additional replacement planks. Carpenter who has a degree in construction engineering from Montana State University, runs his own company with migrant workers who work for him seasonally. He had five workers replacing the heavy planking on Thursday. The boards are reused beside highways as snow fencing.
The Townsend Stockyards were built in 1886 by the Northern Pacific Railway to haul cattle, sheep, horses and hogs to markets in the East, according to Hahn. It was rebuilt later, about the same time as the railroad built the Toston Stockyards. The yards house a large scale for weighing livestock. Trains loaded with livestock would also use the yards as a stopgap for feeding and watering the animals during long hauls.
Hahn said the livestock yards are no longer used much for hauling local ranchers’ livestock. At one time the association boasted around 35 members who paid for the upkeep of the facility. He summed up changes in the yard’s usage: “Now some ranchers rent portable scales at their ranches or weigh their animals in the trucks. Hahn Ranch has not used the scales for about seven years because we sell our animals on video auctions. But many small herd ranchers still use the facility. That is why we continue to keep it in good condition.”
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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks, MT43News Photographer
Image 1 Caption: Two crew members from Onsite Management contractor Kendall Carpenter stack weathered planks at the Livestock yards.
Nancy Marks, MT43News Photographer
Image 2 Caption: Loading ramp at Townsend Livestock Yards is rebuilt.
Nancy Marks, MT43News Photographer
