The fascinating story of some of Lovell’s earliest pioneer settlers

Settlers began coming to the Lovell area as early as 1807 with John Colter, the first white man to explore the Big Horn Basin. There are no written records of Colter’s trip through the Basin; he reported to his old boss Captain William Clark of seeing boiling water, hot springs and snow on the mountain in the summer and that elk, buffalo and antelope were plentiful. 

Buffalo Bill reported that the Indians called this the Land of Plenty. He met up with one Indian who said, “It is heaven for the Red Man. My heart cries out for it. The hearts of my people are not happy when away from Ethity Yugala,” meaning Big Horn Basin.

The first settlers began to come to the Lovell area in the mid to late 1880s. Families coming to settle here were the Strongs, Jolleys, Thaxtons, Linnabarys, Cribbses and Staleys. This is a small nucleus of people who eventually joined cowboys from the ML Ranch to make the dancing parties a very gay event. 

The only amusement for the settlers were the dances, potluck suppers and poker games. The settlers would sometimes travel 25 to 40 minutes to attend the dances.

JOSIAH COOK

An early business man to this area was Josiah Cook; he came in 1877 and built a dugout with the help of Indian Jack. After the dugout was finished, Jack stayed to help Cook build cabins and a ferry. Cook raised hay and grain to sell to the travelers. 

As the settlers came to the current Lovell area, the only place to get good logs was from the trees on the Pryor Mountains. The Josiah Ferry became very popular, especially when the settlers had to take the ferry and cross the Stinking Water River (Shoshone) to travel to the Pryor Mountains. They had to hand cut the trees, load the wagons, travel back down the mountain, load the wagons onto the ferry, then haul the logs to their property. The logs were used to build their cabins, barns and corrals. 

Cook had two ferries, one for each side of the river, each with a big platform for the wagons and freight. He thrived for 10 years until the flood of 1889, which changed the river channel into several smaller channels. Cook sold out and moved to Basin in 1896, at which time Basin was chosen as the county seat.

FRANK AND ELLEN STRONG

Coming to Lovell in 1894 was the Frank and Ellen Strong family. They took advantage of the Homestead Act and the Desert Act, and acquired 720 acres of land adjoining the townsite as it was then laid out. On this property they built a hotel, a livery barn and a saloon. In those days the saloon was the meeting place for settlers inquiring about jobs, business ventures and news of the day. In addition to Frank’s land, Ellen Strong filed on all the land that she was allowed. The original plat of the Strong’s holdings covered an entire section of land. 

The Strongs lived in Lovell six years before the Mormons came in 1900. During this time, the town of Lovell did not exist as such. It was incorporated in 1906.  The Strongs welcomed the settlers and offered their friendship. 

The Strongs had two daughters, Bess and Edna. Bess married Bill Tillett in 1913, and Edna married Jim Kelsey in 1902. The Strongs moved to the Crooked Creek area, and Frank died in 1914.

LORENZO AND MALITA JOLLEY

Lorenzo and Malita Jolley were going to move to Mexico, but then it was pointed out to them that Big Horn County, Wyoming, had opened up for settlers. They had five children. In November of 1900, they headed out with the wagon loaded to Milford, Utah. They left their wagon, livestock and belongings and hired relatives to freight the household goods and others to take care of the livestock. They traveled by train to Bridger, Montana, which was as far as the railroad went. They arrived in a blizzard, and the hotel wouldn’t put them up because they had too many kids. They stayed with friends and then bought a large tent, a stove and other items to stock it. Several blizzards occurred, and they almost lost their tent during one of the storms. 

In February the baby died, becoming the second grave in the Cowley Cemetery. They moved to Lovell after the funeral. During the fall of 1901, they bought a city lot of 1½ acres for $40 and built a one-room log cabin. They put boards on the roof and covered it with gravel because Lorenzo had to get the crop in and could not go to Bridger to pick up the shingles. 

In 1912 Lorenzon filed on 120 acres, which was on top of the hill where North Big Horn Hospital is now. Lorenzo was Lovell’s first treasurer. They built a nice three-room house with a screened back porch. 

Lorenzo suffered from diabetes for years until he passed in 1924. Together, Lorenzo and Malita had 11 children of which five died before maturity. Malita also raised a granddaughter. After Lorenzo passed, Malita sold the farm to a son. She loved Wyoming. She lived to be in her 97^th year – leaving more than 100 descendants. 

ORVAL AND ADILINE LINNABARY

Another early settler to the Lovell area was the Linnabary (or Linnaberry) family. There are differing accounts of the history of Orval and Adiline Linnabary and their lineage. It is confirmed that they had a son named Howard, and they came to the Lovell area in 1895. According to the book “Lovell, Our Pioneer Heritage” by Rosa Vida Bischoff Black, Orval was a Civil War veteran and had lost one arm at the Battle of Missionary Ridge. 

Orval, at age 19, enlisted in the Union ranks under the call of President Lincoln. He mustered in at Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, as a member of Company G45 Ohio Infantry. They became the mounted unit in February of 1886, and during a skurmish at Paris, Kentucky, he captured a beautiful Kentucky charge. He was allowed to keep the horse and became quite found of him.

Orval fought several battles. During a battle with the rebel General Longstreet, they could see that their defense was hopeless, and they were ordered by their commander to “take care of themselves, every man.” Sadly, every man lost his horse, which greatly saddened Orval.

The troops traveled to Fort Sanders and engaged the enemy. Orval was struck by a mine ball in his right wrist, shattering the arm. He had several operations and finally suffered an amputation, causing him to be honorably discharged. Up until he was wounded he never missed roll call and never flinched in his duty.

He furthered his education, farmed and had a general store. He served in several positions in the communities where he lived before coming to Lovell.

These veterans were paid in what was known as “Soldier’s Script,” a piece of land which they could choose where and how much land they wanted. Orval chose 40 acres near Lovell. There aren’t any personal accounts of the Linnabary family, but there are records that state Howard Linnabary was one of the owners of the Hooker
Ferry, which was built in the latter part of April 1895. There is also a record of Howard petitioning for a county road to be built to access the ferry. 

In 1906 Florence Linnabary petitioned the Lovell Town Council to have the NE ¼ of SE ¼ of Sec 15 admitted as the “Linnabary Addition.” From this we conclude the Linnabarys were active citizens and collaborated in building up the fledgling community. Orval passed away in 1900 and is buried in the Sand Draw Cemetery alongside his daughter-in-law Eleanor. There is no information as to where Adiline is buried.

(References:  “Lovell, Our Pioneer Heritage” by Rosa Vida Bischoff Black; “From Beaver to Oil” by David J. Wasden; and John Colter book on loan from Jeff Pearson.)