Some Interesting Bitterroot Valley History

Ravalli County was once home to the Bitterroot Salish (tribe) Indian Tribe. The tribe was first encountered in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which noted the friendly nature of the tribe. The Roman Catholic Church took interest in creating a mission in the area, and in 1841, Stevensville was founded. In 1891, the Salish tribe was relocated to the current Flathead reservation under the Treaty of Hellgate.

In 1877, Chief Joseph and his tribe of Nez Perce passed through Ravalli county on their way to Canada in order to escape confinement to a reservation.

Hamilton was incorporated about 1894, Mr. O’Hara was named the first mayor.

History of Rocky Mountain Labs
Although the construction of the first building of The Rocky Mountain Labs was completed in 1928, RML evolved as a result of research on Rocky Mountain spotted fever that began around 1900, in the Bitterroot Valley of Western Montana. Early settlers of the valley were plagued with a deadly disease of unknown origin that seemed to be concentrated on the west side of the Bitterroot River. It was known locally as “black measles” because of its severe dark rash, and folk wisdom of the day suggested that infection occurred from drinking the melted snow water that gushed out of the west side canyons during spring run off. Fatal in nearly 4 out of 5 adult cases, local residents appealed to the state governor for help.

Montana had been granted statehood in 1889, and in 1901, the Montana State Board of Health was created. Its first priority was to bring health scientists to the Bitterroot Valley to investigate the cause, treatment and prevention of spotted fever. In 1906 scientists showed that the disease was transmitted by the bite of the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni).

Early Tick Research
In the years that followed, a number of state and federally funded researchers continued their investigations of spotted fever. Drs. Roscoe Spencer and Ralph Parker produced the first effective vaccine against the disease by emulsifying infected tick tissue in which the rickettsiae had been inactivated.

In the spring of 1927, the legislature appropriated $60,000 for the new building and a site in the town of Hamilton was chosen. Each spring newspapers reported new cases of the illness. While the annual number of deaths from spotted fever had fallen significantly from the record high of 17 in 1901, every year more victims succumbed to the infection. In addition, during the previous 16 years, 5 laboratory workers had become infected and perished.

The Lab is Built
When news hit the valley that a new laboratory would be built in Hamilton, a group of citizens immediately formed a coalition in opposition and it became clear that the facility would not be built without a fight. Unlike previous workstations, this site lay east of the river that bisects the valley. Since infection only occurred on the west side, residents worried that ticks might escape the facility and pose a danger to the town. To stop construction, homeowners in the neighborhood of the proposed site filed a lawsuit. At trial, plaintiffs argued that the location was particularly dangerous since it was only a block away from the high school. And, homeowners feared that property values in the area would plummet. Ultimately, the judge decided that construction could go forward, but in an effort to alleviate town fears, a small moat was built around the perimeter of the facility that was to be filled with water. Ticks, supposedly, could not swim the moat.

In 1937, RML became part of the National Institute of Health. During World War II, the laboratory joined in the war effort by becoming a "national vaccine factory" producing vaccines to protect soldiers against spotted fever, typhus, and yellow fever. After the war, work at the lab returned to its primary mission of basic scientific research of infectious diseases. In 1948, the National Institute of Health was reorganized into the National Institutes of Health, and RML became part of National Microbiological Institute. In 1955, Congress changed the name of the Microbiological Institute to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Today the lab is still feared and mistrusted by local residents, as the work there seems to pose a biological threat little understood.