We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
This is a current photo of the rock houses near Klein, Montana. The rock houses can be seen from US 87 about four miles south of Roundup on the west side of the highway. They can be accessed by taking Farrell Street west, a gravel road that goes north from US 87. The houses are on private property and posted "no trespassing." The first rock house was built by Dominic Finco, an Italians immigrant coal miner, in 1909.
On trips to Billings I was curious about the blue space-age looking domed structure on the south side of US 87 heading south out of Roundup. About four miles further south on US 87, I stopped a couple of times to explore the UMWA (United Mine Workers of America) cemeteries on both sides of the highway through Klein. I was familiar with the United Mine Workers who organized many miners in many states. I learned that in the early 1900s Klein boomed because of coal mining. Those mines are long closed but the last operating underground coal mine in Montana is still shipping coal from the nearby Bu...
