Leffingwell Ranch Offering Brochure

AREA HISTORY
Clyde Park, originally named Sunnyside, served as a resting stop for wagon trains and travelers heading west searching to find their fortunes in the gold
digs of Montana and California. The stage stop and watering hole owned by Madame Bulldog was a welcome site for the weary travelers. In 1885, a
post office was established in Madame’s town of Sunnyside with young Sarah Robinson as postmistress.
In 1887, the post office was moved to the Messrs’ Ranch, a prominent family in the area who brought their imported English Clydesdale horses to work
the fields. The presence of the Clydesdales precipitated the renaming of the town Clyde Park, referring to the park-like landscape and majestic work
horses of the area.
Supplies in the early days were hauled into Clyde Park by Jim Bowen, known as the “Cayuse Kid,” who freighted with a twenty-four-horse jerk line.
By 1914, the Northern Pacific Railroad had constructed a spur line and was making its run up the Shields Valley past Clyde Park six times a week.
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