VGI Updates

Hardin was settled by immigrants from Dietel and Kautz.

Forsyth was established in 1876 as the first settlement on the Yellowstone River, and in 1882 residents named the town after General James William Forsyth who had commanded Fort Maginnis.

Many Volga German families settled in and around Forsyth.

Edgar was first settled by Volga German immigrants from Walter. Families from other Volga German colonies also settled there.

Volga Germans settled in and around Custer, Montana.

Volga Germans settled in and around Culbertson, along the Missouri River.

Many Volga German families moved to Milk River Valley town of Chinook to work in the sugarbeet industry in 1923.

In 1924, the Utah-Idaho Sugarbeet Company moved its plant from Union Gap, Washington, to Chinook. The grand opening took place on 1 October 1925, and the factory remained open for 26 years.

Volga German families settled in and around Bridger.

Billings was settled by immigrants from Beideck, Frank, Kautz, Susannental, and Walter.

In 1906 the first sugar beet refinery was built and this drew in Volga Germans from other states such as Nebraska and Colorado. From Billings the Volga Germans settled along the Yellowstone River building other settlements centered around the sugar beet industry.

Volga German families settled in and around Belfry.

The village of Ballantine was laid out in 1907 as part of the Huntley Project. Many Volga German families settled in and around Ballantine.