Taft, Montana - America's wickedest city. Meet the tens of thousands of men and women, rich and poor, highly educated and illiterate, who came to western Montana from across the globe over 110 years ago to build a railroad engineering marvel--the St. Paul Pass Tunnel--and the last western American boom town. Lost to history for over 110 years and truly born to die, Taft was "rediscovered" during a 2018 archaeology expedition. Today's famous bike trail, the Hiawatha Trail, is at the core of this raucous story, relayed in the new book Taft, Montana: The Construction of the St. Paul Pass Tunnel and America's Wickedest City; Building What is Today's Hiawatha Trail.  A book signing will follow the presentation. Books will be for sale at the event. 

About the speaker: John Shontz is a retired natural resource attorney. Four generations of John's family worked on the Milwaukee Road at Harlowton, Montana. John holds a BA in media management and a JD in law. He is a retired member of the Montana House of Representatives (an eastern Montana Democrat). He has written programs, books and articles featuring Montana's railroads including the Milwaukee Road. John enjoys deep researching about forgotten places in Montana such as Taft and its ghosts, past and present. He resides in Helena with his wife Anita.