WISDOM, Montana Community Information

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  Winter

  Photo courtesy: MTOT

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  Battlefield

  Photo courtesy: MTOT

Wisdom was named for the Wisdom (now the Big Hole) River that flows through the town. In 1805 Lewis and Clark, at the confluence of the tributaries of the Jefferson River near the present site of Twin Bridges, decided to name the three streams for the three "cardinal virtues" of the President and benefactor, Thomas Jefferson. But Philosophy, Philanthropy, and Wisdom proved to be too much for later settlers, who changed the names to the Big Hole, Beaverhead, and Ruby. But the town kept the name Wisdom and later a nearby waterway was named the Wise River. The other two virtues seem to have been lost entirely in the renaming process. (from Cheney's Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company)

The Big Hole Valley is often called the "Valley of 10,000 Haystacks." It's quite a sight to watch the ranchers put up hay during late July and early August. They still use the beaverslide, an early-day haying invention originating right here in Beaverhead County.