Cutting across steep mountain slopes on the south side of the Clark Fork River, the road is formally called the Iron Mountain/Cyr Road. But my family and friends called it by a less imaginative name, “The Road Behind the Mill.”  

The road ran behind the old Diamond Match mill, at least when you viewed it from the Superior side. Residents would sled down its steeper grades. The road offered great views of the valley below. It also offered a back road for a teenage boy to ride his mini-motor bike to a friend’s house on Sunrise Creek.

My parents surprisingly allowed me, not yet old enough for a driver’s license, to ride the bike for an overnight to the home of my friend, Brian Crabb.  

I drove the motor bike across the wooded area of our property, under the I-90 bridge, and on to Diamond Road, where I repeatedly looked over my shoulder for red and blue lights that fortunately never came. (Sheriff Ryan Funke, I hope the statute of limitations has run). Then I hit the “Road Behind the Mill,” which connected with the Quartz Creek Road near the I-90 exit at Lozeau. That road took me to Brian’s.

Brian and I decided to sneak out after bedtime. We pushed the motor bike down the long driveway from his house, and, after cruising around, pushed it back up the driveway, and silently creeped into the house like two slick burglars. We figured we made a  clean getaway until breakfast the next morning. Brian’s father, Gene, opened the conversation: “How was your trip last night boys?” We both died inside as Gene’s face lit up with a grin and a hearty chuckle .

(Brian was killed in a logging accident years later. He was one of the best people I ever knew.)

The road has been barricaded since 2013 when a new owner purchased the surrounding property. I recall driving up to the barricade — made of a log with barbed wire wrapped around — with my brother, Guy, a number of years ago. The barbed wire was to prevent residents of this logging community from sawing through the log, as chainsaws had been used to dismantle a previous barrier.  

This is just one of several battles being fought across the state and the nation, as new owners close off roads previously used by the public. 

Wally Congdon, Mineral County's deputy attorney, has been tasked with investigating the issue. The Mineral Independent reported in February 2023 that Congdon told the commissioners he had found documentation from 1906 proving that the Iron Mountain Road is a public road. The commissioners gave him permission to “proceed with whatever options are left to him and to pursue the legal matter in court if necessary,” according to the article in the Independent. 

Congdon recently gave a brief update to the commissioners on the issue. He told the commissioners he would give another update in July after communicating with the attorney for the landowner, Woodland Range, LLC. The attorney for the landowner is Thomas Orr of Missoula. (Orr is the attorney for the Town of Superior, but the Town is not involved in the issue as the road is outside its jurisdiction.).

Orr told me last week that he has spoken with Congdon about the road, but there have been no recent discussions. His client maintains that the road is private, and he has seen nothing that says otherwise. Orr said Congdon told him about the 1906 documentation about a year ago, but says he has never been shown the documentation. He said he would consider any evidence the county may have, but he would need to see it first.

Congdon could not be reached before press time to talk about his view of the case.

I ATTENDED the candidate forum in Superior last month. It was great to see the turnout of both candidates and residents (though I noticed the absence of younger folks). Host Dennis Bragg, semi-retired newsman from KPAX, remarked how he sometimes loses a bit of faith in the system, before adding that he needed to come to Superior more often to restore that faith.

A video of the candidate forum is available online. I recommend anyone interested in the future of Mineral County, who was unable to attend, to watch the video.