Archives West Finding Aid

The origins of the town of Pony, Montana are unclear, but it seems reasonably certain that a camp was established close to the present town site as early as 1868. The nature of the area's quartz gold deposits required more investment in machinery and equipment than individuals could muster, and as the years passed the population ebbed and flowed in direct response to local mine development by outside capital. Miners who came with families naturally wanted educational opportunities for their children and by 1871 Madison County School District 11 had been established to oversee school matters in Pony. The first school board members were Z. M. Allen, David Young, and William P. Gay. The board's deliberations in the early 1870s concerned the location of a permanent school house and several locations as far away as the present day town of Harrison were considered. By 1902 Pony's population seemed steady enough to justify the construction of a large, two-storey brick schoolhouse for both the elementary and high school students, but just two years later mining activity in the area began a steady decline that never rebounded. In 1943 the Pony High School closed and students were sent to Harrison thereafter. The elementary school at Pony closed in 1955. The Harrison School District 23 absorbed the former area encompassing District 11 probably at the same time.