Asher Ware Paul
History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894
May be copied for non-profit purposes.USGENWEB Montana Archives

Asher Ware Paul, a respected Montana pioneer of 1866 now 
engaged in the livery business at Great Falls, Cascade 
County, was born in the town of South Bristol, Ontario 
County, New York, April 14, 1836.Mr. Paul is of Welsh 
extraction. His father George W. Paul was born in 
Massachusetts in the year 1804 and marriedMiss Mary 
Root, whose birth occurred in Connecticut in 1807. 
They emigrated to Michigan when it was a Territory 
and subsequently returned to New York State where 
they remained until 1847. That year they again turned 
their faces westward, the Territory of Wisconsin being 
their objective point and in Delavan township, Walworth 
County, they took claim to a tract of Government land. 
There he improved a farm and there he spent the rest of 
his life and died, his death occurring in 1865, the 
sixty-first year of his age. Both he and his wife were 
members of the Congregational Church. Their lives were 
characterized by honest industry and they had the 
confidence and esteem of all who knew them. In their 
family were twelve children, Asher W. being the sixth 
born and one of the five who are still living.Asher W. 
Paul grew up on his father's farm. Early in life he was 
inured to hard work, his summers being spent in the 
field and his winters in attendance at the district 
school, which was held in a log cabin. After he 
reached his majority he was for one term a student 
at Delavan and when he started out in life for 
himself it was as a farmer. In 1866 he and some 
of his neighbors--four families in all--started 
across the country for Montana, allured hither by 
reports of the gold discovery. They traveled with 
ox teams, joined a large emigrant train composed of 
180 wagons, 1400 head of stock and nearly 200 men and 
made the journey in safety. As their company was so 
large and so well armed, they were not molested by 
the Indians.Arrived in Montana, Mr. Paul located on 
a ranch fifty miles north of Virginia City, in 
Willow Creek Valley, Madison County where he engaged 
in the dairy business, keeping about seventy cows. At 
that time most of the people in Montana were engaged 
in prospecting and mining and provisions of all kinds 
were high. He received as high as $1.50 per pound for 
his butter and found aready market at Helena, Diamond 
City and the various mining camps. Although the dairy 
business was very profitable it was attended with much 
hard labor, the work all being done by hand, and he 
did not continue his butter-making until after 1874. 
He, however, kept his stock.Mr. Paul was the builder 
of the bridges at the forks of the Missouri River and 
he also built four miles of toll road. This road and 
those bridges formed the key to the whole country as 
most of the emigrants to Montana passed along this 
route. Here he also built a hotel. These improvements 
not only resulted in financial success to him but 
they also proved of great value and convenience to 
the traveling public. He conducted the hotel and 
kept the toll road and bridges until 1884 when he 
sold out to an English syndicate for $30,000.00. 
The property is now owned by Marcus Daly, who gave 
$142,000 for it.In 1887 soon after Great Falls 
began to boom Mr. Paul came here and purchased 
property and started the Cascade livery stable, 
which he has since conducted successfully. For a 
number of years he has been raising blooded 
horses and at this writing (1894) he is the owner 
of King Rock a valuable Hambletonian horse. Like 
most of Montana's businessmen he is interested in 
mining land, having 160 acres of land covered with 
rich placer mines. For twenty-two years he has 
held a patent for this tract.Mr. Paul was married 
in 1864 to Miss Mary C. Hanley, a native of the 
state of Maine. She crossed the plains with him 
and has been the sharer of his joys and sorrows 
all through his pioneer life. They now occupy one 
of the most cozy and delightful homes in Great Falls.

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