The Remarkable Sarah Bickford

By editor

Virginia City, Madison County, Montana

In the vast expanse of the American West, where the rugged landscape often shaped the character of those who settled its valleys and mountains, the story of Sarah Bickford emerges as a singular narrative of perseverance and enterprise. Born into the harsh reality of slavery near Jonesborough, Tennessee, around 1852, Sarah’s journey from bondage to business ownership in Montana’s Virginia City offers insight into the possibilities and challenges that confronted African Americans in the post-Civil War era.

The Civil War wrought profound upheavals across the nation, and Sarah’s early life was no exception. Separated from her parents during the conflict, she found refuge in Knoxville, Tennessee, where her circumstances began to shift. By 1870, her path intersected with that of John L. Murphy, a local lawyer and former Union officer appointed as a territorial judge in Virginia City, Montana. Sarah, demonstrating early resilience and adaptability, agreed to work as a nanny for Murphy’s adopted children in exchange for passage westward. Arriving in Virginia City in January 1871, she soon found employment as a domestic servant, a position that placed her within the intimate spheres of the town’s households.

Virginia City, nestled in the Madison County hills, was a town shaped by the fervor of the gold rush and the often rough-and-tumble life of miners and entrepreneurs. Among those who sought opportunity there was Sarah herself, whose life took several turns before she attained her eventual prominence. On October 20, 1872, she married John L. Brown, and together they lived two miles west of town on Granite Creek. Their family grew to include three children--Eva, William, and Leonard--but tragedy struck when diphtheria claimed the lives of William and Leonard. The strain on Sarah’s life deepened when Brown abandoned her and Eva. Sarah filed for divorce, citing not only desertion but also physical abuse and neglect.

It was during these difficult years that Sarah’s resourcefulness shone. She established the New City Bakery & Restaurant in downtown Virginia City, a venture that required determination and business acumen in a town where few African American women wielded economic influence. Sadly, Eva died in 1881, marking another sorrow in Sarah’s life. Yet, through all these trials, Sarah’s spirit remained unbroken.

In 1883, Sarah entered into a second marriage with Stephen Bickford, a white man from Maine. This union, occurring before Montana’s 1909 miscegenation law forbade interracial marriage, was a partnership that would alter Sarah’s economic prospects. The Bickfords raised four children--Elmer, Harriet, Helena, and Mabel--and Stephen made a significant business move in 1888 by purchasing two-thirds of the Virginia City Water Company. In addition to his shares, he owned a variety of lots, mining claims, and a small farm on the east end of town, where the family resided.

The Virginia City Water Company was no trivial enterprise. Reliable water delivery in a mining town was essential for both domestic life and the operations of the mines themselves. When Stephen Bickford died of pneumonia on March 22, 1900, he left Sarah a substantial inheritance in the form of his shares in the water company, part of an estate valued at approximately $9,500. This sum, while modest by some measures, represented a considerable fortune in the context of the time and place, especially for a woman of African American descent in the early 20th century.

Rather than allowing the water company to slip from her hands, Sarah took deliberate steps to master the business. She enrolled in a correspondence course in business from a school in Scranton, Pennsylvania, demonstrating a commitment to education and self-improvement. Her efforts paid dividends. In 1902, she purchased the so-called “Hangman’s Building” to serve as the headquarters for the water company. The name of the building referred to a grim chapter in Virginia City’s past: in January 1864, vigilantes had hanged five alleged criminals on a beam that remained an object of morbid curiosity.

Sarah saw opportunity where others might see only grim history. She installed a trap door in the building, which visitors could pay a small fee to open, revealing the infamous beam. This entrepreneurial move brought tourists and curious onlookers into the water company’s offices. Recognizing the needs of the town’s affluent visitors, she also installed a restroom facility--an accommodation that was likely novel and welcomed. Through these innovations, Sarah blended business savvy with historical preservation, attracting both revenue and attention to her enterprise.

By acquiring the shares of her partner in the water company, Sarah became its sole owner and operator, a rare distinction for any woman of her time, let alone an African American woman in the American West. She managed the company with determination and skill until her death in July 1931. Her stewardship ensured the continued delivery of water to Virginia City, supporting both the town’s residents and its mining operations.

In her later years, Sarah extended her compassion to those around her, caring for Jack Taylor, an elderly African American neighbor who had himself been a freighter and real estate entrepreneur in Virginia City since 1866. When Taylor passed, Sarah served as the executor of his estate, a role that spoke to her standing in the community and her trustworthiness. Their final resting places side by side in Hillside Cemetery symbolize a lifetime intertwined with the evolving history of Virginia City’s diverse population.

Reflecting on Sarah Bickford’s life, one cannot help but recall the words of Booker T. Washington, a contemporary African American leader who once said, “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” Sarah’s journey--from the bonds of slavery in the South to the helm of a vital utility in Montana--epitomizes this truth. Her story challenges assumptions about the limitations imposed by race, gender, and circumstance in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It reveals the possibilities available to those who, like the Dakota people who call this land Mato Paha, the mountain of the spirit, home, embrace perseverance and vision.

Sarah Bickford’s life remains firmly rooted in the historical landscape of Virginia City and Montana. Her achievements, both personal and professional, enrich the narrative of the American West in ways that deserve to be remembered with dignity and respect.

See also

• The Remarkable Sarah Bickford at Virginia City, Madison County
• Integration on the Mining Frontier at Virginia City, Madison County
• Virginia City at Virginia City, Madison County