Frank G. Phillips came from New York, and homesteaded in the Castner Falls area of Cascade County in 1902. In my mother's words..."Frank Phillips and his family arrived in Great Falls in the late spring of 1902. Frank chose 160 acres in an area known as Castner Falls. There was unclaimed land, 160 acres adjoining his homestead, and owned by the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company. The Phillips soon realized that 160 acres was not sufficient to support a family. In 1905, Frank had paid off any debt on his homestead and used it as collateral to buy the railroad land. The first purchase Frank Phillips made, upon his arrival in Great Falls was a team of horses and a wagon. This gave him transportation to search for land. After filing on his homestead, he purchased equipment needed to get his fields ready for planting. There was very little money to spend on a house, so the next three years saw them living in a tar paper covered shack.
"By late summer, Frank was ready to bring his family to the homestead. The trip from Great Falls to Cascade was about thirty miles. It was a hot dusty ride, with only ripening wheat or prairie grass for company. The fifteen miles from Cascade to Castner Falls must have been a shock to Frank's wife Adella (Brooks). There was no actual road, only bumpy fields. There were no trees and no fences, and only a couple old shacks were visible on the route. A constant hot wind blew the entire time.
"What must have been a final blow to Adella was the knowledge that all household water had to be hauled several miles. Frank had dug a well and had lots of water but it was alkali. Lulu and Pearl, [who at the time were 12 and 10 years old respectively], later told their children about having to carry "lard buckets" of water from a spring two to three miles away."