Dudley White Short Bio
1875-1957
At the age of
eighteen, Dudley White left Illinois. After extensive travel throughout the
western United States, he finally settled in an area west of Billings, Montana.
Dudley’s first piece of land would come from a man who had first homesteaded the land
in 1888. From 1902 until 1944, Dudley acquired 2500 acres. His
ranch was named the T4, and it was located in Limestone area of Stillwater County. He
ran about 500 head of cattle and three tons of hay. In 1944,
after suffering a knee injury from a bad spill from a horse, Dudley retired in order to devote more to time to his passion, the
history of Montana and the Northwest in general. He sold his land, along with
his mother’s and brother’s, and he moved forty-five miles to the small town of
Columbus, Montana. He spent his remaining years acquiring books and art
relating to the West. His collection eventually swelled to 1500 volumes. It was in February
1957 that Dudley passed away after
being injured in a fall. He was 82 years old. As part of his will, Dudley asked
that his extensive collection be sold to an area University. Eastern Montana
College (now Montana State University-Billings) purchased the collection for
$10,000.
