Carl Erlandson and his brother Axel came to Central Montana in 1909 to establish homesteads. They went northeast to the Bear Spring country to pick out their homesteads.They camped on Wolf Creek that winter and in the spring of 1910 Carl filed on his homestead, a quarter section. On this he put up his first home, a one-room frame 12x14 building. Later, after he married he put up a two story log house. He hewed the logs by hand.

The following year his fiance, Bertha Swenson, of Fertile, Minnesota, came to Central Montana and also filed on 160 acres next to Carl's. Due to the sickness of her sister, Sophie, she returned to her home in Minnesota for a time. She and Carl were married in the spring of 1913. Marriage licenses were free that year. They joined their farms.

During the first winter on his claim, Carl made a trip to Stanford, fifty miles away, on skis, after supplies. He carried a load home on his back. He was gone more than a week. There were no roads and he had to make his way over knee deep snow. When roads were formed they were only prairie trails and it took three days to make the trip by wagon. Denton was established in 1912-1913 but there was never a store closer than 28 miles.