Feb. 10 – On this day in Montana history in 1873 the first brand entered in the Montana Department of Livestock Brand Book was the Square and Compass registered to Philip Poindexter &  William Orr. The partners first teamed up to supply meat to miners in 1856 in Shasta Valley, Calif., and followed mining booms into Montana starting a ranch in the Beaverhead Valley in 1864 to serve the mining town of Bannack and later Virginia City. The square and compass reflected the two men’s strong devotion to the Masonic Order. The Montana Historical Society has the brand books in its permanent collection and they are used often by ranchers and their descendants to track history.