State Of Montana history

The first non-Native American explorers known to have set foot in Montana were the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–06). Fur trappers and traders followed, setting up forts to trade with the Native Americans.

Roman Catholic missionaries followed the fur traders and in 1841 established Saint Mary’s Mission near present-day Stevensville, believed to be the first permanent settlement in Montana.

Before western Montana was obtained from Great Britain in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, American trading posts and forts had been established in the territory.

Eager to secure the area and its mineral wealth for the union, the federal government established Montana Territory in 1864 with Bannack, on Grasshopper Creek, as its first capital, and Virginia City, in Alder Gulch, as its second.

After 1870 open-range cattle operations spread across the high plains, taking advantage of the free public-domain land.

The Dakota (Sioux) and Cheyenne won their last major victory in June 1876, against United States Cavalry led by Gen.

The vast grasslands seemed ideal for cattle, but a severe winter in 1886–87 virtually wiped out the herds.

Instruction began in 1895.

Beginning about 1900, homesteaders began pouring into the plains country to bust the sod and grow grain on semiarid, largely nonirrigated land.

After 1970 tourism supplanted mining as the state's second-largest industry.

Present constitution adopted: 1972

Largest county by population and area: Yellowstone, 147,972 (2010); Beaverhead, 5,543 sq mi.