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.

The only early trading post to survive as a present-day town is Fort Benton, which was established in 1846 and became an important port on the Missouri River.

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.

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

Lewistown Public Library was built in 1905 with help from funding provided by Andrew Carnegie.

Published by the Montana Historical Society since 1951, Montana The Magazine of Western History contains articles that showcase the people, places, and events that shaped the state and the western region.

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