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History
History of Montana
Assiniboine family, Montana, 1890-91Native Americans were the first of many
inhabitants of the state of Montana. Groups included the Crow in the
south-central area, the Cheyenne in the southeast, the Blackfeet, Assiniboine
and Gros Ventres in the central and north-central area and the Kootenai and
Salish in the west. The smaller Pend d'Oreille and Kalispel tribes were found
around Flathead Lake and the western mountains, respectively.
Montana east of the continental divide was part of the Louisiana Purchase in
1803. Subsequent to the Lewis and Clark Expedition and after the finding of gold
and copper (see the Copper Kings) in the state in the late 1850s, Montana became
a United States territory (Montana Territory) on May 26, 1864, and the 41st
state on November 8, 1889.
Fort Shaw (Montana Territory) was established in the spring of 1867. It is
located west of Great Falls in the Sun River Valley and was one of three posts
authorized to be built by Congress in 1865. The other two posts in the Montana
Territory were Camp Cooke on the Judith River and Fort C.F. Smith on the Bozeman
Trail in south central Montana Territory. Fort Shaw, named after Colonel Robert
Gould Shaw, who commanded the 54th Massachusetts, one of the first all
African-American regiments, during the American Civil War, was built of adobe
and lumber by the 13th Infantry. The fort had a parade ground that was 400 ft²
(120 m²), and consisted of barracks for officers, a hospital, and a trading
post, and could house up to 450 soldiers. Completed in 1868, it was used by
military personnel until 1891.
After the close of the military post, the government established Fort Shaw as a
school to provide industrial training to young Native Americans. The Fort Shaw
Indian Industrial School was opened on April 30, 1892. The school had at one
time 17 faculty members, 11 Indian assistants and 300 students. The school made
use of over 20 of the buildings built by the Army.
The revised Homestead Act of the early 1900s greatly affected the settlement of
Montana. This act expanded the land that was provided by the Homestead Act of
1862 from 160 acres to 320 acres (65-130 ha). When the latter act was signed by
President Taft, it also reduced the time necessary to prove up from five years
to three years and permitted five months' absence from the claim each year.
In 1908, the Sun River Irrigation Project, west of Great Falls was opened up for
homesteading. Under this Reclamation Act, a person could obtain 40 acres (16
ha). Most of the people who came to file on these homesteads were young couples
who were eager to live near mountains where hunting and fishing were good. Many
of these homesteaders came from the Midwest and Minnesota.
Montana was the scene of the Native Americans' last effort to keep their land,
and the last stand of U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was
fought near the present day town of Hardin. Montana was also the location of the
final battles of the Nez Perce Wars.
Cattle ranching has long been central to Montana's history and economy. The
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Deer Lodge Valley is maintained as a
link to the ranching style of the late 19th century. It is operated by the
National Park Service but is also a 1,900-acre (7.7 km²) working ranch.
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