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Montana Important Dates


Important Dates in Montana History

  • 1803 - 1850's The United States acquired from France the area east of the mountains. Britain relinquished its claims to the western section in 1846. Until the 1850s, Montana was the domain of Indians, explorers, fur traders, trappers, and missionaries.
  • 1841 Jesuit priests founded St. Mary's Mission. In the 1850s, this mission became the center of ranching activity in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana.
  • 1846 Fort Benton, the only Montana trading post to become a permanent settlement, was established on the Missouri River. Steamboats first reached Fort Benton in 1859.
  • 1860's Montana west of the continental divide was designated Missoula County, Washington Territory in 1860. In 1861 the unsettled eastern portion was attached to Dakota Territory. In 1863 and 1864 all of Montana was included in Idaho Territory.
  • 1862 - 1864 The discovery of gold in western Montana brought an influx of miners to Bannack, Virginia City, and Helena. Many of the miners began farming and set up supply centers - such as Missoula, Deer Lodge, and Bozeman.
  • 1864 Montana Territory was established with nine counties.
  • 1880's Railroads first crossed Montana. The population of the territory was about 40,000.
  • 1889 Montana became a state.
  • 1910 - 1925 The number of counties doubled from 28 to the present 56 as homesteaders moved into eastern Montana. By 1930, a cycle of drought years had driven many of the settlers from the state.

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