Native Americans were among 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 presentday 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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