Near Fort Piegan in Glacier County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Old Agency
1880-1894
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 9, 2015
1. Old Agency Marker
Inscription.
Old Agency. The second Indian Agency on the Blackfeet Reservation was built at Old Agency in 1879. Agent John Young moved the buildings from Upper Badger Creek with help from the Blackfeet Indians. Both men and women dug cellars, hauled stone and mixed mortar. The women covered the exterior with lime from Heart Butte. Built in stockade shape, the Agency had two bastions at diagonal corners to protect against enemy attack. The Indians called it “Old Ration Place” after the government began issuing rations. The "Starvation Winter" of 1883-1884 took the lives of about 500 Blackfeet Indians who had been camping in the vicinity of Old Agency. This tragic event was the result of an inadequate supply of government rations during an exceptionally hard winter. In 1894 after the Great Northern Railway had extended its tracks across the Reservation, the Agency moved to Willow Creek at the present site in Browning. Today, the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning houses a fine collection of artifacts that illustrate Blackfeet culture before and after the establishment of the Reservation.
The second Indian Agency on the Blackfeet Reservation was built at Old Agency in 1879. Agent John Young moved the buildings from Upper Badger Creek with help from the Blackfeet Indians. Both men and women dug cellars, hauled stone and mixed mortar. The women covered the exterior with lime from Heart Butte. Built in stockade shape, the Agency had two bastions at diagonal corners to protect against enemy attack. The Indians called it “Old Ration Place” after the government began issuing rations. The "Starvation Winter" of 1883-1884 took the lives of about 500 Blackfeet Indians who had been camping in the vicinity of Old Agency. This tragic event was the result of an inadequate supply of government rations during an exceptionally hard winter. In 1894 after the Great Northern Railway had extended its tracks across the Reservation, the Agency moved to Willow Creek at the present site in Browning. Today, the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning houses a fine collection of artifacts that illustrate Blackfeet culture before and after the establishment of the Reservation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Native Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1879.
Location. 48° 26.013′ N, 112° 42.185′ W. Marker is near Fort Piegan, Montana, in Glacier County
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. Marker is on U.S. 89, 0.4 miles north of Badger Creek Road, on the right when traveling north. Marker is located in a pull-out on the north side of the highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cut Bank MT 59427, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. This is a large, painted wooden "billboard-style" marker, hanging from a heavy-duty wooden frame.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Old Agency, Blackfeet Nation, Montana
Also see . . . Starvation Winter of the Blackfeet. By 1883, the buffalo were gone. The suddenness and effectiveness of the slaughter brought to an immediate head the results of this destruction which had been foreseen in a vague and general way for years; and, humanitarian programs for the Indian in that era being a scarce item, no provisions
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 9, 2015
2. Old Agency Marker (wide view)
had been made for the subsistence of the Piegans, on their northern Montana reservation, when their centuries-old way of life should come to an abrupt end. There was intense and terrible suffering during the winter of 1883-84, and one-quarter of the tribe, nearly 800 Piegans, died of starvation. (Submitted on February 23, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 25, 2019. It was originally submitted on February 22, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 667 times since then and 109 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on February 23, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
