Fort Benton in Chouteau County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Fort Benton

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 14, 2019

1. Fort Benton Marker

Inscription. Alexander Culbertson established Fort Benton in 1846 as an American Fur Company trading post. The remote settlement prospered in the 1850s, but it wasn't until the following decade that it really boomed. The arrival of the steamboat Chippewa at the post in 1859 ushered in a new era of trade at the World's Innermost Port. The boat carried buffalo robes and other furs downriver to St. Louis; three years later, the cargo was much more valuable, gold from the rip-roaring mining camps in southwestern Montana. At it's height in 1867, 39 steamboats tied up at the levy (sic) depositing supplies and passengers destined for the gold fields. Saloons, hurdy-gurdy houses, and other businesses served a cosmopolitan and transient population. The streets crowded with people from all over North America, Europe, and Asia. It was truly a wide open town. By 1870, the boom had gone bust, but Fort Benton enjoyed a brief revival when the town's merchants began freighting supplies to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police forts north of the border over the famed Whoop-up Trail. Fort Benton is a National Historic Landmark because of its rich and colorful

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history on the upper Missouri River.

Erected by Montana Department of Transportation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 47° 50.364′ N, 110° 41.124′ W. Marker is in Fort Benton, Montana, in Chouteau County. It is on U.S. 87 near State Highway 233/80, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fort Benton MT 59442, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Montana, in Missouri River Country,

and specifically in Russell Country. It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Fort Benton and the Mullan Road (here, next to this marker); Church of the Immaculate Conception (approx. 1½ miles away); a

Fort Benton Marker, on left image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 14, 2019

2. Fort Benton Marker, on left

different marker also named Church of the Immaculate Conception (approx. 1½ miles away); St. Paul's Episcopal Church (approx. 1½ miles away); a different marker also named St. Paul's Episcopal Church (approx. 1½ miles away); War Dogs Memorial (approx. 1.6 miles away); The Engage's Quarters (approx. 1.6 miles away); Fort Benton Historic District (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Benton.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 11, 2019. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 382 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 11, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.