Near Havre in Hill County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Post Exchange

Fort Assinniboine

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 15, 2019

1. Post Exchange Marker

Inscription. Frontier capitalist C. A. Broadwater received the contract to provide locally manufactured bricks and timber, hauled from the Bear’s Paw Mountains, to construct Fort Assinniboine. He hired five hundred Métis (mixed-blood Chippewa-Cree) from the Upper Red River Valley to make bricks using a machine that could manufacture up to 25,000 a day. As post trader, Broadwater also received the stage and freight contracts and the franchise to operate the post store. He used his own brick to build one of the largest structures at the fort. With its character- defining parapet, this building is only a remnant of Broadwater’s 1879 trading post, which ultimately included a large general store, two large warehouses, a photography studio, barbershop, saloon, attached officer’s club and hotel/restaurant. Here military families could purchase such luxuries as smoked oysters, hair brushes, and silk handkerchiefs. The store soon became a center of trade for the surrounding territory. Broadwater also built an Indian trading hut, for taking in furs from the Métis and other Indian peoples. Around 1892, the army bought out Broadwater. The post

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quartermaster ran the operation until the army abandoned the fort in 1911.

Erected by Montana Historical Society; Department of the Interior, National Register of Historic Places.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Montana National Register Sign Program series list.

Location. 48° 29.868′ N, 109° 47.863′ W. Marker is near Havre, Montana, in Hill County. It is on Fort Circle near 82nd Avenue West (Assinniboine Road). Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Havre MT 59501, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Montana’s Missouri River 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 walking distance of this marker:

Post Exchange and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 15, 2019

2. Post Exchange and Marker

The marker is to the right of the first door on the left.

Officers' Amusement Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Guardhouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Library (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fort Assinniboine (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named Fort Assinniboine (about 400 feet away); The Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Assinniboine (about 400 feet away); Fort Assiniboine (about 400 feet away); John A. Burns (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Havre.

More about this marker. This marker on the grounds of Fort Assinniboine.

Post Exchange image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 15, 2019

3. Post Exchange

Credits. This page was last revised on November 19, 2019. It was originally submitted on November 19, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 258 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 19, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.