Near Lewistown in Fergus County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Lewistown

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 17, 2019

1. Lewistown Marker

Inscription. Located at the geographical center of the state, the Lewistown area was the center of many significant events during Montana's formative years. The Blackfeet, Crow and Lakota knew the area as one of their last great buffalo hunting grounds. In 1874, after the establishment of the Carroll Trail by the Diamond R. Transportation Company, Alonzo Reed and John Bowles opened a trading post in the area. At about the same time, the U.S. Army built Camp Lewis, named for Major William Lewis, a few miles away at the present site of Lewiston. The camp, which housed infantry and cavalry companies during the summer months, protected travelers on the Carroll Trail. Reed and Bowles were an annoyance to the soldiers as the unsavory partners sold liquor to the Indians, until a knife fight ended their partnership in 1880. Camp Lewis became the foundation for a new community in 1881. Lewistown became a thriving trade and transportation center in the Judith Basin graced by substantial sandstone buildings built by Croation (sic, Croatian) stonemasons.

Erected by Montana Department of Transportation.

Topics. This historical marker

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

is listed in these topic lists: Military • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 47° 4.21′ N, 109° 22.94′ W. Marker is near Lewistown, Montana, in Fergus County. It is on U.S. 87 at milepost 85 near Meadowlark Lane, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lewistown MT 59457, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically entral Montana 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: Statue of Liberty (approx. 1½ miles away); Viet Nam Service Appreciation Memorial (approx. 1½ miles away); LGM-30A Minuteman I (approx. 1½ miles away); 240 mm Howitzer M1 (approx. 1.6 miles away); 108 Hawthorne Avenue (approx. 1.6 miles away); Lewistown Mercantile Company

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 17, 2019

2. Lewistown Marker

(approx. 1.9 miles away); The History of Central Montana Railroads (approx. 1.9 miles away); Hopkins Grocery (approx. 2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lewistown.

Also see . . . The Carroll Trail 1875 -- Researchgate. The Carroll Trail story is one of adventure, danger, and the attempts at settlement of the western frontier after the civil war. This was at a time when the conflict between indigenous Indian tribes and the immigrating "white man " was reaching a peak.
Download the PDF file. (Submitted on December 9, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 9, 2019. It was originally submitted on December 9, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 699 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 9, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.