Near Shonkin in Chouteau County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Walking Sacred Ground

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 26, 2025

1. Walking Sacred Ground Marker

Caption: Although bison are no longer here, have you seen these tracks?

Inscription. For thousands of years Indians camped near the spring while on hunting forays. Their lodges dotted the prairie, and warriors stood sentry along the bluff on the lookout for intruders. When the tribes moved on, deer and birds quietly drank from the sulphur waters and bison wallowed in the mineral deposits.

Please respect your heritage and protect the spring and shoreline by using ONLY the graveled walkway to reach the waters edge.

Although altered by man's hand, the Sulphur Spring remains a National Historic Landmark along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Imagine two centuries ago when expedition hunters dipped their canteens, under orders from Captain Lewis, for mineral water to treat an ailing Sacagawea.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Indigenous Peoples and Communities. In addition, it is included in the Lewis & Clark Expedition series list.

Location. 47° 35.759′ N, 111° 3.264′ W. Marker is near Shonkin, Montana, in Chouteau County. It can be reached from Morony Dam Road near Sulphur Springs Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Highwood MT 59450, 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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sulphur Spring: Healing Waters (about 800 feet away,

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measured in a direct line); Portaging Across the Prairie (approx. 0.2 miles away); Flowing Free for Miles (approx. 0.9 miles away); Land of Many Uses / Sulphur Springs Hiking Trail / Lewis and Clark Reach the Rapids (approx. 1.1 miles away); Lewis and Clark Passed Here (approx. 3½ miles away); Great Falls of the Missouri River (approx. 3½ miles away); From Water Comes Power (approx. 3.6 miles away); It's All Geometry (approx. 3.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shonkin.

Regarding Walking Sacred Ground. The marker is at the end of the Sulphur Springs Trail, 1.8 miles from the from the trailhead located near the end of Morony Dam Road.

Also see . . . Sacagawea Sulphur Springs -- TrailPeak. From the Morony Dam parking area it's walk through grasslands bordering the Missouri River to a small sulphur springs pond the natives claimed to have some medicinal properties. (Submitted on August 26, 2025, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 26, 2025

2. Walking Sacred Ground Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on August 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2025, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 88 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 26, 2025, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.