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

Old Fort Benton

1846-1865

 
 
Old Fort Benton Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 14, 2019
1. Old Fort Benton Marker
Inscription. Logs were floated downstream from Fort Lewis in May of 1847 and erected on foundations built the year before. The fort was called Fort Lewis or Fort Clay before officially named for Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri upon completion of the Bourgeois Quarters in adobe on Christmas Day in 1850. The log buildings replaced by adobe; the trade store was the last to be rebuilt in 1860.
By 1865 the fur trade was over. Chouteau and Company sold its holdings to the Northwestern Trading Company. Buildings deteriorated rapidly at the fort; when the military took over in 1869, the walls and buildings had fallen into such a state of disrepair that the troops were quartered downtown. The army abandoned the fort in 1881 at the end of the Indian Wars.
By the turn-of-the-century, only two walls and one blockhouse remained. Thanks to a major restoration effort by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the blockhouse was saved and today is the oldest standing building in Montana.
In its heyday Fort Benton was the premier Blackfoot buffalo robe trading post on the Upper Missouri and is the only original post still in Montana.
 
Erected by Fort Benton Community Improvement Association.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles
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Location. 47° 49.251′ N, 110° 39.817′ W. Marker is in Fort Benton, Montana, in Chouteau County. Marker is on Front Street near 18th Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fort Benton MT 59442, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Buffalo Robe Fur Press (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Benton Historic District (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Benton and the Indian Wars (within shouting distance of this marker); Steamboat Relics (within shouting distance of this marker); The Engage's Quarters (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Benton – Fort MacLeod Trail (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Nez Perce War (about 300 feet away); War Dogs Memorial (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Benton.
 
More about this marker. This marker is located in front of Old Fort Benton in the park of the same name.
 
Upper Missouri River National Monument, on the back image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 14, 2019
2. Upper Missouri River National Monument, on the back
Old Fort Benton image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 14, 2019
3. Old Fort Benton
DAR Blockhouse image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 14, 2019
4. DAR Blockhouse
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on November 7, 2019. It was originally submitted on November 5, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 228 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 5, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
 
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Mar. 28, 2024