Historical Markers and War Memorials in Gallatin County, Montana
Adjacent to Gallatin County, Montana
▶ Broadwater County(4) ▶ Jefferson County(7) ▶ Madison County(64) ▶ Meagher County(2) ▶ Park County(17) ▶ Fremont County, Idaho(20) ▶ Park County, Wyoming(187) ▶ Teton County, Wyoming(83)
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Sacajawea, the Shoshone woman who guided portions of the Lewis and Clark Expedition led Captain Wm. Clark and his party of ten men over an old buffalo road through this pass on July 15, 1806. They were eastward bound and planned to explore the . . . — — Map (db m162423) HM
For centuries distant and diverse tribes visited the Gallatin Valley to hunt. They stampeded buffalo over cliffs during the "dog days" before the acquisition of horses and guns. They hunted animals for food, clothing and shelter. They also mined . . . — — Map (db m29075) HM
Conflicts along the Bozeman Trail between Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians and settlers escalated with the establishment of forts along the route in 1866. After Indians killed John Bozeman, in the Yellowstone Valley in 1867, the . . . — — Map (db m29079) HM
Established as a military post August 27, 1867 by order of
President Andrew Johnson and General U.S. Grant
the post was abandoned in December 1886
Captain Wm. Clark
of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
encamped here July 14, 1806 with his . . . — — Map (db m98279) HM
An abundance of beaver encouraged Corps of Discovery members John Colter and John Potts to return to the headwaters. In 1808, Blackfeet Indians killed Potts in a confrontation and stripped Colter bare, giving him a chance to run for his life. In one . . . — — Map (db m29077) HM
Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery reached the headwaters of the Missouri River and named the three tributaries in July, 1805. With great difficulty the Corps of Discovery fought rapids and troublesome mosquitoes as they pulled their boats . . . — — Map (db m29072) HM
This boulder marks the Trail of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1805. Erected by the Mt. Hyalite Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution 1923. — — Map (db m145672) HM
The Pioneer Museum, located next to the Gallatin County Courthouse at 317 West Main, was the former County jail. Along with many museum exhibits showcasing the history of Gallatin County is an Historical Research Library. The photo archives, and one . . . — — Map (db m29085) HM
On July 14, 1806 Captain William Clark accompanied by 11 members of the expedition party camped about a mile east of here on the flat at the mouth of Kelly Canyon. The next day, Sacajawea guided the party up the canyon on an old buffalo trail to a . . . — — Map (db m98296) HM
First Peoples utilized the valley for over 11,000 years before the arrival of Lewis & Clark, and the others that would follow. Trails brought cattle and homesteaders to an agricultural paradise. The military followed, defending settlers, consuming . . . — — Map (db m29084) HM
Settlers came to the Gallatin Valley on the heels of the first Montana gold strike at Grasshopper Creek near Bannack, Montana, in 1862. As Meriwether Lewis had predicted, farmers found the valley well suited for agriculture. They planted crops and . . . — — Map (db m29078) HM
One of Montana’s most amazing historical events occurred near here in 1809. In
September of that year, John Colter and John Potts, former Lewis and Clark Expedition
members, were trapping beaver on the Jefferson River near the headwaters when a . . . — — Map (db m98317) HM
The Headwaters Region was the setting for the legend of
Colter’s Run
1808
In the fall of 1808 John Colter and John Potts,
both former members of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition, were trapping on the Jefferson
River. Angered by previous . . . — — Map (db m98438) HM
The original townsite of Gallatin City, north of here on the
west side of the combined Madison and Jefferson Rivers,
was selected in 1862. In Feb., 1863 sixty cabins were being
constructed. The river was forded when it was low and a
ferry was . . . — — Map (db m127042) HM
Built by Jarvis Akin, the Hotel was originally a one-room building of hand-hewn logs. It was the center of Gallatin City's social life; travelers sometimes complained of not being able to sleep because of the ruckus. As the town died, the Hotel was . . . — — Map (db m127043) HM
In Patriotic Memory of
Sacajawea
an Indian woman whose heroic courage
steadfast devotion and splendid loyalty
in acting as guide across the Rocky Mountains
made it possible for the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
1804 - . . . — — Map (db m98495) HM
“The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such
principle stream of it, as, by its course & communication with the
waters of the Pacific ocean… may offer the most direct & practicable
water communication across . . . — — Map (db m99217) HM
You are standing at the headwaters of the great Missouri River.
The Jefferson and Madison Rivers converge with the Gallatin joining one mile downstream to become the Missouri River.
Here, the famed explorers accomplished a major goal of their . . . — — Map (db m73542) HM
Approx.. 2 miles north on the Trident Road (#286) is the
confluence of the Jefferson and Madison Rivers. A mile
further downstream you can view the Gallatin River
merging to form the headwaters of the Missouri River, the
longest U.S. river. . . . — — Map (db m99206) HM
This statue was erected to commemorate Sacajawea and the Bicentennial of the Lewis and
Clark Expedition of 1803- 1806. She was a member of the Corps of Discovery and was invaluable as an interpreter in obtaining horses from her Shoshone people, . . . — — Map (db m98496) HM
Arrival of the Milwaukee Railroad caused Three Forks to move (1908-1910) one mile up the Missouri River from its 1863 townsite, as happened with many sister towns in the developing West. Milwaukee Railroad purchasing agent John Q. Adams saw need for . . . — — Map (db m141722) HM
In front of you is the site of Gallatin City, 1865-1880's. After it became obvious that steamboats could not operate economically from Fort Benton to the Headwaters, the town was relocated from the north side of the river to this location. Sitting . . . — — Map (db m126990) HM
Log cabins were introduced to North America by the Swedes and Germans.
Because they were easy to build and made use of readily available materials, log cabins became the most common building on the frontier.
This cabin has dovetail notches and . . . — — Map (db m127044) HM
Many nations traveled and lived along these banks, giving their own names to
the river. “Missouri” is the official name given by the U.S. Geological Survey. It
dates back to French explorer Jacques Marquette’s journal and 1673 map of . . . — — Map (db m99215) HM
This region was alive with beaver, otter and game before the white man came. It was disputed hunting territory with the Indian tribes. Sacajawea, the Shoshone squaw who guided portions of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was captured near here when a . . . — — Map (db m126978) HM
The Thomas-Frederick Mill was one of two built in the Gallatin Valley during the 1860’s to process locally-grown grains and to guarantee a reliable supply of flour and meal.
Flour from here was freighted regularly to the gold camps of Helena, . . . — — Map (db m127045) HM
From 38 to 30 million years ago, great herds of rhinoceros-like herbivores, called Megacerops, roamed this part of Montana. Megacerops, also known as Brontotheres, were massive animals. Classified as Perissodactyla, Megacerops had three . . . — — Map (db m141653) HM
In 1908 construction began on Montana’s first cement manufacturing facility. In May 1910, the first cement was shipped to a hardware store in Missoula, Montana. The company-owned village of Trident was built before the plant was completed and at . . . — — Map (db m126996) HM
Dedicated to all the men and women
of the Headwaters Area, who gave of themselves
while serving in our armed forces
in times of war and peace — — Map (db m98451) WM
The Montana soil is swallowing hundreds of old homestead buildings like this one. Each takes with it untold stories of men and women whose lives brought them drought and blizzards, loneliness and companionship, fear and simple joys, much like we . . . — — Map (db m127000) HM
I've been a pretty tough old bird, but I wouldn’t want to go through that again! Grace Miller August 1959
Survival Tactics
Seventy-something-year-old Grace Miller was a self-professed “tough old bird.” When she found . . . — — Map (db m114166) HM
On August 17, 1959, this area was hit with the most devastating modern geologic disaster in the Rocky Mountains. An earthquake of a magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale violently shook the earth, triggering a massive landslide, large surface cracks . . . — — Map (db m113832) HM
Geologists Irving J. Witkind and Jack Epstein had
uncanny timing on the night of August 17, 1959 the two
U.S. Geological Survey scientists were camped on a small
knoll above Hebgen Lake when their camp trailers began to
bounce “like . . . — — Map (db m113724) HM
By 1898 a 10-foot wide road was built through the Gallatin Canyon to Taylors Fork and the park line. In 1911 a crude, narrow wagon road went to "Yellowstone" (West Yellowstone), 90 miles from the county seat at Bozeman. In 1926, the road was . . . — — Map (db m113833) HM
Named for the year it was built, the Oregon Short Line 1903 was constructed for $16,685 as an executive rail car for the Vice President of the Union Pacific. In reference to E.H. Harriman's Presidential rail car, the Arden, which was built in 1900, . . . — — Map (db m123346) HM
In 1905 Union Pacific officials began construction of a branch line in the pine-forested wilderness from Ashton, Idaho, to the western edge of Yellowstone Park. As the final tracks were laid in 1907, Samuel P. Eagle, Alex Stuart, Charles Arnet and . . . — — Map (db m123342) HM
On the night of the earthquake about 250 people were camped in the Madison River Canyon.
Their escape was blocked by the highway destruction at Hebgen Lake and the huge slide at the mouth of the canyon.
Realizing they were trapped, most of the . . . — — Map (db m144145) HM
August 17, 1959: performer Bobbi Baker was on her way to a gig in Billings, Montana when she stopped at the Hilgard Lodge for the night. Just as she settled into bed, she heard a “huge rush of wind” and the cabin began to shake . . . — — Map (db m116142) HM
Prior to 1936, the roads leading from West Yellowstone were not plowed during the winter months, isolating the town from the rest of the world.
Even the Train Stopped Running
The Union Pacific Railroad provided passenger service to West . . . — — Map (db m126999) HM
Something is Terribly Wrong
Fourteen-year-old Darwin Steffler was in bed in his family’s lakeside lodge about 5.5 miles east of here, when he felt the earthquake strike. After checking on his little brothers, he race through the darkened . . . — — Map (db m114157) HM
This basin was settled by ranchers and homesteaders.
Bannock Indians had encampments here as late as 1913. Near
here is the west entrance to Yellowstone Park, the nation’s
first National Park(1872). West Yellowstone was founded in
1908 with the . . . — — Map (db m100066) HM
Imagine what it was like...
A lake that tipped...a woman who leaped from her home just in time...a performer who didn't let an earthquake stop her...cabins swallowed by waves that came out of nowhere...a highway that vanished...
Here at the . . . — — Map (db m114161) HM
A quiet August night in a popular Forest Service campground just below Hebgen Dam. Nearby Cabin Creek murmurs softly, and the moon filters through the pines.
Abruptly, the ground trembles, then jolts...then with a roar a crack appears, . . . — — Map (db m116506) HM
It began as an idyllic August night. A full moon soared quietly over Yellowstone country. Along Hebgen Lake and the Madison River, campgrounds and vacation cabins were full to capacity, and scores of families were camped by the . . . — — Map (db m113576) HM
This Property
Contributes To The
West Yellowstone Oregon
Shortline Terminus
Historic District
Listed In The
National Register
of
Historic Places
By the United States
Department
of
Interior
In Cooperation With
The . . . — — Map (db m103600) HM
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