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Cantonment
Jordan (1859-1860) - Located near DeBorgia, Montana, this was the
winter camp for Captain John Muller and his building crew, as they were
building the Mullan Road which made its way from Fort Benton, Montana to
Walla Walla, Washington.
Cantonment
Wright (1861-1862) - Located near Milltown, Montana, this was the
winter camp for Captain John Muller and his building crew, as they were
building the Mullan Road which made its way from Fort Benton, Montana to
Walla Walla, Washington.
Fort Alexander (1842-1850) - Also called
Fort Crow by the
Blackfoot
Indians, who opposed its construction, this
non-military post was established in 1842 by fur trader, Charles Larpentuer, on the left bank of the Yellowstone River, opposite the mouth
of the Rosebud River. Named for Alexander Culbertson, it replaced Fort Van
Buren. It was abandoned in 1850 in favor of Fort Sarpy.
Fort Assiniboine #1 (1834-1835) - A
temporary post at a point some distance above Fort Union where the steamer
Assiniboine ran aground in the summer of 1834. Owned by the
American Fur Company, the Assiniboine was put into service by the
company in 1833. The boat was forced to remain through the winter at the
mouth of the Poplar River, where the temporary post was established. During
the steamboat's return to St. Louis, Missouri a fire broke out, and the
vessel, it's cargo of furs and skins, and the natural history collection
of Prince Maximillian were all destroyed. Initial plans to make the site
an outpost of Fort Union were abandoned in April, 1835.
Fort Assinniboine (1878-1911) - Following the
Black Hills War, the fort, named after the the
Assiniboine
Indians, was established to ward of any
further attacks from the
Sioux and
Nez Percé.
At the time of its construction, Fort
Assinniboine was the most elaborate post in the United States, featuring
over 100 buildings and designed to house ten companies of infantry and
cavalry. The troops were charged with monitoring the activities of the
region's many
Indian groups, patrolling
Montana's border with Canada,
stopping bootleggers and gunrunners and protecting the state's settlers.
In its heyday, nearly 750 officers, enlisted men, and civilians called Assiniboine home.
However, with the
Indian threat subdued,
the fort began to decline. In 1916, a portion of the fort was ceded to the Rocky Boy
Indian Reservation (home of the
Chippewa Cree tribe.) Later, more land was
ceded to Hill County to create Beaver Creek Park, the largest county
park in the United States. Unfortunately, most of the buildings at the
Fort were razed.
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