Montana Forts of the Old West

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Fort Keogh (1876-1908) - After the Battle of the Little Bighorn, on June 25, 1876, General Nelson A. Miles was sent to the area of present-day Miles City, Montana with orders to establish a fort. Choosing a strategic site where the Yellowstone and Tongue Rivers met, Miles established the fort on July 22, 1876 and it was first known as Cantonment on Tongue River. The fort was later moved to a site a mile west, and was renamed Fort Keogh in November, 1878, in honor of Captain Myles Keogh, an adjutant to General George Armstrong Custer, who was also killed in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The settlement that grew up around the fort was named for General Miles.

Vintage Fort Keogh

The fort included officer's quarters, enlisted barracks, multiple outbuildings and a diamond shaped parade ground. The fort's purpose was to continue to subdue the Indians, a task that was achieved by the early 1880s. By then most of the tribes had surrendered and were moved onto reservations.

In 1907, all troops were removed from the site and two years later Fort Keogh became a Remount Station and supplied thousands of horses for World War I. In 1924, the station was turned over to USDA, which continues to utilize the site to this day.

Of the some 100 buildings that stood at the fort in the late 1800's, only four survive, including officers' quarters and an brick structure that was used as a barn. The Range Riders' Museum is housed in one of the officer quarters buildings.

More Information:

Fort Keogh

243 Fort Keogh Road
Miles City Montana 59301

406-874-8206

Fort Logan (1869-1880) - Located in Meagher County, Montana, the fort was first established by the U.S. Army on November 1, 1869 and called Camp Baker for Major E.M. Baker of Fort Ellis. Its objective was to the protect the Fort Benton to Helena freight road, as well as the area miners and settlers. The provided troops for many of the campaigns in western Montana, including the Nez Perce War in 1877.

In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Logan in honor of Captain William Logan who was killed at the Battle of the Big Hole. The fort was abandoned in 1880. There are still remains of the fort including a deteriorating adobe storehouse, two officers' quarters building, and the blockhouse. The site is located in Meagher County, on an unimproved road, about 20 miles northwest of the town of White Sulphur Springs, Montana.

Fort Maginnis

Fort Maginnis (1880-1890) - Located on the east side of the Judith Mountains, the fort was established in 1880 by Captain Dangerfield Park to protect cattlemen from raiding Blackfoot and Sioux . It was named for Major Martin Maginnis, Montana's territorial delegate to congress. By 1885, the fort, under the command of James W. Forsyth, was responsible for monitoring the Crow, Cree, and the Gros Ventre Indians. The fort was abandoned April 10, 1890.Today there is only ruins left of this once sizable frontier post. Near the fort site, an old cemetery remains intact. The fort is located about 20 miles from Lewiston, Montana. Take Highway 87 west of Lewistown, turn left toward Gilt Edge and follow the signs.

Fort McKenzie (1832-1844) - The fort was established by the American Fur Company to trade with the Blackfoot Indians. Located on the Missouri River near the Mouth of the Marias River, the fort was built by Kenneth McKnzie, a Missouri fur trader. In 1833, the fort was visited by Alexander Philip Maximilian, Prince of Wied-Neuwied, a noted German scientist and explorer. Staying for several months, he studied the local Indians and collected plant and and animal specimens. He was accompanied by Karl Bodmer, an artist who sketched and made paintings of the Indians and scenes in the surrounding countryside. In 1844, the fort was managed by a fur trader named Chardon, who withdrew from the fort when hostilities with the Blackfoot were renewed. He soon established the short-lived post, Fort Chardon, opposite the mouth of the Judith River. This lasted one season when another party was sent from Fort Union to recover the Blackfoot trade and established a new post about three miles upriver from present-day Fort Benton. The site is located on the north bank of the Missouri River, six miles above the mouth of the Marias River, near Loma, Montana.

Fort Missoula (1877- 1947) - Fort Missoula was established as a permanent military post in 1877 and built in response to requests of local townspeople and settlers for protection in the event of conflict with western Montana Indian tribes.

Founded on the Bitterroot River, its garrison took part in only one engagement of consequence -- the Battle of the Big Hole in August, 1877, 90 miles to the south, in the Nez Perce War. The captives were incarcerated at Fort Missoula. During the next 2 years, when they were not countering minor Indian harassments, the troops restored a stretch of the Mullan Road, running from Fort Benton, Montana to Fort Walla Walla, Washington. In post-frontier days the fort was not continuously active or garrisoned.

In 1904, funds were appropriated to remodel Fort Missoula and a complex of concrete buildings with red tile roofs was constructed between 1908 and 1914, including a new Officer's Row, barracks, and Post Hospital. During World War I, the fort was used as a military training center but by 1921 it was nearly abandoned. In 1933, it became the Northwest Regional Headquarters Civilian Conservation Corps.

In 1941, the fort was turned over to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization for use as an alien detention center for non-military Italian and Japanese-American men. Its last official function was to serve as a prison for military personnel accused of military crimes and other personnel awaiting court-martial. When the post was decommissioned in 1947, many of the buildings were sold, dismantled, and removed from the site. The majority of the land is now in the hands of non-military agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and Missoula County. However, a portion of the military reservation continues to serve as an Army and Navy training facility and reserve center.

The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula features a 13 historic structures and a large array of historical artifacts.

More Information:

Historical Museum at Fort Missoula

Building 322

Fort Missoula

Missoula, Montana 59804
406-728-3476

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Fort Missoula, Montana, 1886.

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