Fort Custer, Montana.
The U.S. Army established Fort Custer in June 1877 during the Indian Wars to control the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Crow Indians. The post sat on the high point between the Big Horn and Little Bighorn Rivers south of present-day Hardin, Montana, and was named for George A. Custer, who died at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Lieutenant-Colonel G. P. Buell of the Eleventh Infantry led the fort’s construction, commanding four companies of his regiment and a large force of mechanics and laborers. When complete, it had quarters for ten companies, including stables for six cavalry troops. Its buildings surrounded a large parade ground, but it had no walls or other fortifications.
By the time the fort was established, most hostiles in the vicinity had been confined to reservations, but the post supplied troops for some Plains campaigns, including the Bannock War in 1878 and an uprising at the Crow Agency in 1887.
Officers’ Quarters at Fort Custer, Montana, by E.F. Everitt.
In 1886, Yellowstone National Park turned to the U.S. Army for help, and soldiers from Fort Custer were sent in, beginning more than 30 years of military presence in the park.
With the Indian threat subdued, the post closed on April 17, 1898, and the buildings were sold. Today, only a monument remains of the fort. It is located in Big Horn County, on an unimproved road, about one mile West of I-90 and two miles Southeast of Hardin, Montana.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
Also See:
See Sources.