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Fort Benson was establshed
The first permanent fort established in Montana was Fort Benton, established as a fur trading post in 1847 and upon being purchased by the US Army in 1865 was named in honor of Senator Thomas Hart Benton, who encouraged settlement of the west. Its location on the Missouri River marked the farthest practical point that steamboats could navigate, and thus the Fort quickly grew into a major trading center, promoted today by local residents as "the birthplace of Montana." -
Montana becomes a terriotry
Montana was cartacterized as a territory because it had enough people in it. -
Montana organized out of the Idaho Territory
Montana territory was organized out of the existing Idaho Territory by Act of Congress and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 28, 1864. -
The era of open ranching comes to an end
In 1866 Nelson Story brought the first herd of Texas longhorns up from Texas. Additional herds came into Montana east of the divide and initially expanded greatly on the open range. However, cattle ranching expanded beyond the carrying capacity of the land, and a drought year combined with the harsh winter of 1886-1887 decimated Montana's cattle industry. The ranchers who survived began to fence in their ranches and the era of the open range came to an end. -
Start of the Battle of Little Big Horn
It occurred June 25–June 26, 1876, -
End of the Battle of Little Big Horn
It occurred June 25–June 26, 1876, -
The Begining of the fight of Nez Perce
Chief Joseph formally surrendered to General Nelson Appleton Miles on October 5, 1877 in the Bear Paw Mountains of the Montana Territory, less than 40 miles (60 km) south of Canada in a place close to the present-day Chinook in Blaine County. -
The end of the fight of Nez Perce
Chief Joseph formally surrendered to General Nelson Appleton Miles on October 5, 1877 in the Bear Paw Mountains of the Montana Territory, less than 40 miles (60 km) south of Canada in a place close to the present-day Chinook in Blaine County. -
The Northern Pacific Railroad Reaches Billing Montana
The Northern Pacific Railroad was given land grants by the federal government so that it could borrow money to build its system, reaching Billings in 1882. -
The Northern Pacific Railroad Reaches Livingston, Montana.
In 1882 the Northern Pacific platted Livingston, Montana, a major division point, repair and maintenance center, and gateway to Yellowstone National Park. -
Efforts to write woman suffrage into Montana's constitution failed.
Efforts to write woman suffrage into Montana's 1889 constitution failed. Montana women, especially "society women," did not strongly support the suffragists -
Montana becomes a State
Montana had enough people in it to become a state -
William Taft Revises the Homestead act for 320 acres and only 3 years
The revised Homestead Act of the early 1900s greatly affected the settlement of Montana. This act expanded the land that was provided by the Homestead Act of 1862 from 160 acres (0.65 km2) to 320 acres (65-130 ha). When the latter act was signed by President William Taft, it also reduced the time necessary to prove up from five year to three years and permitted five months absence from the claim each year. -
The Great Northern Railroad Starting selling land to the public
Meanwhile the Great Northern Railroad energetically promoted settlement along its lines in the northern part of the state. The Great Northern bought its lands from the federal government—it received no land grants—and resold them to farmers one by one. -
The towmn of Comet was started as a mining town
Comet was a town of 12 blocks and 6 streets and by 1911 had extracted $13 million worth of metals (gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper ore), but is now abandoned and decaying.