I | INTRODUCTION |
Montana, state in the western United States, the
northernmost of the Rocky Mountain states. Montana is called the Treasure State
because of its mineral wealth. The name Montana comes from the Spanish
word meaning “mountainous” and was first used when the area was designated a
territory in 1864. Montana entered the Union on November 8, 1889, as the 41st
state. Helena is the capital. Billings is the largest city.
Although many people consider Montana
completely mountainous, two-thirds of the state is part of the Great Plains.
From the majestic peaks of Glacier National Park in the northwest to the
comparatively level terrain near the eastern border the Montana landscape is one
of great beauty, an ever-changing panorama of forest and prairie, highland and
broad valley.
Montana’s history has been turbulent. The
region experienced an early and active fur-trading era. With the discovery of
gold it developed a vigorous and wealthy mining frontier and later saw a brief
but exciting period of the open-range cattle industry. Eventually, dryland and
irrigated agriculture spread into many parts of the state. Today despite the
arrival of urbanization and modern society, much of the old flavor of the
frontier West survives in Montana.
II | PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY |
Montana is bounded on the north by the
Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan; on the east
by North Dakota and South Dakota; on the south by Wyoming and Idaho; and on the
west by Idaho. Montana is the nation’s fourth largest state, covering 380,837 sq
km (147,042 sq mi), including 3,859 sq km (1,490 sq mi) of inland waters. The
land area of Montana is more than three times that of Pennsylvania and about the
same as that of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana combined. The state’s extreme
dimensions are 517 km (321 mi) from north to south and 877 km (545 mi) from east
to west. The mean elevation is 1,040 m (3,400 ft).
A | Natural Regions |
Included within Montana’s boundaries are
parts of two of North America’s major physiographic provinces, or natural
regions. First is the Rocky Mountains, of which there are two subdivisions in
Montana, the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Middle Rocky Mountains. The second
natural region, the Interior Plains, is represented in a section of the Great
Plains lying in eastern Montana. The Rocky Mountains in Montana, which cover the
state’s western third, extend in a belt about 300 km (about 200 mi) wide from
the Canadian border to the Wyoming border. In several places east of this line
isolated groups of low mountains rise above the general level of the
plains.
Montana’s Northern Rocky Mountain province
varies topographically. The majority of this spectacular natural region is
classified as open mountains, a globally distinctive and very rare setting with
high detached mountain ranges separated by broad, smooth-floored valleys. These
valleys range from about 900 to 1,500 m (about 3,000 to 5,000 ft) above sea
level and are ringed by mountains that rise to elevations of 2,400 to 3,000 m
(8,000 to 10,000 ft). Important valleys in this region include the Flathead,
Bitterroot, Deer Lodge, Helena (or Prickly Pear), Beaverhead, Big Hole, Madison,
and Gallatin. The surrounding highlands include the Beaverhead Mountains,
Mission Range, Tobacco Root Mountains, Bridger Range, Big Belt Mountains, and
Crazy Mountains.
The two prongs of Montana’s Columbia
Rockies, which include the highlands along the Montana-Idaho border from the
Bitterroot Valley northward, and east of Flathead Lake, Glacier National Park,
and the adjacent highlands on the south, contain classic mountain landscape.
Here, individual ranges usually are closely spaced with narrow and restricted
valleys. The Cabinet Mountains, Purcell Mountains, Whitefish, and Flathead
ranges and the Lewis and Swan ranges are some of the landmark highlands within
this rugged section of Montana’s Northern Rockies. Interestingly, this
mountain-dominated region claims the state’s lowest elevation of 550 m (1,800
ft) above sea level, where the Kootenai River flows into Idaho.
The small section of the Middle Rocky
Mountains in Montana consists of the high and rugged Absaroka and Beartooth
ranges north of Yellowstone National Park. Within this province is Montana’s
highest elevation, 3,901 m (12,799 ft), at Granite Peak.
Many Montana highlands were glaciated
during the Pleistocene Epoch (2.5 million to 10,000 years ago). The sharpened
alpine glacial landforms conspicuous in the crest areas of these mountains are
best developed in Glacier National Park.
The eastern two-thirds of Montana is part
of the Great Plains. This region, known as the Missouri Plateau, is divided into
two segments, the glaciated section in the north and the unglaciated section in
the south. Both sections are generally flat or gently rolling, but the glaciated
north has numerous lakes while the unglaciated south is somewhat drier and
smoother. The general elevation of the Great Plains decreases from about 1,200 m
(about 4,000 ft) at the edge of the mountains in the west to about 600 m (about
2,000 ft) near the eastern boundary, although the descent is so gradual that it
is scarcely noticeable. Rising above the plains surface are several prominent
Rocky Mountain outliers, the Sweetgrass Hills, the Bear Paw Mountains, the
Little Rockies, the Highwood Mountains, the Judith Mountains, and the Little
Snowy and Big Snowy mountains.
Over thousands of years, most of the
streams and rivers of eastern Montana have cut valleys below the level of the
plains. Along the middle Missouri River and in the southeastern section, an
irregular badland topography was cut by water and wind erosion.
B | Rivers and Lakes |
Montana’s two main river systems are the
Missouri River and its tributaries, which flow east to the Mississippi River,
and tributaries of the Columbia River, which flow west into the Pacific
Ocean.
Trending southward across the western part
of Montana, the Continental Divide separates the state’s two major watersheds.
West of this continental backbone are the Clark Fork and the Kootenai River,
important tributaries of the Columbia River. The Clark Fork originates within
Montana and has as its primary tributaries the Flathead, Blackfoot, and
Bitterroot rivers. The Kootenai River rises in Canada and traverses a small area
in northwestern Montana.
The Missouri and its major tributary, the
Yellowstone River, are the principal rivers in eastern Montana. The Missouri
begins at the confluence of the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson rivers, near
the town of Three Forks. Other tributaries below Three Forks include the Sun,
Teton, Marias, Smith, Judith, Musselshell, and Milk rivers. The Yellowstone
rises south of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, flows north into Montana
and diagonally across the southeastern part of the state before joining the
Missouri in North Dakota just east of the state border. Main tributaries are the
Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone, the Bighorn, the Tongue, and the Powder rivers,
all of which also originate in Wyoming.
A tiny area of Montana is drained by the
Belly and Saint Mary rivers, which, rising in Glacier National Park, flow
northeast out of the state and into the Saskatchewan River in Canada. Their
waters eventually reach Hudson Bay.
Montana has numerous lakes and reservoirs.
Most of the natural lakes are in the mountains of the western third of the
state. Flathead Lake, with an area of 495 sq km (191 sq mi), is Montana’s
largest lake, and the largest natural freshwater lake in the contiguous states
west of the Mississippi River.
C | Climate |
Climatic regions in Montana coincide
roughly with the two major physiographic regions. In western Montana, as
compared with the eastern plains area, winters tend to be milder while summers
are cooler. Precipitation is more evenly distributed throughout the year in the
west, and it is cloudier and somewhat more humid in all seasons. In addition,
the growing season is shorter in the west, where some intermountain areas
experience only 50 to 100 days without frost a year. Eastern Montana has colder
winters, warmer summers, less cloudiness, the heaviest precipitation in late
spring and early summer, and considerably higher average wind velocities.
Frost-free periods in the east and in the state’s low-lying river valleys range
from 120 to 150 days per year.
Climatic extremes in Montana are great.
The lowest official temperature on record, -57°C (-70°F), occurred in 1954. In
1937 the warmest temperature of 47°C (117°F) was recorded. July mean
temperatures range from about 22°C (about 72°F) in southeastern Montana to about
16°C (about 60°F) in the higher southwest. January means vary from less than
-14°C (6°F) in the northeast to about -4°C (about 24°F) in the valleys of
western Montana.
Most of the eastern plains section and the
larger valleys of the west average about 380 mm (about 15 in) of precipitation a
year, while the higher mountain districts can receive more than 1,300 mm (50
in). Snowfall normally is heaviest in the mountains of the west, with as much as
7,600 mm (300 in) falling in some years. Storms of several types occur in
Montana. Summer hailstorms may cause severe crop and property damage.
D | Soils |
Mountain soils in western Montana consist
primarily of only partially decomposed rock. Many of the mountain soils are thin
and poorly developed. In much of eastern Montana the soils are considerably
richer. Where the land is generally flat, humus, or decomposed organic material,
from the grass cover of the plains has accumulated in the soils. Most of these
soils have a dark surface layer that has proved to be very fertile when
sufficient moisture is available.
Extensive areas of alluvial soils are
found along the Missouri, Yellowstone, and Milk rivers in the east. Alluvial
soils are also widely distributed in the west, primarily in the larger river
valleys. When irrigated, these soils are usually very productive.
E | Plant Life |
In western Montana small slow-growing
trees, such as the subalpine pine and whitebark pine, are found in the higher
mountainous areas. Below this zone the Douglas fir is very common, with
widespread expanses of spruce, particularly in the north. At these mid-mountain
elevations in the northwest corner of the state, trees requiring a wetter
environment thrive, including the lodgepole pine, mountain hemlock, western red
cedar, western white pine, grand fir, and the western larch, or western
tamarack. On the lower drier slopes of the western mountains the ponderosa pine,
the state tree, grows in stands mixed with Douglas fir.
Most of the northern and eastern parts of
the Great Plains are dominated by various types of mid- to short-height grasses,
including western wheatgrass, blue grama, bluebunch wheatgrass, needle and
thread, and three species of blue-stem. In the rugged country along the Missouri
River in central Montana is a discontinuous zone of scattered ponderosa pines,
which line the low-lying drainages. This open woodland area is used mainly for
grazing.
Wildflowers grow in abundance in Montana.
In the higher mountains, especially in the ranges of the west, are found the
Indian paintbrush, glacier lily, and aster. On the lower mountain slopes,
foothills, and valleys in western Montana the balsamroot, shooting star,
mariposa lily, bear grass, and bitterroot, the state flower, grow in profusion.
Wildflowers common to the plains, or prairies, include the purple coneflower,
varieties of aster, and the pasqueflower, or wild crocus. The four different
types of prairie cactus that grow in the state are less common, as is the
buttercup, which is more common along stream beds. The plains give way to a
steppe environment as the elevation rises gently to the west, where various
shrubs such as sagebrush become more prevalent.
F | Animal Life |
Montana’s animal life is extensive, with
more than 500 different species appearing within its borders. Among the
approximately 100 species of mammals are larger animals such as white-tailed
deer, mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, black bears, grizzly bears, antelope, Rocky
Mountain bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, caribou, and mountain lions.
Bison can be found today on Native American reservations, in private reserves,
and in the Yellowstone National Park region. In the 1980s and 1990s the wolf
returned to Montana’s backcountry. Within the state 19 species of smaller
fur-bearing animals also occur, including beavers, fishers, lynx, bobcats, and
wolverines.
In the mid-1990s a tremendous variety of
birds, about 390 species altogether, either lived in or migrated through
Montana. Of these birds, 248 species nested in the state, and 151 species
inhabited the state as a wintering ground. Montana had 3 species of swan, 5
species of goose, and 29 species of duck. Upland game birds included the
ring-necked pheasant, Merriam’s turkey, chucker partridge, and the ruffed, sage,
blue, and sharp-tailed grouse species. Some of the raptors found in the state
were the marsh hawk, Swainson’s hawk, American bald eagle, golden eagle,
kestrel, and, in lesser numbers, the peregrine falcon.
The waters of Montana are home to 86
species of fish, of which at least 53 species are native to the state. Yellow
perch, walleye, whitefish, kokanee salmon, arctic grayling, and bass all appear
in number, along with paddlefish, three species of sturgeon, and at least five
species of trout.
G | Conservation |
Montana’s farmers learned by experience
the need for conservation measures. The droughts of the 1930s brought economic
ruin to many ranchers and farmers, who for years had overstocked the ranges and
plowed grasslands suitable only for grazing. Since then, strip farming, contour
plowing, and other soil-conservation practices have been widely adopted.
Forest fires, wasteful logging, and
unrestricted hunting also helped deplete Montana’s resources. Extensive
reforestation, watershed management, fire protection, and other conservation
efforts began with the creation of national forests and, later, state forests.
State and federal game refuges, preserves, and ranges are found throughout
Montana, and the state fish and game department is active in wildlife
management.
With limited rainfall, Montana depends on
irrigation for a substantial part of its crop production. First practiced in the
western valleys in the 1840s, the use of irrigation has extended to 10 percent
of Montana’s croplands. In 1940 the United States Army Corps of Engineers
completed Fort Peck, one of the largest earthfill dams in the world. With a
surface area of 982 sq km (379 sq mi), the resulting reservoir, Fort Peck Lake,
combines facilities for irrigation with flood control, electric power, and
navigation. Other multipurpose dams in Montana are the Libby on the Kootenai
River, the Tiber Dike on the Marias River, the Hungry Horse on the South Fork of
the Flathead River, the Fresno on the Milk River, the Canyon Ferry on the
Missouri, the Yellowtail on the Bighorn River, and the Sherburne Lakes on
Swiftcurrent Creek.
In 2006 Montana had 14 hazardous waste
sites on a national priority list for cleanup due to their severity or proximity
to people. Montana was one of the few states in the nation where the amount of
toxic chemicals released into the environment actually increased in the period
1988-1995.
III | ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES |
Montana’s economy traditionally has been
based on its natural resources. Fertile soil in the eastern two-thirds of
Montana supports agriculture. Other major economic activities—mining, tourism,
and lumbering—take advantage of the state’s mineral deposits, scenic beauty, and
forestlands. Most manufacturing is concerned with processing the state’s
agricultural and forest products. Today, the service sector contributes the most
value to Montana’s economy, accounting for three-quarters of the gross state
product. The fastest-growing contributor to the state’s income in 1997 was
construction.
Montana’s labor force in 2006 was 494,000
people. The largest share of them, 39 percent, worked in the services sector,
doing such jobs as providing services to tourists or working in hospitals. Some
19 percent were employed in wholesale or retail trade; 19 percent in federal,
state, or local government, including those in the military; 7 percent in
farming (including agricultural services), forestry, or fishing; 5 percent in
manufacturing; 7 percent in construction; 14 percent in finance, insurance, or
real estate; 21 percent in transportation or public utilities; and 2 percent in
mining. In 2005, 11 percent of Montana’s workers were members of a labor
union.
A | Agriculture |
Cattle ranching was well established in
Montana by the late 19th century and wheat farming on the prairies was
expanding. But during the 1920s and 1930s drought and lowered prices dealt
agriculture a serious setback. The completion of the Fort Peck Dam in 1940,
which provided both irrigation and low-cost power, restored Montana’s
agricultural economy.
The total number of farms and ranches has
generally decreased in recent decades, while the size of the average unit has
increased. The average size of Montana’s 28,000 farms and ranches in 2005 was
868 hectares (2,146 acres). Altogether there were 24.3 million hectares (60.1
million acres) of farmland in 2005, about two-thirds of the state’s total land
area. Cropland occupied 19 percent of Montana’s land area, while rangeland and
pasture accounted for another 51 percent.
Wheat is Montana’s leading crop in terms
of sales. Most of the high-quality wheat is grown in the plains section, with
winter wheat being grown mainly in the area north of Great Falls and spring
wheat in the area bordering Canada. In 1997 Montana ranked third among the
states in wheat production, behind only North Dakota and Kansas.
Other important grain crops include
barley and oats. In 1997 Montana trailed only one other state, North Dakota, in
the production of barley, Montana’s third most valuable farm product. Hay was
the fourth most valuable farm commodity and is grown throughout the state. Feed
corn is raised in eastern Montana. Alfalfa, flaxseed, and mustard are also
important crops.
Sugar beets are raised on irrigated lands
around Billings and Sidney. Potatoes are grown in many parts of the state, and
truck gardens near the larger towns supply part of the local need for
vegetables. Beans are raised in large quantity near Billings. Cherry orchards
are found in the Flathead Lake region, and apples are grown primarily in the
valleys of western and south central Montana.
Cattle and calves play a central role in
Montana’s farm economy and in 1997 were the second most valuable agricultural
commodity. Beef cattle are raised in many parts of the state, while dairying is
important in several western valleys. Some hogs are raised in the eastern areas.
Montana raises a large number of sheep.
B | Forestry |
Forest lands in Montana cover 25 percent
of the state’s area. Commercial timber grows mainly in the mountainous west and
supplies Montana’s chief industry, timber processing.
Most of the lumber produced is softwood.
Major species include the ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, western white pine,
spruce, lodgepole pine, and western larch. The forests provide wood pulp for
paper, lumber for construction, mine timbers, telephone and telegraph poles,
railroad ties, and fuel. Montana is also a major producer of Christmas trees,
harvested both in the wild and on plantations.
C | Mining |
Although gold was discovered in the
1850s, it was a successive series of placer gold strikes beginning in the 1860s
that brought the first significant number of white settlers to Montana. Since
then, mining has remained an important activity.
Fuel resources, including petroleum,
coal, and natural gas, are largely found in eastern Montana. Metallic minerals,
including copper, silver, gold, lead, zinc, and tungsten, are found mainly in
the western mountains. Nonmetallic minerals, including sand and gravel,
limestone, phosphates, bentonite, fluorite, vermiculite, and gemstones are
widely distributed, although more are found in the central and western
regions.
The extraction of fossil fuels provides
the largest share of Montana’s mining income. By far the most valuable fossil
fuel is coal, which accounted for one-half of the state’s total energy
production value. The petroleum produced in 2006 amounted to 36.3 million
barrels. Production of natural gas remains important and totaled 3.2 billion cu
m (113 billion cu ft) in 2006. Petroleum and natural gas deposits are found in
several areas of the plains region, including the Bell Creek field in
southeastern Montana, the Pine and Pennel fields in eastern Montana, and the Cut
Bank field in the northwestern corner of Great Plains Montana. The major coal
mines, located in south central Montana, are surface strip-mining operations
that produce low-sulfur coal used for coal-fired electricity generation,
especially in states in the Midwest.
Metallic minerals provide the largest
share of Montana’s nonfuel mining income, with copper and gold leading the list
of important metals. Most of the state’s metallic mineral production comes from
mines which began operation since the early 1980s. Such mines include those
producing gold and silver located near Whitehall, east of Butte; at Jardine,
north of Yellowstone National Park; and north of Lewistown. The state’s largest
producer of precious metals is a mine in Stillwater County near Nye that
extracts platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold. Montana was the only U.S. state
mining platinum and palladium in the late 1990s, and in the same period its
production of zinc intensified. After several years of absence, copper mining
began again in 1986 at the historic mining town of Butte. Other relatively large
mines were in various development stages in the mid-1990s.
Portland cement is an important nonfuel
mineral commodity. Montana leads the nation in the production of talc. Sand and
gravel are obtained in all parts of the state. Phosphate rock is mined in
several western and southwestern counties. Montana produces significant
quantities of industrial-grade garnet.
D | Manufacturing |
The principal manufactures in Montana are
wood products, foodstuffs, printed matter, and electrical and electronic
devices. In the late 1990s the lumber and wood products industry provided more
than one-fourth of the state’s income from manufactures. Lumber industries are
concentrated in the mountainous west, where most of the commercial timber grows.
Four large sawmills are situated at Bonner, Columbia Falls, Kalispell, and
Libby. There are many small sawmills. Wood products are made in Missoula,
Frenchtown, Libby, Kalispell, Thompson Falls, Whitefish, and Bonner. Most of
Montana’s lumber and wood products are sold in other states or exported to
foreign countries.
Food-processing plants provide about
one-tenth of the manufacturing income in Montana. The plants are widely
distributed in the state. Flour mills are located in Billings and Great Falls.
Billings and Sidney have sugar refineries. Vegetable and fruit canneries are
situated in the Bitterroot Valley. There are dairies throughout the state. The
printing and publishing houses provide another one-tenth of Montana’s
manufacturing income.
Large-scale metals processing is limited
to two facilities, both of which process mostly ores produced in other
countries. At Columbia Falls an aluminum reduction facility converts alumina
from Australia and other countries to aluminum ingots. In East Helena a lead
smelter processes ores mostly from South America.
A number of other raw materials,
especially building materials and fuels, are processed in Montana. Cement is
produced at Trident and Montana City. Petroleum refineries are located in
Billings, Laurel, and Great Falls.
E | Electricity |
Montana’s vast power resources include
swiftly flowing rivers, as well as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. In 2005
some 65 percent of Montana’s electricity was generated in power plants burning
fossil fuels. Hydroelectric facilities were the other major source of power,
providing 34 percent of the state’s total electricity. The first important
hydroelectric plant was built at Black Eagle Falls, on the Missouri River near
Great Falls, in 1890.
F | Tourist Industry |
Tourism is a leading source of income,
contributing $2 billion to Montana’s economy in 2002. Easterners were attracted
to Montana as early as the late 19th century, and Montana’s dude ranches have
been popular since they first opened in 1920. Today, Yellowstone and Glacier
national parks are leading summer attractions, as are the numerous state parks
and recreation and wilderness areas. More than 6 million tourists visit
Yellowstone and Glacier national parks annually. The state has many popular
winter ski resorts, including Red Lodge Mountain; Big Mountain, near Whitefish;
Montana Snow Bowl, near Missoula; and Big Sky and Bridger Bowl, near
Bozeman.
G | Transportation |
Montana’s highways are difficult and
expensive to maintain, in part because of the state’s size. In addition, the
alternate freezing and thawing during winter months cause bad breaks in highway
surfaces and make recurrent major repairs necessary. In 2005 Montana had 111,590
km (69,339 mi) of municipal and rural highways, including 1,918 km (1,192 mi) of
the national interstate highway system.
Montana contains 5,261 km (3,269 mi) of
railroad track. Some 71 percent of the railroad freight originating in the state
is coal, with farm products representing 11 percent, lumber accounting for 5
percent, and petroleum products another 5 percent .
The principal airports in Montana are at
Billings and Great Falls. None of the state’s 11 airports are considered busy by
national standards.
IV | THE PEOPLE OF MONTANA |
A | Population Patterns |
Before the arrival of European settlers
the present-day state of Montana was thinly populated by numerous Native
American tribes. Among those who lived in the western valleys were the Flathead,
Kalispel, and Kootenai. East of the Continental Divide there were Plains groups,
including the Blackfoot, Crow, Sioux, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, and Cheyenne.
With the gradual white settlement of the area the Native Americans were
eventually forced onto reservations supervised by the federal government. There
were 56,100 Native Americans in the state in 2000.
Many of the first Europeans in the area
were French-Native American fur trappers from Canada. Although there were fewer
than 100 settlers in the region in 1860, the steady stream of hopeful
prospectors from the East and Midwest increased the number to 20,595 in 1870,
the year of the first census. Later the silver and copper mines drew Irish,
Cornish, and many other immigrants to Butte. A few blacks migrated from the
South after the American Civil War (1861-1865). With the settlement of the
eastern section by northern European and Slavic groups, most parts of the state
were occupied and the population reached 548,889 in 1920.
Although Montana ranks fourth in size
among the states, it was 44th in population, with 902,195 people, according to
the 2000 census. The 1990 census counted a population of 799,065, giving the
state a growth of 12.9 percent in ten years. The state has a population density
of 3 persons per sq km (6 per sq mi), as compared with the national average of
33 persons per sq km (86 per sq mi).
Whites constitute 90.6 percent of the
population in Montana. Native Americans are 6.2 percent, one of the largest
percentages of any state, while Asians are 0.5 percent, blacks 0.3 percent,
Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders 0.1 percent, and those of mixed
heritage or not reporting race 2.3 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race,
are 2 percent of the people.
B | Principal Cities |
In the middle years of the 20th century
there was a gradual shift in population away from the farms and a corresponding
increase in the number and size of the cities. Urban dwellers out-numbered the
rural population for the first time in 1960. During the 1980s, however, the
percentage of the population living in urban areas began to decrease, falling to
53 percent percent by 1990. The largest cities in 2006 were Billings, with
100,148 inhabitants; Great Falls, with 56,215; Missoula, with 64,081; Bozeman,
with 35,061; and Helena, the state capital, with 27,885. Other important Montana
cities include Kalispell (19,432) and Havre (9,451). Communities that are the
product of a consolidation between city and county jurisdictions include
Butte-Silver Bow, with 32,982 residents, and Anaconda, with 8,948
inhabitants.
C | Religion |
More than one-quarter of religious
adherents in Montana are Roman Catholics. Of the large number of Protestant
groups, Lutherans and Methodists are the most numerous.
V | EDUCATION AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS |
A | Education |
Montana’s first schools were operated by
religious missions to Native Americans. The state’s first non-mission schools
were opened in the mining towns of Bannack and Nevada City in 1863. Two years
later the first territorial legislature established a free elementary school
system. Public schools were soon organized, the first in Virginia City in 1866.
Free county high schools were established after 1897. County junior colleges
were founded in Miles City in 1939 and in Glendive in 1940. Public schools are
maintained on the Native American reservations, a few of which also have mission
schools and federally funded tribal schools.
School attendance is compulsory for
children ages 7 to 16. Of the students in the state, 6 percent percent attend
private schools. In the 2002–2003 school year Montana spent $8,100 on each
student’s education (the national average was $9,299). There were 14.4 students
for every teacher in 2003 (the national average was 15.9). Of those older than
25 years of age in the state, 90 percent had a high school diploma, placing
Montana in the top one-fourth of the country.
A1 | Higher Education |
State-supported higher education
developed after the legislature provided for a college in Bozeman and a
university in Missoula in 1893. These institutions were later combined with
teachers’ colleges and a school of mines to form the state university system.
Montana’s system of public higher education was reorganized in 1994, creating a
two-university system with all campuses merged under Montana State University
and the University of Montana. The system includes Montana State
University-Bozeman; Montana State University-Billings; Montana State
University-Great Falls College of Technology; Montana State University-Northern,
in Havre; University of Montana-Missoula; Western Montana College of The
University of Montana, in Dillon; and Montana Tech of the University of Montana,
in Butte. In 2004–2005 Montana had 18 public and 5 private institutions of
higher education.
B | Libraries and Museums |
Montana is served by 79 tax-supported
public library systems. The libraries each year circulate an average of 5.7
books for every resident. The libraries of the state university system,
particularly those in Missoula, Bozeman, and Butte, have large collections on
all subjects. Rural library services have developed substantially with the wide
use of bookmobiles and interlibrary loans to local libraries. Recently, these
services have been further enhanced by the creation of service regions, each
with a lead library, and a statewide network for book loans.
A special research library, state
archives, and a historical museum are maintained by the Montana State Historical
Society in Helena. The museum contains displays illustrating Montana’s
settlement history and development. It also has a collection of paintings and
sculpture by Charles M. Russell, as does the C. M. Russell Museum at the
historic home and studio of the artist in Great Falls. The Museum of the Plains
Indians in Browning has exhibits showing the life of the Plains Native
Americans. Billings is home to the Western Heritage Center, and Missoula is the
site of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. The Mineral Museum and World
Museum of Mining are both located in Butte. The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman
has evolved into one of the nation’s centers for dinosaur research and display,
as well as becoming a major tourist destination.
C | Communications |
Journalism in Montana dates from the
publication of the Montana Post in Virginia City in 1864. In 2002 Montana
had 11 daily newspapers. The Montana Standard of Butte, the
Billings Gazette, the Missoula Missoulian, and the Great
Falls Tribune are among the leading publications.
In 2002 Montana had 30 AM and 35 FM radio
stations and 17 television stations. The state’s first radio station was
licensed in 1922. KXLF-TV in Butte, Montana’s first commercial television
station, began operation in 1953.
D | Music and Theater |
Since early mining days, when touring
companies visited the boomtowns, interest in the theater has been kept alive
through active community and university drama groups. Acclaimed national touring
groups based in Montana include the Montana Repertory Theatre, in Missoula, and
the Missoula Children’s Theater. Two other dramatic groups that perform
regionally are Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and the Vigilante Theatre
Company, both headquartered in Bozeman. The Myrna Loy Center coordinates diverse
artistic events in the capital city. The larger cities of Montana, including
Billings, Great Falls, Missoula, Bozeman, Helena, and Butte, all sponsor
community symphony orchestras.
VI | RECREATION AND PLACES OF INTEREST |
Montana’s spectacular natural features
offer vacationers a wide choice of year-round recreation. The scenic mountain
country provides challenging ski slopes in winter and footpaths and bridle paths
in summer. Montana has thousands of miles of streams, hundreds of lakes, and
several reservoirs for fishing and water sports. Since before the arrival of
Europeans wild animals and game birds have been hunted in the state’s plains and
forests. Camping, mountain climbing, prospecting, and fossil hunting are also
popular forms of recreation.
A | Parks and Forests |
Among the major tourist attractions in
Montana are Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. Although only
the extreme northern and a section of the far western part of Yellowstone extend
into Montana, three of the five entrances to the park are located in Montana.
Glacier National Park straddles a wild rugged section of the Rockies in
northwestern Montana. Covering 410,178 hectares (1,013,572 acres), it is noted
for the spectacular scenery carved by the ancient glaciers. Although the
Going-to-the-Sun Highway crosses the park, most of its nearly 50 glaciers,
bedded high in the mountains, are accessible only by trails. Montana’s ten
national forests contain more than 7.7 million hectares (19.1 million acres).
Flathead is the largest national forest in the state.
Montana has several areas set aside to
preserve its wilderness character. While motor vehicles are prohibited, the
areas are accessible by pack horse or foot and afford some of the nation’s most
spectacular scenery. One of the largest in the country is the Bob Marshall
Wilderness, which, when combined with the Great Bear and Scapegoat wilderness
areas, forms a contiguous wildlands of more than 600,000 hectares (1.5 million
acres) straddling the Continental Divide. Wildlife is also protected in several
areas, including the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, which extends
for about 200 km (about 125 mi) along the shores of Fort Peck Lake.
Montana’s more than 40 state parks
provide a variety of recreational facilities. Flathead Lake, West Shore, and
Yellow Bay state parks encircle Flathead Lake, one of the largest lakes in the
West. Other waterside state parks are found at Whitefish Lake and Salmon Lake.
Water sports are enjoyed on the reservoir formed by Fort Peck Dam at Hell Creek
State Park, as well as at other reservoirs, including the popular Canyon Ferry
Lake. Eroded by wind and rain, fantastically shaped sandstone ridges tower above
the plains near eastern Montana’s badlands in both Makoshika and Medicine Rocks
state parks. Other tourist attractions are the Lewis and Clark Caverns, where
underground passageways are studded with stalactites and stalagmites.
B | Historic Monuments |
Little Bighorn Battlefield National
Monument, near Hardin, is the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where
Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and all his command were killed by Sioux and
Cheyenne warriors in 1876. Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, near Deer
Lodge, was the headquarters area of one of the largest range ranches in the
country in the 19th century. The Big Hole National Battlefield, near Wisdom,
marks the site where on August 9, 1877, United States troops were defeated by
Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce followers during their march to refuge in
Canada.
The scene of Chief Joseph’s surrender is
marked at Bear’s Paw Battleground, south of Chinook. Bannack State Park, near
Dillon, was once a gold-rush town and Montana’s first territorial capital. The
site of Fort Owen, near Stevensville, a trading post in pioneer days, is a state
monument. The arrival of members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition at the source
of the Missouri River is commemorated by the Missouri River Headwaters State
Park, near Three Forks.
C | Other Places to Visit |
Giant Springs, in Great Falls, spews
forth about 1.5 million cu m (about 52 million cu ft) of water daily. Noted by
Lewis and Clark, it is one of the world’s largest freshwater springs. Nearby are
the scenic Rainbow Falls and Great Falls, the largest waterfall on the Missouri
River. Herds of bison, elk, deer, and antelope are protected on the National
Bison Range, a federal preserve near Moiese.
Among the frontier towns that have been
restored or partially preserved in Montana are Elkhorn, Garnet, Granite, Nevada
City, and Virginia City, the second territorial capital.
D | Annual Events |
The rodeo season in Montana begins in
June, and almost every town has a rodeo sometime during the summer. Rodeos
include intercollegiate competitions at the Big Sky Rodeo in Billings and
competitions among high school students such as that in Hamilton. Other rodeos
include the Livingston Roundup and Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede, both in July.
Montana residents frequently design festivals around their community’s major
occupation, such as the Great Falls Railroad Show in June, Libby Logger Days in
July, or the Threshing Bee in Choteau each September. Other events are
constructed around the ways state residents have fun, such as the walleye
fishing tournament in Havre in June or the Winter Fair in Bozeman each January.
The Montana State Fair is held in early August in Great Falls.
VII | GOVERNMENT |
Montana is governed under a constitution
adopted in 1972. This constitution went into effect in 1973, replacing the
state’s original constitution, in effect from 1889. An amendment to the
constitution may be proposed by the legislature, by initiative, or by a
constitutional convention. To be ratified, an amendment must be approved by a
majority of the people voting on the issue in a general election.
A | Executive |
The executive officers are the governor,
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, attorney general, and
superintendent of public instruction. All are elected for four-year terms.
B | Legislative |
The Montana legislature consists of a
Senate with 50 members and a House of Representatives with 100 members. All
legislators are elected from single-member districts. Senators serve four-year
terms and representatives two-year terms. The legislature convenes in
odd-numbered years in January. Special sessions may be called by the governor or
a majority in each chamber of the legislature itself.
C | Judicial |
The judiciary is headed by a supreme
court of seven justices elected on a nonpartisan ballot for eight-year terms.
The judiciary also includes district courts and justices’ courts. A sheriff and
county attorney enforce the laws of each county.
D | Local Government |
Since the new Montana State Constitution
took effect in 1973, localities in the state have held a rather unique position
in the nation in terms of self-governance. The state constitution stipulates
that every ten years the state legislature must provide the means for all 182
local governments to reassess their governmental organizations. Each local
electorate then has the chance to propose alternative styles of government and
to vote for the system it desires for the next decade. As a result, local forms
of self-government often vary considerably from city to city, county to county,
and decade to decade. Executive and legislative functions are typically shared
between commissions, managers, local parliaments, and town meetings.
The self-governing Native Americans on
the reservations have their own police and judicial systems, and are not subject
to state laws. Major offenses on the reservations are tried in federal
courts.
E | National Representation |
Montana elects two senators and one
representative to the Congress of the United States, giving the state three
electoral votes in presidential elections.
VIII | HISTORY |
A | Early Inhabitants |
Montana’s Native American population
can be divided into two regional groups: those who lived in the Great Plains in
eastern Montana, and those who lived around the Rocky Mountains. The Kootenai
(also spelled Kutenai) and the Salish lived primarily in the western part of the
state. The Blackfoot, Flathead, Assiniboine, and Crow lived primarily in the
eastern part of the state. Many other Native American groups, such as the Sioux,
Gros Ventre, and Cheyenne also spent time in Montana; however, their territory
fell generally more to the east. In addition, nomadic tribes, including the Nez
Perce from the west and the Arapaho and the Teton from the south and east,
wandered in and out of the state.
Bison dominated the lives of the Native
Americans of the Great Plains, an area with a climate too dry for farming, few
lakes carrying fish, and a limited amount of wild vegetables and nuts. The
Native Americans ate bison meat, made clothing from its skins and used its bones
for tools. In order to trap the animals, some Native American groups built
corrals made of brush and poles near step bluffs or ravines. Then they drove
bison herds toward the corrals. When the bison entered the corrals, men hiding
behind the corral walls chased the bison over the cliffs.
The Blackfoot Native Americans began
using horses in the middle of the 18th century. The horse had a dramatic impact
on their lives, allowing these nomadic people to travel farther, carry more
food, clothing, and shelter, and keep tribal groups together because the elderly
and children could ride the horses.
In the 19th century when bison hides
and buffalo tongue became fashionable among whites, hunting parties killed up to
200 bison at one time. The bison were close to extinction at the end of the 19th
century. This, along with the arrival of white settlers, changed the Plains
peoples’ nomadic lifestyle.
B | Early European Contact |
During the 18th century, European fur
trappers traveled inland from the East Coast in search of precious beaver pelts.
French trappers, or coureurs de bois, and adventurers monopolized
the region around Lake Superior, and some may have ventured as far west as
Montana. In 1743 the fur-trading sons of French Canadian Pierre Gaultier de
Varennes, Sieur de La Vérendrye—Louis-Joseph and François—wrote in their
journals about the “Shining Mountains,” which some historians have attributed to
the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, seen from the Great Plains in Montana.
Although present-day Montana had not
been formally explored, France claimed all the land lying to the west of the
Mississippi River, including Montana. Colonial rivalry had gradually developed
between France and Great Britain over lucrative fur-trading posts and land west
of the Appalachian Mountains. In 1754 the French and Indian War broke out
between the French and the British. As the war progressed, the British gained a
superior position, and the French asked for aid from the Spanish. In return for
Spain’s aid, in 1762 France ceded its ally land, which included Montana. With
the rise of Napoleon in France at the end of the 18th century, France reclaimed
the land ceded 38 years earlier through the Treaty of San Ildefonso. In 1803 in
a transaction called the Louisiana Purchase, the United States acquired this
territory from France. The Louisiana Purchase was roughly bounded by the 49th
parallel to the north, the Rocky Mountains to the west, the Mississippi River to
the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south.
C | Lewis and Clark Expedition |
After the Louisiana Purchase, President
Thomas Jefferson sent out an expedition to explore the land acquired in the
purchase and to search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean. Explorers
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left from St. Louis, Missouri, on their
historic quest in May 1804 (see Lewis and Clark Expedition). On April 26,
1805, they entered Montana above the mouth of the Yellowstone River and followed
the Missouri River westward. When the expedition reached Great Falls, the
explorers had to carry their canoes and gear over about 29 km (about 19 mi) of
treacherous cataracts and rapids. Next, Lewis and Clark entered the steep canyon
that they named the Gates of the Mountains. In July 1805 the expedition reached
the headwaters of the Missouri River, called the Three Forks. They named the
branches of the headwaters the Jefferson, the Gallatin, and the Madison rivers.
They continued their journey on the Jefferson River. By a circuitous route they
crossed the Rocky Mountains, and in mid-September they traversed Lolo Pass into
Idaho and left Montana. The following spring the Lewis and Clark Expedition
reentered Montana and separated so they could more fully explore and chart the
area. Lewis took a northern route along the Blackfoot, Marias, and Missouri
rivers, and Clark went southeast along the Jefferson and Yellowstone rivers. On
August 12, 1806, they met again below the mouth of the Yellowstone, and they
left Montana.
D | Fur Trade |
Although a few French and American fur
traders may have come into Montana before the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the
main wave of traders came after the explorers returned East with their reports
of abundant beaver. For the next 40 years, fur traders and trappers—representing
the North West Company, the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Missouri and Rocky
Mountain Fur companies, and the American Fur Company—roamed throughout Montana.
Competition was fierce among fur traders, and the different companies maneuvered
to establish trading territories in the region. Montana’s first fur-trading post
was established in 1807 by Manuel Lisa on the Bighorn River. It was known by a
variety of names, including Fort Remon, Lisa’s Fort, and Fort Manuel. From this
outpost, trappers traded with the Crow. David Thompson, a Canadian explorer and
trapper for the North West Company, established a fort near Libby, Montana.
Trappers traded successfully with the Kootenai and Salish people. The American
Fur Company eventually dominated fur trade along the Upper Missouri River. In
the late 1840s as fur resources dwindled and silk hats replaced beaver hats in
popularity, the trappers and traders largely abandoned Montana. Fort Benton on
the Missouri River was the only remaining trading post, and it was thereafter
the debarkation point for Missouri River steamboats in the 1860s.
The fur trade had a strong impact on
Native American populations in Montana. Trappers introduced Native Americans to
alcohol, in spite of a federal law passed in 1832 that prohibited the transport
of liquor into Indian country. Diseases, such as smallpox, spread through the
region, killing thousands of Plains people. The influx of trading goods also
changed the power structure among some tribes. Those who were able to trade
effectively with the white trappers controlled these new trading commodities and
had higher social status.
E | Missionaries and Surveyors |
After the decline of the fur trade, few
people came to visit or settle in Montana. About the only outsiders to come to
the area were missionaries and railroad surveyors. In the early 1830s the
Flathead and Nez Perce sent delegations to St. Louis to request that
missionaries give them religious instruction. The first to respond were
Methodists and Presbyterians; however, these missionaries settled farther west
in Oregon. In 1841 the Jesuit priest Pierre Jean de Smet established Saint
Mary’s Mission among the Flathead in the Bitterroot Valley. The missionary
promoted agriculture and built a sawmill and a primitive flour mill. In 1846 de
Smet began missionary work with the Blackfoot people. The Flathead, who were
fierce enemies of the Blackfoot, felt betrayed by the Jesuits. Relations between
the Flathead and Jesuits deteriorated, and in 1850 the Jesuits sold their
mission to entrepreneur John Owen, who turned the mission into a trading post.
In 1853 the United States War Department made surveys for the construction of a
railroad that would connect the Pacific Coast with the East.
F | The Discovery of Gold |
The discovery of gold in Montana
brought many white settlers to the region. The first recorded evidence of the
presence of gold in Montana was written in John Owen’s diary in 1852. However,
it was not until James and Granville Stuart and Reece Anderson found gold at
Gold Creek in 1858 that prospectors began coming to Montana. The gold rush began
in full force in 1862, when strikes were made on Grasshopper Creek. Hundreds of
miners poured into Montana. Boomtowns thrived and declined as new discoveries of
gold were made and as the old sites became depleted. Bannack, the first of the
boomtowns, had a population of about 500 in 1862. It changed its name to Bannack
City in 1864 when its population reached 1,000. Virginia City was founded on the
site of a sizable 1863 strike, and it quickly grew to a city of about 10,000
people. Helena was founded at Last Chance Gulch after strikes were made there in
1864.
The boomtowns were characterized by
makeshift dwellings and transient, sometimes lawless inhabitants. Henry Plummer,
whose career as an outlaw began in California, established a criminal gang in
Montana that attacked travelers and stole gold deliveries. Plummer’s gang may
have been responsible for the death of more than 100 people. To cope with
lawlessness the mining towns developed their own law enforcement methods. In
1863 Virginia City organized a vigilante committee to combat Plummer’s
activities. The vigilante committee enlisted close to 2,000 men. By 1864 the
vigilantes had hanged 24 members of the Plummer gang, including Plummer
himself.
Transportation routes quickly developed
to link mining towns with the outside world. In 1862 John Mullan, a
representative of Washington Territory, started developing a primitive road
linking Fort Benton to Walla Walla, Washington. Starting in 1859, steamboats
from St. Louis carried passengers up the Missouri River to Fort Benton on the
spring and early summer floodwaters. From there the miners went along Mullan
Wagon Road to the mining districts. A number of freight companies also
transported goods to and from the mining camps.
G | The Montana Territory |
Before the influx of settlers, the vast
and largely uninhabited region of Montana had been administered as part of seven
different U.S. territories: Louisiana, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Nebraska,
Dakota, and, finally, Idaho. In the early 1860s, the growing population in
Montana demanded a more centralized form of government. In 1863 Idaho Territory
was created, including present-day Idaho, Montana, and most of Wyoming. This
territory proved too difficult to manage, and in 1864, Sidney Edgerton, a
justice of the Idaho Territory, went to Washington, D.C., to petition the
government to create a new territory. Montana was made a territory on May 26,
1864. A popularly elected bicameral legislature was given the authority to make
laws, and the legislators sent one non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of
Representatives to speak for Montana’s interests. From 1864 to 1875, Virginia
City acted as the territory’s capital. In 1875 the capital was moved to
Helena.
H | Conflict with Native Americans |
In 1851 United States government
officials met with Great Plains tribal leaders in Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and
negotiated the Fort Laramie Treaty, which was meant to resolve conflict among
hostile Native American groups and between Native Americans and whites. This
treaty established territorial claims for the Blackfoot in north central
Montana, for the Crow in the Yellowstone Valley, and for the Assiniboine in
northeastern Montana.
Four years later, Washington
territorial governor Isaac Stevens opened negotiations with the Flathead,
Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreille (primarily in Idaho), and later with the Blackfoot.
Stevens intended to remove Native Americans to reservations. In exchange for
ceded lands, Stevens promised the Native American groups improvements to
reservations and annuities. The Flathead, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai agreed to
share the Jocko Indian Reservation, which covered about 518,000 hectares (about
1,280,000 acres) to the south of Flathead Lake. The Flathead, who were reluctant
to leave the Bitterroot Valley, inserted a clause into the treaty that allowed
them to stay in their home for a temporary period. The Blackfoot also signed a
treaty that bound them to a region in northern Montana. By 1868 nearly
one-quarter of Montana had been set aside for reservations. However, whites
frequently violated the treaties by using Native American land.
As Montana became more populated during
the gold rushes in the 1860s, white settlers and Native Americans clashed.
Although the incidents were generally minor—a stolen horse or missing
livestock—occasionally settlers or Native Americans were killed. In response to
these incidents, the white immigrants demanded federal protection. In 1866 the
army established Fort C.F. Smith, its first post in Montana. Later forts were
built along the Mullan Road, near the Bozeman Trail, and to the east of
Helena.
In 1869 a series of attacks on white
settlers and on Native Americans drove the settlers from around Fort Benton to
demand military action. Major Eugene M. Baker, who believed that the Blackfoot
were responsible for the violence, led an attack on an innocent Blackfoot camp.
This offensive left 173 Blackfoot dead. The Blackfoot, who were divided about
how to react to the massacre, did not mount a counterattack.
The gold rush also provoked conflict
between the Sioux in Montana and the white settlers. The Sioux were opposed to
settlers using the Bozeman Trail, which crossed Sioux territory in the Great
Plains region, to reach mining districts. The federal government attempted to
negotiate with the Sioux at Fort Laramie in 1866, but the Sioux broke off the
talks. Throughout the next few years, the Sioux regularly attacked settlements
and travelers along the Bozeman Trail. In 1868 the government and the Sioux met
at Fort Laramie again and signed a treaty, which closed the Bozeman Trail and
provided a reservation for the Sioux in the Black Hills in Dakota
Territory.
Some Sioux were dissatisfied with this
agreement, including Sioux leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. This group
continued to live near the Bozeman Trail. In 1874 gold was found within the
boundaries of the reservation in the Black Hills, which brought in white
prospectors. Some Sioux left the reservation to join Sitting Bull and Crazy
Horse. In 1876 the United States government sent troops, including Lieutenant
Colonel George Custer and his regiment, to relocate this group to the
reservation. On June 25, 1876, a Sioux force under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse
defeated Custer’s troops at the Little Bighorn. Although the Sioux were
victorious in this famous battle, the United States sent reinforcements, and
Crazy Horse gave up his arms in 1877. Sitting Bull conceded victory to the
United States in 1881.
I | Raising Livestock on the Open Range |
Early settlers in Montana raised
cattle, and the influx of prospectors during the 1860 gold rushes increased the
demand for beef. Some settlers decided that raising livestock on Montana’s open
ranges was more lucrative than prospecting for gold. Ranchers such as Nelson
Story drove Texas longhorn cattle into Montana to graze on the rich prairie
grasses before sending them to market. Montana ranchers drove their cattle to
Wyoming to sell them in Cheyenne. From the mid-1860s to mid-1880s the cattle
market was highly inflated, so that a shrewd rancher could realize a large
profit on his investment. In 1883, when the Utah and Northern and the Northern
Pacific railroads were joined near Gold Creek, ranchers had an easy and
economical method of shipping their herds to market. Successively, Billings,
Miles City, Culbertson, Havre, and other cities developed as shipping points and
stockyards.
Sheep, which survive drought better
than cattle, were first brought into the Bitterroot Valley in 1857. Later,
sheepherders moved their flocks onto the open range and began to challenge
cattle ranchers, who had freely used the eastern plains of Montana. Sheep need
large grazing areas and graze so closely to the ground that cattle cannot feed
where sheep have been. The cattle ranchers fought the sheepherders to control
the range. In addition, a boom in the cattle industry led to large herds, which
resulted in overgrazing. In 1886 poor grazing conditions combined with severe
weather caused up to 60 percent of the cattle herd to die.
Ultimately the cattle ranchers were
forced to give up the open range. Eventually, at the end of the 19th century,
the range was fenced in with barbed wire. The long Texas-to-Montana cattle
drives came to an end, and the cattle ranchers and the sheepherders both adopted
scientific breeding and feeding methods.
J | Silver and Copper |
Although prospectors in Montana found
silver mixed in with gold deposits in the 1860s, silver remained largely
untouched because it was less valuable and harder to process than gold.
Prospectors filtered gold chunks from the water of streams, whereas silver had
to be dug from underground mines. Then, separating the silver from other
materials required a stamping mill and smelter. Furthermore, silver could only
be exploited effectively where good transportation was available. In 1875 rich
silver mines were discovered at Butte. William Andrews Clark bought Butte’s
first silver mine and completed construction of the first smelter and stamping
mill in 1876. A year after the silver discovery, Marcus Daly, an experienced
miner, bought his first silver mine. The growing silver industry was boosted by
the arrival of the railroad in Montana. Processed silver was easily transported
to national markets, and by 1883 the Montana Territory had become the second
largest silver producer in the nation, a position it maintained until the
1890s.
Daly purchased the Anaconda Mine, near
Butte, where copper, not silver, was discovered. The Anaconda Mine had one of
the world’s richest copper veins. Daly developed a copper treatment center and
expanded his operations regularly. Due to the proximity of natural resources
such as water and timber and the availability of inexpensive labor, the Anaconda
Mine soon became one of the leading copper producers in the country. The copper
industry was extremely competitive. In 1898 Daly’s Anaconda Copper Company
became embroiled in litigation about mining with Fritz Heinze, the owner of the
Montana Ore Purchasing Company. Heinze, who had first worked for Daly as an
underground surveyor, purchased the rights to land bordering Daly’s mines and
laid claim to rich veins of copper he had seen inside Daly’s mines. The law
permitted a mine owner to follow an ore vein under the land of another owner. In
1899 the Standard Oil Company bought control of Anaconda and incorporated it
into a holding company, Anaconda-Amalgamated. Anaconda-Amalgamated filed suit
against Heinze; however, Heinze’s influence over local judges and newspapers
prevented a judgment against him. In 1903 the state legislature bowed to the
pressure of Anaconda-Amalgamated and passed a change-of-venue law, enabling
judges in other districts to hear controversial cases. This ended Heinze’s
influence, and in 1906 he sold his Butte holdings to Anaconda-Amalgamated and
moved to New York.
K | The Road to Statehood |
Montana’s 25-year-long territorial
history was marked by conflict, including wars with Native Americans and
disputes among mining interests. The federal government, which appointed
territorial officials, contributed to the disorder by appointing mainly
Republican governors, although most Montanans were Democrats.
In 1866 Montana’s acting territorial
governor, General Thomas Francis Meagher, held the first constitutional
convention and made the first petition for statehood. However, Montana’s
population was still too small to change its territorial status. A second
constitutional convention was held in 1884, but the Congress of the United
States refused to consider statehood for Montana. Finally, in 1889 a third
constitutional convention was held, and Montana was admitted to the Union as the
41st state on November 8, 1889. Montana’s constitution of 1889 limited the
authority of the governor and granted each county one state senator. Although
larger counties complained that more rural areas were getting a high level of
representation, rural communities argued that they needed the voice to
counteract the mining lobby.
L | Early State Politics |
The first decade of Montana’s statehood
was dominated by a rivalry between the mining magnates, who were known as the
copper kings. Marcus Daly’s Anaconda Mine had one of the world’s richest copper
veins. When William Clark began to have copper interests in addition to silver,
he and Daly clashed over control of the industry. Clark unsuccessfully ran for
the U.S. Senate in 1890 and again in 1893. In 1894 when Montana voters were
given the opportunity to choose the state’s permanent capital, Daly campaigned
in favor of moving the capital to Anaconda, while Clark maintained that Anaconda
was ruled by mining interests and that the capital should remain in Helena. The
people voted to keep the state capital in Helena. In 1900 Clark ran for senator
and was elected. Nonetheless, Daly charged that Clark had run a corrupt
campaign, which led to an investigation by the Senate Committee on Privileges
and Elections. The committee found wrongdoing and voted unanimously to deny
Clark his seat in the Senate.
In 1873 the United States, which had
previously issued money in silver and gold, stopped minting silver coins. As a
result, silver prices dropped and silver miners suffered. In the 1890s, the
Populist Party, or People’s Party, gained a following in Montana because they
campaigned for the minting of silver coins. Populist issues such as the free
coinage of silver, government ownership of train and telegraph lines, and a
graduated income tax appealed to the mining industry, which had suffered during
an economic depression in 1893. In 1896 Populist Robert B. Smith was elected
governor of Montana. The Populists passed mining safety reforms and established
the eight-hour workday. They were also successful in instituting political
reforms, such as the referendum and initiative, which allow citizens to pass
laws by popular vote.
Women in Montana had more rights than
in most of the country. The territorial government had permitted women to vote
in some local and school elections, beginning in 1869. In 1914 women were
granted full suffrage. In 1916 Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first
woman to be elected to the United States House of Representatives and Maggie
Hathaway became the first woman appointed as the minority leader in the state
legislature.
M | Economic Growth and the Homesteader Boom |
Montana attracted many immigrants. Its
population grew from 39,159 in 1880 to 142,924 in 1890 and to 243,329 in 1900.
The population growth was made possible by the completion of the railroads. In
1893 the University of Montana was chartered, and six years later the capitol,
appropriately bearing a copper dome, was dedicated in Helena. Many of the
state’s newest citizens were lured by the silver and copper operations, coal and
lead mining, and the development of the lumber industry.
In the early 1870s small farms had been
developed in the mountain valleys to feed the mining communities and boomtowns.
Farming spread slowly, until the U.S. Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act
of 1909. This legislation provided 130 hectares (320 acres) of public domain
land in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and
Wyoming to settlers who pledged to cultivate half the land. Immediately after
the passage of the act, land offices processed between 1,000 and 1,500 homestead
land claims per month. Thousands of merchants, farmers, and professional people
entered the state to acquire cheap land.
Montana’s rich soil produced some of
the nation’s best wheat. From 1909 to 1916, Montana was blessed with
above-average rainfall and saw its wheat production rise from 11 million bushels
in 1909 to more than 42 million in 1915. In addition, wheat prices increased
during World War I (1914-1918), which increased demand for wheat, and Montana
farmers prospered.
In 1917, however, this prosperity was
suddenly reversed by a ruinous drought. The farmers compounded the effects of
the drought by planting crops on lands better suited to grazing. The soil, dry
from lack of rain, turned to dust and blew away; in addition, hordes of
grasshoppers appeared and ravaged the remaining crops. To make matters worse,
international wheat prices fell after World War I. In the early 1920s land
values dropped, half of the farm mortgages were foreclosed, and 20 percent of
farms were abandoned as families sought better opportunities elsewhere.
N | The Great Depression |
During the Great Depression, the
international economic decline of the 1930s, the copper industry suffered
extensive losses. Inexpensive copper from Africa and South America flooded the
market; Montana mines cut back production significantly and thousands of miners
lost their jobs. Agriculture also suffered; prices dropped, and drought hit
Montana again.
After Franklin Delano Roosevelt was
elected president of the United States in 1932, he initiated a number of
domestic programs, called the New Deal, to help the nation recover from the
depression. Farmers from Montana benefited from programs that subsidized crops,
offered low interest loans, and brought electricity to many rural areas. The
Silver Purchase Act of 1934 helped raise the price of silver and stimulated the
mining industry. Many water-control and irrigation systems were constructed by
the federal and state governments. The most significant was the Fort Peck Dam on
the Missouri River, a New Deal project completed in 1939.
O | Recent Economic Developments |
World War II (1939-1945) brought
renewed demand for the state’s agricultural products and also for raw materials
such as minerals and lumber. A number of military bases were also opened in
Montana, including a training site for fighting in arctic conditions.
During the postwar building boom,
Montana’s lumber industry, which previously had accounted only for a fraction of
the nation’s lumber production, grew considerably.
Oil production also increased after the
war; in 1949 oil production was worth more than copper production in Montana.
Oil production had played a part in the economy since 1915, when the Elk Basin
field, near the Wyoming border, was opened. In the beginning, Montana’s oil
production, like its timber industry, was insignificant compared to national
production. Postwar prosperity, however, stimulated exploration of additional
oil sites. In 1951 oil was found in the Williston Basin in eastern Montana, and
in 1967 relatively shallow low-cost fields were opened up near Broadus. This
discovery inspired drilling in many areas of Montana east of the Rocky
Mountains. Natural gas became important after the discovery in 1967 of a major
gas field in the Bear Paw Mountains. The oil and gas industries prospered during
the 1970s when worldwide energy shortages drove up prices and led to further
exploration and drilling. During the 1980s energy prices dropped and Montana’s
oil and gas production decreased dramatically. Montana, which relies heavily on
taxes on natural resources, was unable to collect as much tax during the 1980s.
As a result, starting in 1986 the government cut back on spending.
Tourism has played a role in Montana’s
economy since 1872, when Yellowstone National Park was created. It received a
further boost in 1910, when Glacier National Park was established. In the early
days trains carried tourists to see Montana’s natural beauty and to experience
life on dude ranches. However, after World War II tourism became an important
part of the state’s economy. By the 1960s out-of-state tourists spent about $72
million per year in Montana; by 1990 tourism was the second most important
industry in the state following agriculture. In the 1970s developers constructed
the first large multipurpose vacation resorts in Montana, but these facilities
remain small compared to similar developments in Colorado or Idaho. The Montana
government has been slow to take advantage of this growing industry and did not
initiate a hotel tax until 1987. As the importance of mining to the state’s
economy declined in the 1980s, the importance of the tourism industry
increased.
P | Recent Political Trends |
Politically, Montana generally remained
fairly evenly divided between the two major parties during the 1970s and 1980s.
Voters consistently preferred conservatives in local elections and liberals in
national ones.
In 1972 Montana adopted a new state
constitution, which took effect in 1973. The new constitution made major changes
in the state government, including establishing single-member legislative
districts, a statewide tax assessment so that properties of equal value would be
taxed at the same level, and strengthening the powers of the legislature and the
executive. Inspired by a growing environmentalist movement, the new constitution
also guaranteed “the right to a clean and healthful environment” and the right
to individual privacy.
In 1973 the government passed
legislation that required the restoration of mined land. In 1975 the legislature
passed a 30 percent coal severance tax, which established an endowment for when
coal supplies were depleted. This law was challenged by mining interests as
interfering with interstate commerce, but was upheld by the Supreme Court of the
United States in 1981.
Since the 1990s, Montana politics have
become more conservative, highlighted by tax protest movements, the election of
Republican Marc Racicot as governor in 1992, and a Republican sweep of the state
legislature in 1994. After reelecting Racicot in 1996, voters elected the
state’s first female governor, Republican Judy Martz, in 2000. The statehouse
returned to the Democratic column in 2004 with the election of Brian Schweitzer,
a farmer, as governor.
The History section of this article was
contributed by Michael P. Malone. The remainder of the article was contributed
by John Arnold Alwin.
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