Fort Benton, Montana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fort Benton
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Chouteau County Courthouse
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| Nickname(s):
"The Birth Place Of Montana"
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Location of Fort Benton, Montana
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| Country | United States |
| State | Montana |
| County | Chouteau |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.29 sq mi (5.94 km2) |
| • Land | 2.29 sq mi (5.94 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,621 ft (799 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,449 |
| • Density | 632.75/sq mi (243.94/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code |
59442
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| Area code(s) | 406 |
| FIPS code | 30-28000 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1750122 |
| Website | www.fortbenton.com |
Fort Benton is a city in and the county seat of Chouteau County, Montana, United States. Established in 1846, Fort Benton is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in Montana. The city's waterfront area, the most important aspect of its 19th century growth, was designated the Fort Benton Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, in 1961.
The population was 1,449 at the 2020 census.
Contents
History
Established by European-Americans Auguste Chouteau and Pierre Chouteau, Jr. of St. Louis in 1846 as the last fur trading post on the Upper Missouri River, the fort became an important economic center. For 30 years, the port attracted steamboats carrying goods, merchants, gold miners and settlers, coming from New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, Hannibal, Bismarck, Kansas City, etc. As the terminus for the 642-mile-long Mullan Road, completed by the US Army in 1860, and at the head of navigation of the Missouri River, Fort Benton was part of the overland link between trade on the Missouri and the Columbia River, at Fort Walla Walla, Washington. Twenty thousand migrants used the road in the first year to travel to the Northwest. It became an important route for miners from both directions going into the interior of Idaho, and north to Canada. Steamboat travel to Fort Benton from St. Louis, Missouri helped broadly fuel the development of the American West between 1860 and 1890, when it was supplanted by railroad transport. The river was an important route for miners to the newly discovered gold fields of southern Montana at what became Bannack and Virginia City beginning in 1862, and Helena, beginning in 1865.
With the decline of the fur trade, the American Fur Company sold the fort to the US Army in 1865, which named it for Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. A town had grown up around it that surpassed the military presence. Besides being one of the most important ports on the Missouri-Mississippi river system, Fort Benton was once the "World's Innermost Port". Its importance in trade was superseded by the construction of transcontinental railroads in the late 19th century. In 1867 Fort Benton was the site where Union General Thomas Francis Meagher, then acting governor of Montana Territory, fell overboard from his steamboat and drowned in the river; his body was never recovered. On July 5, 1988 the Fort Benton area was struck by an F3 tornado that injured 2 people.
Geography
Fort Benton is located at 47°49′10″N 110°40′11″W / 47.81944°N 110.66972°W (47.819307, -110.669726).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.07 square miles (5.36 km2), all of it land.
The community sits in a narrow river valley on the west bank of the Missouri River and is in a geographic area known as the Golden Triangle (one of several dozen folk regions of Montana) due to the strength of the wheat industry of the region. For example, in 2007, Chouteau County was one of two counties in the United States with the highest wheat production. The long summer days (due to being at almost 48 degrees N latitude) and fertile soil of the area (due in part to ash deposits from the Elkhorn Volcanics to the south) leads to exceptionally "hard" wheat (high protein content) thriving in the area.
Fort Benton experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cold, dry winters and hot, wetter summers.
| Climate data for Fort Benton, Montana | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 71 (21.7) |
77 (25) |
83 (28.3) |
93 (33.9) |
97 (36.1) |
104 (40) |
106 (41.1) |
109 (42.8) |
100 (37.8) |
94 (34.4) |
79 (26.1) |
67 (19.4) |
109 (42.8) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 35.1 (1.72) |
41.4 (5.22) |
51.1 (10.61) |
62.8 (17.11) |
71.8 (22.11) |
79.3 (26.28) |
86.6 (30.33) |
85.8 (29.89) |
75.4 (24.11) |
64.3 (17.94) |
46.6 (8.11) |
37.3 (2.94) |
61.46 (16.366) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 22.6 (-5.22) |
28.1 (-2.17) |
37.2 (2.89) |
47.4 (8.56) |
56.6 (13.67) |
64.1 (17.83) |
69.6 (20.89) |
68.8 (20.44) |
58.6 (14.78) |
48.4 (9.11) |
33.9 (1.06) |
25.3 (-3.72) |
46.72 (8.176) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 10.1 (-12.17) |
14.7 (-9.61) |
23.3 (-4.83) |
32.0 (0) |
41.3 (5.17) |
48.8 (9.33) |
52.6 (11.44) |
51.7 (10.94) |
41.7 (5.39) |
32.4 (0.22) |
21.2 (-6) |
13.2 (-10.44) |
31.92 (-0.046) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −49 (-45) |
−37 (-38.3) |
−35 (-37.2) |
−8 (-22.2) |
16 (-8.9) |
30 (-1.1) |
35 (1.7) |
29 (-1.7) |
17 (-8.3) |
−15 (-26.1) |
−29 (-33.9) |
−47 (-43.9) |
−49 (-45) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 0.55 (14) |
0.39 (9.9) |
0.85 (21.6) |
1.21 (30.7) |
2.30 (58.4) |
2.45 (62.2) |
1.33 (33.8) |
1.52 (38.6) |
1.23 (31.2) |
0.80 (20.3) |
0.54 (13.7) |
0.52 (13.2) |
13.69 (347.7) |
| Source #1: NOAA (normals, 1971–2000) | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: The Weather Channel (Records) | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 1,618 | — | |
| 1890 | 624 | −61.4% | |
| 1900 | 1,024 | 64.1% | |
| 1910 | 1,004 | −2.0% | |
| 1920 | 1,065 | 6.1% | |
| 1930 | 1,109 | 4.1% | |
| 1940 | 1,227 | 10.6% | |
| 1950 | 1,522 | 24.0% | |
| 1960 | 1,887 | 24.0% | |
| 1970 | 1,863 | −1.3% | |
| 1980 | 1,693 | −9.1% | |
| 1990 | 1,660 | −1.9% | |
| 2000 | 1,594 | −4.0% | |
| 2010 | 1,464 | −8.2% | |
| 2020 | 1,449 | −1.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
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Fort Benton
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| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Location | Fort Benton, Montana |
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| Built | 1846 |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000431 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHLD | November 15, 1961 |
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,464 people, 686 households, and 412 families residing in the city. The population density was 707.2 inhabitants per square mile (273.1/km2). There were 811 housing units at an average density of 391.8 per square mile (151.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.4% White, 0.1% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.6% of the population.
There were 686 households, of which 20.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.9% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.67.
The median age in the city was 52.1 years. 17.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17% were from 25 to 44; 32.7% were from 45 to 64; and 27.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.
Education
Fort Benton Public School educates students from kindergarten through 12th grade. They are known as the Longhorns. Fort Benton High School is a Class C school.
Choteau County Library is headquartered in Fort Benton.
Infrastructure
Fort Benton Airport is a public use airport located one mile northeast of town.
Notable people
- Denise Curry, basketball player and coach.
- Charles S. Hartman, United States Congressman.
- William Henry Hunt, state and federal judge, and governor of Puerto Rico.
- Daniel Webster Marsh, mayor of Calgary, Alberta.
- Charles Nelson Pray, United States Congressman.
- U.S. Grant Sharp, Jr., four-star admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet
- Eleanor Dumont (1834-1879), also known as Madame Moustache, professional card dealer and gambler
See also
- In Spanish: Fort Benton (Montana)
