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 | 2,651 ft (808 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,449 |
| • Density | 631.92/sq mi (243.97/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 | 2410524 |
Fort Benton is a city in Montana, United States. It is the main town in Chouteau County. The city was started in 1846. This makes it the oldest town in Montana that has always been lived in.
Fort Benton was a very important port on the Missouri River. It was the furthest point upriver that steamboats could travel. Because of this, it was called "the world’s innermost port." The area along the river, which was key to the city's growth, is now a National Historic Landmark. This means it's a special place recognized for its history. In 2020, about 1,449 people lived in Fort Benton.
Contents
History of Fort Benton
Fort Benton began in 1846 as Fort Lewis. It was moved a bit downstream in 1847. Alexander Culbertson helped set it up for a fur trading company. It was the last fur trading post on the upper Missouri River. This made it a very important place for trade.
For 30 years, many steamboats came to Fort Benton. They brought goods, merchants, gold miners, and settlers. These boats traveled from cities like New Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas City.
Fort Benton was also the eastern end of the Mullan Road. This 642-mile road was finished in 1860 by the United States Army. It connected the Missouri River to the Columbia River in Washington. Thousands of people used this road to travel west. It was a key route for miners heading to gold fields in Idaho and Canada.
Steamboat travel to Fort Benton helped the American West grow between 1860 and 1890. After that, railroads became more popular for transport. The river was also important for miners going to new gold fields in southern Montana. These included places like Bannack and Virginia City.
The fur trade began to slow down. In 1865, the fort was sold. From 1868 to 1881, it was used as a U.S. Army post. Alexander Culbertson officially named it Fort Benton on Christmas Day 1850. He named it after Senator Thomas Hart Benton from Missouri.
In the early 1860s, a town grew around the fort. Fort Benton was known as the "World's Innermost Port." This was because it was the furthest point up the Missouri River that boats could reach. Famous steamboats like the Yellowstone and the Far West visited Fort Benton. Their captains, Joseph LaBarge and Grant Marsh, were also well-known.
The building of railroads across the country reduced Fort Benton's importance for trade. In 1867, a sad event happened here. Union General Thomas Francis Meagher, who was acting governor of Montana, fell from his steamboat. He drowned in the river, and his body was never found.
Working with Native Americans
In 1869, Mountain Chief, a leader of the Pikuni Blackfeet people, came to Fort Benton. He asked the reservation agent to remove people illegally selling alcohol on Blackfeet land. Some white residents attacked the chief.
Later that year, Mountain Chief's brother and a teenage boy were killed in Fort Benton. People thought it was revenge for a white rancher's death. Officials did not file charges for these deaths. In 1870, a group of 10 Blackfeet people were killed by soldiers and others from Fort Benton. This happened because they were accused of stealing cattle.
Geography and Location
Fort Benton is located near U.S. Route 87. The city covers about 2.07 square miles of land.
The town sits in a narrow valley on the west side of the Missouri River. It is in an area called the Golden Triangle. This name comes from the strong wheat farming in the region. For example, in 2007, Chouteau County was one of the top two counties in the U.S. for wheat production.
The area has long summer days because it is almost 48 degrees north. The soil is also very fertile. This is partly due to ash from old volcanoes. These conditions help grow "hard" wheat, which has a lot of protein.
Climate and Weather
Fort Benton has a semi-arid climate. This means it has cold, dry winters. Summers are hot and a bit wetter. On July 5, 1988, an F3 tornado hit the Fort Benton area. Two people were hurt in this storm.
| Climate data for Fort Benton, Montana, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1894–present | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 71 (22) |
77 (25) |
83 (28) |
93 (34) |
97 (36) |
108 (42) |
106 (41) |
109 (43) |
104 (40) |
94 (34) |
79 (26) |
73 (23) |
109 (43) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 59.9 (15.5) |
61.4 (16.3) |
70.8 (21.6) |
79.5 (26.4) |
85.8 (29.9) |
92.1 (33.4) |
99.3 (37.4) |
98.9 (37.2) |
93.9 (34.4) |
82.7 (28.2) |
68.5 (20.3) |
60.4 (15.8) |
100.8 (38.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.6 (1.4) |
38.1 (3.4) |
48.2 (9.0) |
58.6 (14.8) |
68.3 (20.2) |
76.3 (24.6) |
86.4 (30.2) |
85.5 (29.7) |
74.2 (23.4) |
59.9 (15.5) |
46.5 (8.1) |
36.7 (2.6) |
59.4 (15.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 22.3 (−5.4) |
25.3 (−3.7) |
34.3 (1.3) |
44.6 (7.0) |
54.4 (12.4) |
62.5 (16.9) |
70.3 (21.3) |
68.8 (20.4) |
58.3 (14.6) |
45.2 (7.3) |
33.7 (0.9) |
24.9 (−3.9) |
45.4 (7.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 10.1 (−12.2) |
12.6 (−10.8) |
20.3 (−6.5) |
30.6 (−0.8) |
40.6 (4.8) |
48.6 (9.2) |
54.1 (12.3) |
52.1 (11.2) |
42.3 (5.7) |
30.5 (−0.8) |
21.0 (−6.1) |
13.1 (−10.5) |
31.3 (−0.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −18.5 (−28.1) |
−10.6 (−23.7) |
−0.4 (−18.0) |
15.3 (−9.3) |
27.1 (−2.7) |
37.6 (3.1) |
44.3 (6.8) |
40.8 (4.9) |
30.0 (−1.1) |
13.2 (−10.4) |
−2.9 (−19.4) |
−12.4 (−24.7) |
−26.1 (−32.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −49 (−45) |
−45 (−43) |
−35 (−37) |
−8 (−22) |
14 (−10) |
27 (−3) |
34 (1) |
29 (−2) |
17 (−8) |
−15 (−26) |
−29 (−34) |
−45 (−43) |
−49 (−45) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.52 (13) |
0.44 (11) |
0.56 (14) |
1.48 (38) |
2.08 (53) |
2.62 (67) |
1.19 (30) |
1.16 (29) |
1.20 (30) |
0.92 (23) |
0.58 (15) |
0.47 (12) |
13.22 (335) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 7.9 (20) |
6.9 (18) |
4.3 (11) |
3.0 (7.6) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
1.9 (4.8) |
5.7 (14) |
7.9 (20) |
38.2 (96.92) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 5.4 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 8.4 | 9.8 | 11.0 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 7.0 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 82.3 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 5.1 | 5.5 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 24.9 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service | |||||||||||||
Population and People
| 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 Information
In 2010, there were 1,464 people living in Fort Benton. There were 686 households and 412 families. The city had about 707 people per square mile.
Most people (97.4%) were White. A small number were Native American (0.5%) or Asian (0.2%). About 0.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.
About 20.8% of households had children under 18. Many households (48.3%) were married couples. The average household had 2.08 people. The average family had 2.67 people.
The average age in the city was 52.1 years. About 17.6% of residents were under 18. About 27.7% were 65 or older. The population was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.
Education in Fort Benton
The Fort Benton Public School teaches students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Their sports teams are called the Longhorns. Fort Benton High School is a Class C school for sports. It will move up to Class B in the 2025 school year.
The Chouteau County Library has its main branch in Fort Benton.
Media and News
The local newspaper is The River Press. It is published once a week. You can also read it online.
Fort Benton is home to radio station KYPZ. This station broadcasts public radio from KEMC in Billings.
Transportation and Roads
Montana Highway 80 connects to U.S. Route 87 to enter Fort Benton. Montana secondary highway 386 comes from the west. Highway 387 comes from the east.
The Fort Benton Airport is a public airport. It is located one mile northeast of the town.
Famous People from Fort Benton
- Denise Curry: A well-known basketball player and coach.
- Eleanor Dumont (1834–1879): Also known as "Madame Moustache", she was a professional card dealer and gambler.
- Charles S. Hartman: A United States Congressman.
- William Henry Hunt: A judge who also served as governor of Puerto Rico.
- Daniel Webster Marsh: A former mayor of Calgary, Alberta in Canada.
- Charles Nelson Pray: Another United States Congressman.
- U.S. Grant Sharp, Jr.: A four-star admiral who led the United States Pacific Fleet.
Images for kids
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Fort Benton Historic District
See also
In Spanish: Fort Benton (Montana) para niños
