Fort Owen State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fort Owen State Park |
|
|---|---|
Barracks at Fort Owen, the only original structure still standing
|
|
 Fort Owen State Park
Location in Montana
|
|
| Location | Stevensville, Montana, United States |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Elevation | 3,291 feet (1,003 m) |
| Designation | Montana state park |
| Established | 1960 |
| Administrator | Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks |
Fort Owen State Park is a special historic place in Montana, United States. It is located near the town of Stevensville, Montana. This park is named after Fort Owen. This fort started as a Christian mission in 1841. Later, it became a busy trading post. It was named after a trader named John Owen.
The park is about 1 acre in size and sits at an elevation of 3,293 feet. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks manages it. Fort Owen is often called the "cradle of Montana civilization." This means it was a very important place for the early development of Montana.
Contents
Exploring Fort Owen's Past
The First St. Mary's Mission
In the spring of 1841, a Catholic priest named Pierre-Jean De Smet arrived in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. He came with other priests and brothers. By the fall, they built a small Catholic chapel. They called it St. Mary's Mission. This was at the same spot where Fort Owen State Park is today.
Father DeSmet used this mission as his base. He worked with the Bitterroot Salish tribe of Native Americans. This mission was the first permanent white settlement in Montana. It was also the first Christian church and the first Catholic church in the state. The wagons and oxen Father DeSmet brought were the first ever to enter Montana.
By winter, they had built several houses, a trading post, and shops. In the spring of 1842, Father DeSmet planted the first oats, potatoes, and wheat. He also planted the first garden plants. Historians believe this was the first farming in Montana. In the summer of 1842, cows were brought to the mission. These were the first domesticated cattle in Montana.
Another priest, Father Antonio Ravalli, joined the mission in 1842. By the end of that year, the priests had built the first sawmill, the first grist mill, and the first school in Montana. Because of all these "firsts," St. Mary's Mission and Fort Owen are known as the "cradle of Montana civilization."
The Story of Fort Owen
By 1850, the situation became difficult for the Catholic missionaries. This led to the first St. Mary's Mission closing. (Another church, also called St. Mary's Mission, was built nearby in 1866. That church still stands today.)
John Owen, a civilian sutler (a person who sells supplies) from Fort Hall in Idaho, moved to the Bitterroot Valley. He bought the land where St. Mary's Mission stood for $250. This was the first time land was officially bought and sold in Montana.
Owen renamed the site Fort Owen after himself. John Owen and his wife, Nancy, who was a full-blood Shoshone woman, managed the fort. It became a very popular trading post. It was a place where fur trappers, traders, missionaries, and explorers could stop and rest.
In 1852, John Owen found gold in the Bitterroot Valley. This discovery brought many new settlers to the area. From 1856 to 1862, Owen worked as an Indian agent for the U.S. government. For a while, Fort Owen was even the main office for Native American affairs in the region. In 1860, Owen made the fort much stronger. He replaced its wooden stockade walls with strong adobe brick walls.
Nancy Owen passed away in 1868. After this, John Owen faced personal difficulties. Fort Owen began to decline. Fewer people visited because of challenges from the Piegan Blackfeet and Owen's own health issues. When the Mullan Road opened in 1864, it bypassed Fort Owen. This new road went through Hell Gate, Montana, instead. This made Fort Owen's financial problems even worse.
In 1872, Fort Owen was sold at an auction to Washington J. McCormick. Owen owed McCormick money. McCormick continued to run the saw and grist mills at the site. In 1889, he was fixing the fort's roof when a strong wind blew the roof off. McCormick was thrown to the ground and passed away in this tragic accident.
After McCormick's death, local farmers and ranchers owned Fort Owen. Eventually, the old fort was given to the Stevensville Historical Society. In 1937, the historical society donated what was left of the fort to the state of Montana.
Fort Owen State Park Today
.jpg)
Fort Owen State Park is located on the Stevensville Cutoff Road. It is south of Missoula, Montana, and near U.S. Route 93.
Not much of the original Fort Owen remains today. The only original building still standing is the East Barracks. The back wall, part of the side walls, and the inside walls are made of the original adobe bricks. These bricks were made and put up by Father DeSmet and his team in 1841 and 1842.
Between 1957 and 1980, archeologists from the University of Montana dug up the fort's foundations. Visitors can see these foundations today. You can also see rebuilt versions of an 1850s cabin, a root cellar, and a well house.
Fort Owen State Park is a 1-acre plot of land. It is surrounded by private property and is open every day of the year. Sometimes, volunteers from the Stevensville Historical Society are there to answer questions. Most visitors learn about the mission and the fort's history from signs placed around the park.
