Hell Gate, Montana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hell Gate, Montana
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 Hell Gate, Montana
Location in Montana
Hell Gate, Montana
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Montana |
| County | Missoula |
| Established | 1860 |
| Abandoned | 1866 |
| Elevation | 3,124 ft (952 m) |
Hell Gate is a ghost town located in Missoula County, Montana, United States. It's also known as Hell Gate Ronde or Hell's Gate. This old town was found on the banks of the Clark Fork River. It was about five miles downstream from where Missoula is today, near Frenchtown.
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Exploring the Hell Gate Valley
Hell Gate was located at the western end of the Missoula Valley. This valley has a cool history! Around 13,000 years ago, a huge ice sheet created an ice dam on the Clark Fork River. This dam formed a giant lake called Glacial Lake Missoula.
After the amazing Missoula Floods and when Glacial Lake Missoula finally drained about 11,000 years ago, the lake's mud dried up. This left behind the very fertile Missoula Valley we see today.
Mountains and Forests Around Hell Gate
The Hell Gate Valley is surrounded by mountains. To the north and northeast are the Rattlesnake Mountains. To the southeast, south, and west are the Bitterroot Mountains.
Since the early 1900s, the Lolo National Forest has covered the area around Hell Gate. The eastern entrance to the valley is a narrow pass between Mount Jumbo and Mount Sentinel. This pass leads to Hellgate Canyon. The western entrance is less clear but leads to Ninemile Divide.
The community of Hell Gate was located at an elevation of about 3,123 feet (952 meters).
Native American History and Early Settlers
The Bitterroot Salish (also called Flathead) Native American tribe often traveled through the Missoula Valley. They were on their way east to hunt bison. However, as the Salish passed through the valley's narrow entrances, members of the Blackfeet tribe would often attack them.
The Salish people called the valley lm-i-sul-étiku. This means "by the cold, chilling waters," but they used it to mean "the place chilled with fear." The valley was heavily wooded, making it a perfect spot for ambushes.
First European Explorers
The first Europeans to see the Missoula Valley were members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They explored the Clark Fork River on their journey back east after reaching the Pacific Ocean. Meriwether Lewis and a small group camped near the Clark Fork on July 4, 1806.
English-Canadian explorer David Thompson visited the area in 1811. He mapped much of the valley and its surrounding peaks, like Mount Jumbo.
How Hell Gate Got Its Name
French trappers came through the valley in the 1820s. They were shocked to see so many remains of Salish people in the deep canyons at the valley's entrances. They called the valley "Porte de l'Enfer," which means "Hell Gate."
Later, in 1841, a Catholic priest named Father Pierre-Jean De Smet traveled through the Hell Gate Valley. He brought what were likely the first wagons and oxen into what would become Montana. Jesuit missionaries followed and settled in the Hell Gate Valley. However, they did not stay long due to conflicts with local Native American tribes.
The Hell Gate Treaty and Mullan Road
In 1853, Isaac Stevens, who was the Governor of the Washington Territory (which included western Montana then), led a railroad survey party through the valley. He was impressed with the area for white settlement.
Stevens then negotiated the 1855 Hell Gate Treaty. This treaty was signed by the Bitterroot Salish, Pend d'Oreilles, and Kootenai tribes at Council Grove near Hell Gate. It created the Flathead Indian Reservation. After this peace agreement, more people traveled through the area. The Hell Gate Valley became the main route for transportation from Montana to the west. Many pack trains of mules traveled through, which eventually led to the settlement of Hell Gate itself. The Mullan Road, an important military road, reached the area in the winter of 1859-1860.
The Rise of Hell Gate Town
The first settlers arrived in the Hell Gate Valley in late 1856. They came to prepare for a permanent settlement. This group included Judge Frank H. Woody, James Holt, Bill Madison, Bill "Pork" West, and a man named Jackson. They cut timber all winter. In the spring, they moved to the future site of Hell Gate. There, they raised cattle and started the valley's first garden and farm. By the fall of 1857, they had built two houses.
Founding the Trading Post
The settlement of Hell Gate, also known as Hellgate Trading Post, was officially founded in 1860. It was started by Frank L. Worden and Captain Christopher P. Higgins. Higgins had seen the valley with Governor Isaac Stevens' party in 1853.
Worden and Higgins built a log cabin and turned it into a store. They had planned to settle elsewhere, but chose Hell Gate because it was halfway between two other important locations. They believed this spot would attract more travelers and traders. Their store was the first commercial building in Montana that wasn't just a trading post.
In August 1860, Worden and Higgins brought 76 mules loaded with goods from Walla Walla to stock their store. They even brought the first safe to the region! Other cabins were built around the store that same year. In December 1860, the Washington Territory organized a county government and created Missoula County. Hell Gate was named the county seat, meaning it was the main government center. Montana's first county election was held there in 1861.
Growing Pains and Success
Hell Gate grew quickly. Worden and Higgins built a second store in 1861. The town's first homes and a saloon were also built. John Mullan set up a camp nearby in November 1861, preparing for the Mullan Road's completion.
The Mullan Road reached Hell Gate Valley in 1862, bringing more settlers. The first wedding of white Americans in Montana likely happened at Hell Gate on March 5, 1862. The first white American child in Missoula County was born near Hell Gate on February 13, 1862. The first lawsuit in the state also took place there in March 1862.
The Mullan Road also brought a stagecoach station to town. Goods were brought by steamboat up the Clark Fork and then transported by trail to the Mullan Road just west of Hell Gate. Sometimes, as many as five camel pack trains a day passed through Hell Gate, carrying goods and gold. The first post office in Montana was established at Hell Gate on November 24, 1862.
In 1863, gold was discovered at Alder Gulch, which brought many more settlers to the region. This helped Hell Gate to thrive. That year, Henry Buckhouse built the town's first and only blacksmith shop. St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, the first Christian church (not just a mission) in Montana, was built in Hell Gate in 1863. Catholic missionaries also built St. Peter's Mission, which was a base for their work until 1884.
The United States Congress created the Montana Territory on May 26, 1864. The new government recognized Missoula County and kept Hell Gate as its county seat.
The Abandonment of Hell Gate
Hell Gate quickly declined as a settlement in 1865. At its peak, it had only about 20 residents. Worden and Higgins decided to build a sawmill, flour mill, and a new store at the location of present-day Missoula.
Almost overnight, all the residents of Hell Gate moved to this new town. Instead of taking the name Hell Gate with them, they chose a new name: "Missoula." This name came from the Salish word for the area where the Clark Fork River enters the valley. Only a few farmers remained near the old Hell Gate site. The county seat was officially moved from Hell Gate to Missoula in 1866.
Later, from 1887 until 1905, a German-American actor named Daniel E. Bandmann ran a ranch near Hell Gate. He introduced new things to Montana, like McIntosh red apples, Percheron horses, and Holstein cattle.
By 1913, very little was left of the town. It had become part of a private ranch. Only a few buildings and some burial mounds remained.
Hellgate Area Today
The name "Hell Gate" has lived on in several natural and man-made features in the area. The valley itself was known as the Hell Gate Valley in the 1800s. The Clark Fork River was even originally called the Hell Gate River by early settlers.
Although the river and valley were renamed, the steep gorge cut by the Clark Fork to the east of the Missoula Valley is still known as Hellgate Canyon.
The U.S. Postal Service had post offices in Hell Gate at different times in the past. Today, it still has a Hell Gate Station in downtown Missoula.
The Missoula County Public School System operates Hellgate High School, which is one of the oldest and largest high schools in Montana. They also have Hellgate Elementary School.
The area was also known as Hellgate Township and Hellgate Voting Precinct, which were used for counting people in censuses from 1900 to 1920.
