Day 21: Fort Benton History: "The Chicago of the Plains"

Day 21:  Thursday, June 26th, 2014

Fort Benton, MT.  0 miles. 

I took a day off to wait for the weather system to pass through, and to explore the fascinating history of a town once referred to as "The Chicago of the Plains", once the most important river port west of St. Louis, called Fort Benton. 

The original fort, established by Major Alexander Culbertson of the American Fur Company in 1846, was developed as a trading post to secure trade with the Blackfoot Nation. The adobe fort was named in honor of U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, an advocate of Western expansion, and the company's congressional ally. 

The Missouri River, is the dominant natural feature, always present and nearby no matter what part of town you are in.

Referred to as the "Mighty Mo", "Old Misery" (referring to the difficulty of navigating it's waters owing to changing sand bars and submerged logs and other obstacles), or the "Muddy Mo", or referring to its appearance, "to thick to drink", or "to thin to plow", the Missouri carved through layers of glacial till, shale, and sandstone in these parts, forming the river valley that became an ideal spot for the establishment of Fort Benton.  

The river also represented a conduit for transportation.  Upstream of Fort Benton, the river became impassable to steamboats. Thus, once a small trading post, as steam ships making their long journey from St. Louis and beyond would arrive at this westernmost stop, Fort Benton was transformed almost overnight into a bustling port.  Sometimes 50 steamboats per season would arrive here. 

Overland trails through mountains and valleys stretched out from Fort Benton in every direction. The town was a crucial intersection between water and land transportation. Incoming freight was unloaded from the boats and transferred onto wagons. Those wagons, pulled by oxen, horses, and mules, delivered goods to the gold fields around Helena and in Canada.  Many of the trails used were established by the Native Americans for transporting bison robes and other trade goods to trading posts.  A stage line left Fort Benton every other day for Helena (the soon-to-be capital city of Montana) and it took 2 days.  Below is an authentic set of rules for passengers riding the stage coach. 

The first major route out of Fort Benton, the "Mullan Road", was built in 1859 and extended to Fort Walla Walla. Immigrants followed this route to the Northwest, as well as miners headed to Idaho's gold fields. 

In 1869, the "Whoop-Up" trail was established, connecting Fort Benton to Fort Whoop-Up in Canada, an outlet for the illegal (but prosperous) whiskey trade.

Thus, Fort Benton was an epicenter of activity.  In 1865, the first rancher in the area, Winfield Stocking, described Fort Benton; "It was the door through which all the gold hunters, adventurers, speculators, traders, land-seekers, big game hunters, fugitives from justice, entered the Northwest."  Homesteaders arrived on steamboats to begin a new life of farming and ranching in the surrounding plains, the U.S. Government giving free land to those willing to make good use of it. 

The boom ended when the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1887, replacing traditional means of westward travel with the much faster train service. 

Today, Fort Benton is a quaint little town that is now an epicenter not of trade and transportation, but of the history of it's past as a key component of westward expansion. 

The town has many museums, including the Museum of the Upper Missouri, Old Fort Benton, the Museum of the Northern Great Plains, and the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument Interpretive Center (the "breaks", referring to the surrounding plains interrupted, as the land "breaks" away, as the eroded landscape descends down into the Missouri River floodplain).  In addition, interpretive signage all along the riverfront parkway will guide you through the rich history of Fort Benton. 

Probably the most touching story of Fort Benton's past was that of a local rancher and his sheep-herding dog, "Shep".  In 1936, the rancher fell ill while tending his flock. He was transported to the local St. Claire hospital in Fort Benton, and a sheep dog had followed the transport into town and sat waiting patiently outside the doors to the hospital. A nun working at the hospital kitchen noticed the dog and fed him for the several days leading up to the dog owner's death. Family requested that the herder's body be transported back East to the family's home cemetery.

On that August day, the undertaker loaded the deceased man on the eastbound train headed to the relative's home town.  The casket was rolled out onto the train station platform, and the dog appeared out of nowhere with watchful eyes as his owner was loaded into the baggage car. Attendants recalled the dog whining as the door slammed shut and the engine pulled away from the station. 

That day was the beginning of a five-and-a-half year faithful vigil as the dog, later named "Shep", returned day after day, greeting 4 arriving trains daily, anxiously waiting in anticipation of his owner's return.  A fixture on the platform, Shep eyed each passenger hopefully, often chased off as a mongrel, but never completely discouraged.

Neither the heat of Summer, nor the bitter Montana Winter days kept Shep from his faithful greetings of the incoming trains.  People began noticing his routine, and as his story was pieced together, he gained popularity. People came to see and photograph him. Attempts to adopt him failed.  All of the attention was somewhat unwelcomed.  After checking the train, Shep would retire quickly to hide from the attention. 

The railroad employees provided Shep with the essentials. The long nights under the platform in-wait, and the cold winters took their toll on Shep.  Stiff-legged and hard of hearing, Shep failed to hear old 235 as it rolled into the station at 10:17 am on a cold Winter morning. Noticing too late, he slipped on the cold icy rails and perished. 

Shep's story is memorialized in a large bronze statue prominently displayed in the center of town along the riverfront, the plaque inscription reading, "Forever Faithful". 

One of the most impressive museums in town is the Museum of the Northern Great Plains. The museum captures the story of the homesteader, of life on the prairie, and of the progression of farming through time, told by an unbelievably impressive collection of machinery, from the primitive beginnings to the advent of the steam engine to 1900's-modern mechanization. I can't possibly do it justice, but to say that you should add it and the town of Fort Benton to your bucket list, and to post a few photos from my all-too-short visit to the museum to tickle your interest. 

While it turned out to be a fantastic day in Fort Benton with no rain, nearby towns were hammered with thunderstorms that, in some cases, dropped inches of rain in a few hours. It was a good day to stay put!