Fort Missoula was established as a permanent military post in 1877 and built in response to requests of local townspeople and settlers for protection in the event of conflict with western Montana Indian tribes. It was intended as a major outpost for the region; however, area residents also were quite aware of the payroll, contracts, and employment opportunities Fort Missoula would provide. Fort Missoula never had walls; rather, it was an “open fort,” a design common for posts located west of the Mississippi, except during it’s time used at an Alien Detention Center during WWII.
Today, it is a place of protection for history and a wonderful home of knowledge about the fort itself, the surrounding area, and the people who have lived in the area.
Civilian Conservation Corps
The American economy reached an all time low after the stock market crash of 1929. In response, President Franklin Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps to employ young men from…
Missoula Mercantile
In 1832 Edwin L. Bonner began his training in the mercantile business with Lord & Taylor in New York City. In 1864 he traveled through the Missoula Valley with business…
Fort Missoula’s Post Cemetery
The Post Cemetery at Fort Missoula encompasses an area just shy of one acre, split down the center by a service road, and surrounded by an iron fence. It is…
Early Missoula History
In June of 1860, Christopher P. Higgins, Francis L. Worden and Frank Woody left Walla Walla, Washington with a pack train of 76 animals packed with merchandise and a safe….
25th Infantry Bicycle Corps
The widespread popularity of the bicycle caught the attention of military leaders in the United States during the late 1800s. Major General Nelson A. Miles, as Army Commander-in-Chief, expressed his…
Fort Missoula Alien Detention Center
During World War II, Fort Missoula was turned over to the Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, for use as an Alien Detention Center. Between 1941 and 1944, the…
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