Fort Buford*(1866-1895), a military post, was built in 1866 on the north bank of the Missouri River. It is named for General John Buford of the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg fame. The fort was constructed having a rectangle shape. The size, 333yards by 200 yards, and it was surrounded by a wood stockade on three sides that was 12 feet high. The side facing the Missouri River was not stockaded.
Inside the walls of the stockaded fort was a commanding officer's quarters, an infantry company's quarters, a warehouse, bathhouse, civilian employee quarters, bakery, stable, carpenter's shop, blacksmith shop and a powder magazine. Outside the stockade were cattle corrals, saw mill and an ice house. All buildings were of cottonwood except the barracks, which were adobe buildings. Renovation of the site is currently on-going.
above photos by sid blair (above right photo is of a wall within the site's information center that has many wall pictures available for viewing)
*The fort is actually located a few miles within the boundary of the state of North Dakota, and is a few miles from the hospitable township of Culbertson, Montana, but it is so close to eastern Montana, that I as a not-official website can do a not-official claim to it, Fort Buford, by the state of Montana. The historic site is open year around with seasonal exceptions.
a sketch by sid blair
Fort Keogh (1877-1908), a military post, was built in 1876 after the Battle of the Little Bighorn to control the Indians who were "not pleased" with the losing of the buffalo to the white man encroachment. The buffalo was the source of their, the Indian's, survival. General Nelson Miles was it commander. Fort Keogh remained an army post until early1900. The town of Miles City, Montana received its beginning from the fort. The fort was just a couple miles southwest of present day Miles City. A few of the original buildings still remain.
a sid blair
photo
a sketch by sid blair
Fort C. F. Smith (1866-1868) a military post, was set up by the army in 1866 on the Big Horn River about 40 miles southwest of what is now Hardin, Montana. It was one of three posts that the government built in 1866 to guard the Bozeman Trail to the Montana gold fields. The fort was abandoned two years later after Sioux Indian chieftain, Red Cloud, defeated it. I have been advised that the fort's adobe walls have washed, eroded away through-the-years, and that the one-time fort's location is on private land and is available for viewing only after making prior arrangements. The information that I have is that needed arrangements can be made, during the summer, at the Yellowtail Dam visitor's center that is nearby. I have also been advised that there is some real good trout fishing available in this area.
As mentioned, the fort had been built to guard the Bozeman Trail that started at Fort Laramie on the North Platte River, ran northwest across the headwaters of the Powder and Tongue Rivers, and then along the east side of the Big Horn Mountains, and then crossing the Big Horn River at Fort Smith. From Fort Smith the trail moved along the Big Horn and Pryor Mountains, and then cut across the Clarks Fork River and other streams in the Beartooth Mountains. It finally reached the Yellowstone River east of present day Livingston, Montana. The trail then went through the Bozeman Pass to the Gallatin Valley and then on to Virginia City, Montana, and its gold fields.
a sketch by sid blair
See Disclaimer @ Eastern Montana .. a perspective of a former resident and frequent visitor