Montana: Territorial Status, Sioux Resistance, and Statehood

Previously part of, successively, the territories of Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, Dakota, and Idaho, Montana itself became a territory in 1864. It was still a rough frontier, however, and the first governor, Sidney Edgerton, was driven out of the region; later Thomas Francis Meagher, appointed temporary governor, died mysteriously. After the Civil War the grasslands attracted ranchers, and in 1866 the first cattle were brought in from Texas over the Bozeman Trail, to the area east of the Bighorn Mts.

Yet it was not until after wars with the Sioux that ranching was safe. The Sioux did not tamely submit to having their lands taken from them; in 1876 at the battle of the Little Bighorn, they defeated Col. George A. Custer and his force in one of the greatest of Native American victories. The Sioux were eventually subdued, and the gallant attempt of Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé to lead his people into Canada to escape pursuing U.S. troops had its pitiful end in Montana.

Great ranches spread out across the plains, and cow towns that were to grow into cities such as Billings and Missoula sprang up as the railroads were built in the West (c.1880–c.1910). Statehood was achieved in 1889, and the building of the railroads put an end to the era of the open range.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Economic Diversification
• The Expansion of Agriculture
• The Importance of Mining
• Territorial Status, Sioux Resistance, and Statehood
• Early Inhabitants, Fur Trading, and Gold
• Government and Higher Education
• Economy
• Geography
• Facts and Figures

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography