Cities & Towns

Ledger is located between Conrad and Shelby. In Shelby, the Marias Museum of History and Art has exhibits depicting early settlers as well as a special exhibit of the Dempsey-Gibbons heavyweight fight. To the northeast is Lake Elwell (Tiber Reservoir) which provides excellent year-round angling for walleye, northern and sauger pike, native trout, ling, perch and others.

Lambert is located near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers near a 75-mile-long irrigated valley. Oil and agriculture are the prominent industries. The nearby town of Sidney is home to the Mon-Dak Heritage Center, which features area history and includes an extensive street scene of the early 1900s. Northeast of Lambert is the Fort Union Trading Post, a National Historic Site, which sits astride the Montana/North Dakota state line.

Kinsey is 15 miles northeast of Miles City on the Yellowstone River. Close by, floaters find Pirogue Island, a 269 acre State Park. This Yellowstone River island covered with cottonwood trees is an excellent spot to view wildlife, envision the Corps of Discovery's travel along the river, and hunt for moss agates. The site is a haven for waterfowl, bald eagles, and whitetail and mule deer.

Ismay is Montana's smallest incorporated city. In 1993 the town of Ismay was contacted by a radio station in Kansas City, Missouri with a special request for the town to consider changing the name of the town to Joe, Montana (quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs) for the duration of the football season. Ismay, population 22, agreed hoping to raise money for their volunteer fire department. Eight years later, they not only had enough money for a new fire truck, but enough to build a community center and fire hall around it. The town's name has since reverted to Ismay.

Ingomar is a trade center for the surrounding sheep raising area. Ingomar has several of its original historic buildings still intact. The original frame school building, the Jersey Lilly Bar and Cafe,internationally known for its beans and steaks and the Bookman Store were all placed on the National Registry of Historic Buildings. Area residents banded together to construct a rodeo arena, which has become the home of the Ingomar Open Rodeo. The rodeo is held each July and is open to all cowboys.

Hilger is located 15 miles north of Lewistown. The town was originally known as Kendall, after a mining camp a few miles to the west. You can see the remains of the Kendall mine several miles west of town on a dirt road. In 1911, the Milwaukee Railroad created Hilger about six miles east of Kendall. Large-scale mining at Kendall ended the next year, although some local mines continued to operate until 1923.

Hathaway is between Miles City and Forsyth. This small community is located on the banks of Yellowstone River and along the Lewis and Clark Trail. Area activities include boating, camping, fishing, hunting and rock-hounding.

Hammond is located near the Montana-Wyoming border between Boyes and Alzada in Carter County. The area around Hammond is mostly ranchland. Hammond is 61 miles from the county seat, Ekalaka. Ekalaka is home to Carter County Museum which houses some of the finest paleontological discoveries in the United States.

Greenough is a little town some twenty-five miles east of Missoula. It was named for one of the area's most successful early settlers, T.L. Greenough, whose mansion in Missoula is still a showplace for the city. The luxurious grounds that once surrounded the mansion are now Greenough Park, and the mansion has been moved to another part of town.

Grantsdale is three miles south of Hamilton along US Highway 93 at the foot of the Bitterroot Mountains. Hamilton is home to the Marcus Daly Mansion built in the late 1800s. Marcus Daly, one of Montana's colorful "Copper Kings," established Anaconda with his smelter and Hamilton with his lumber industry. He built his family a summer home in Hamilton, the heart of the beautiful Bitterroot Valley.

Gold Creek, at the junction of Gold Creek and the Clark Fork River, is claimed to be the location where gold was first discovered in Montana; although the amount found was not enough to make mining it feasible. Gold Creek is near where the last spike of the Northern Pacific Railway was driven on September 8, 1883. Today, enjoy a Mennonite family-style dinner on Thursdays or visit the Deli/Store daily offering bulk food items, quilts, crafts and Amish products.

Glentana is located in the Northeast corner of Montana, ten miles from the Saskatchewan border. Glentana was a station near the end of the branch line of the Great Northern Railroad that went up to Opheim.To the south of Glentana is the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Sioux and Assinniboine live on the reservation, encompassing more than 2 million acres of land just east of Fort Peck Lake, almost to North Dakota, and from 50 miles south of Canada to the Missouri River in the south.

Garryowen is on the Little Bighorn River a few miles south of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and is within the boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation. The Custer Battlefield Museum is located on the former site of Sitting Bull's camp, on the famous Garryowen bend of the Little Bighorn River, a traditional summer hunting campsite for many Plains Indian tribes. As the Seventh Cavalry approached in late June of 1876, this was the site of one of the largest Indian gatherings ever recorded in North America.

Garneill is located on US Highway 191 between Lewistown and Harlowtown. To the east of Garneill is the picturesque Crystal Lake, which is situated in the Snowy Mountains of Lewis and Clark National Forest. The area offers camping, hiking, fishing, canoeing, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling.

Near Galata, residents and visitors can enjoy one of the most versatile recreational areas in Montana, Tiber Dam-Lake Elwell. The lake provides excellent year-round angling for walleye, northern and sauger pike, native trout, ling, perch and others. For boaters and swimmers the area boasts over 50 miles of shoreline, a marina and four well-maintained boat ramps located strategically around the lake.

Four Buttes, received its name from the four unusual buttes that tower above the prairie west of town. These buttes were known as "Whiskey Buttes" because it was a rendezvous point for whiskey traders and Indians. Just east of Four Buttes visitors can find the Daniels County Museum & Pioneer Town out of Scobey which features 35 buildings that have been constructed or restored to depict turn-of-the-century town.

Fort Harrison, located three miles west of Helena, is officially known as Fort William Henry Harrison. Established in May 1892, it was originally named Fort Benjamin Harrison for the 23rd President of United States Benjamin Harrison since the establishment of the fort coincided with his term of office. However, it was discovered that a fort by that name already existed in Indiana, so in 1906 the name of the Montana post was changed to Fort William Henry Harrison. The latter Harrison was born in Virginia in 1773, joined the Army in 1791, served as the first territorial congressional delegate from the Northwest Territory in 1799 and was made governor of the Indiana Territory and later served as a U.S. representative and senator from Ohio. He became the 9th president of United States in 1840, taking the oath of office on March 4, 1841 delivering the longest inaugural address in American history in cold wet weather. He died one month after taking the office from complications from a cold. (from Cheney's Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company) The fort is now home to the Montana National Guard, US Army Reserve and US Navy Reserve. The Veterans Administration Hospital, Montana Military Museum and Service Club are also located at the fort. The Montana Military Museum is open to the public 9:00am - 4:00pm every Thursday, no admission charge.

This is the agency headquarters for the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. The Gros Ventre and the Assiniboine, who were former enemies, have lived together on the reservation since it was set aside for them in 1887. It has great cultural significance to the tribes, and petroglyphs and tipi rings can be found there. Every summer the Milk River Indian Days powwow is held in Fort Belknap.

Forestgrove named for the stand of trees in this fertile valley at the foothills of the beautiful Little Snowy Mountains. An interesting attraction in the area is Beargulch Pictographs an incredibly well-preserved pictograph and petroglyph site with 2,000 pictographs (paintings) and petroglyphs (etchings). You'll see figures of warriors holding shields and clubs, and ochre red elk and bison, along with other designs drawn by Native Americans depicting scenes from their lives.

Ethridge is located between Shelby and Cut Bank. Ethridge existed primarily as a grain storage and shipping point on the Hi-Line.The term "Hi-Line" comes from the way Montanans described the Great Northern Railway's route, which is east of the Continental Divide and north of the Missouri River. This term came to include the areas and communities surrounding the railroad as well. The Hi-Line is now known for its rolling prairies and farmland.

East Glacier Park is the perfect point to start, headquarter or end your visit to Glacier National Park. There are over a thousand miles of hiking trails with views of glaciers, brilliant wildflowers, snowcapped peaks and clear mountain streams. Varied wildlife inhabit Glacier National Park, including bighorn sheep, mountain goats, ptarmigan, and both black and grizzly bears. East Glacier Park will provide you with the largest variety of facilities and supplies available in the area.

Divide gets its name because it is near the Continental Divide. The Big Hole River Recreation Area extends approximately 35 miles upstream and 38 miles downstream from Divide, Montana. The Big Hole River, a blue ribbon trout stream, provides excellent fishing and floating opportunities with a number of access points being available from State Highway 43 and Interstate Highway 15.

Decker offers access to two state parks. Rosebud Battlefield State Park is the undeveloped site of the 1876 battle between Sioux Indians and General George Crook's infantry. One of U.S. history's largest Indian battles, it set the stage for an Indian victory eight days later at the Battle of Little Bighorn. The Tongue River Reservoir State Park offers scenic boating, camping and great fishing for bass, crappie, walleye and northern pike.

Dagmar is near the North Dakota line and the Canadian border. Dagmar is near Brush Lake State Park. Brush Lake is a deep, clear lake with white, sandy beaches surrounded by grass fields and stands of spring wheat. The Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge is also nearby. Thousands of migrating waterfowl make their summer home at Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Great blue herons, white pelicans, sandhill cranes, grebes and 12 different species of ducks share the prairie lake ecosystem.

This fertile farming area is near Kalispell and just north of Flathead Lake. The outdoor facilities at Creston Fish and Wildlife Center are open to visitors during daylight hours seven days a week, year-round. Fingerlings and older fish live in the outdoor raceways. You can also walk along Mill Creek, which flows next to the hatchery raceways or enjoy a picnic on the banks of Jessup Mill Pond where you may see an osprey or kingfisher returning to its nest.

Cohagen is located along Highway 59 southeast of Jordan on Little Dry Creek. Initially homesteaders settled the area paying from $5 to $25 per acre for the dry land homesteads but the dry years drove most of the farmers away. Today this is ranching country. Cross M Ranch offers an opportunity to experience cowboying the way it was in the 1880's.

Cat Creek located east of Winnett was the site of Montana's first commercially successful oil strike in 1920. A pipeline was built to the railroad at Winnett. By 1975 the oil boom had diminished. It has been estimated that about 23 million barrels of oil have been produced in Cat Creek's 54-year history. Dryland farming and cattle ranching were main occupations of Cat Creek since its founding.

Capitol is on the Little Missouri River, where it crosses the state line into South Dakota. Its name most likely came from today's Capitol Rock National Natural Landmark. This massive white limestone uplift resembles the nation's capital building. The area offers excellent antelope, mule deer, whitetail deer and turkey hunting.

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest covers the area to both the east and west of Cameron. This is the 2nd largest of the national forests in Montana, covering 3.32 million acres in eight southwestern Montana counties. It offers breathtaking scenery for a wide variety of recreational pursuits, including camping, fishing, picnicking or even wilderness trekking in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness.

Buffalo is located in Judith Basin, bordered by Lewis and Clark National Forest land and between the Little Belt Mountains and the Big Snowy Mountains. This river valley supports cattle ranches, dairies, and wheat farms. Nearby Ackley Lake State Park offers boating, fishing, water recreation and camping.

Brusett is 18 miles northwest of Jordan and the area is known for ranches and farms, which are producers of cattle, sheep and winter wheat. Brusett's 7-V Ranch is located on the edge of the Missouri River Breaks offering quality deer and antelope hunting in widely diverse settings.

Boyes is located in the southeastern corner of Montana on Highway 212 between Broadus and Alzada. In nearby Broadus is the Powder River Historical Museum where you can explore historical collections made up of Native American artifacts, including thousands of arrowheads, vintage autos, threshing machines and a collection of items from the Reynolds Campaign of 1876.

Bonner, east of Missoula, had one of the state's first large sawmills. The town was named for E.L. Bonner, an early settler in Missoula and first president of the Missoula and Bitterroot Valley Railroad (1888). Bonner's Ferry, Idaho was also named for this Montana lumber magnate.

Bighorn is near the Yellowstone County border where the Big Horn River flows into the Yellowstone. In 1822 Col. W.H. Ashley built Fort Van Buren, two miles below the mouth of the Big Horn River, where many westbound travelers stopped for a rest. General Gibbon with 450 men crossed the Yellowstone at this point in June, 1876 as he was hurrying south to aid General Custer in a battle that had already been lost.

Apgar is located in Glacier National Park at the lower end of Lake McDonald and two miles from the West Glacier entrance. The village offers a visitor center, gift shops, a camp store, casual restaurants, and lodging. Horseback ride reservations, boat rentals, a shuttle service, and Red Bus tour reservations are also located in Apgar Village. Nearby Apgar Campground is the largest campground in Glacier National Park.

Antelope is located in the extreme northeastern corner of Montana, twenty miles from Canada and the North Dakota border. The town and nearby creek were named for the graceful animal native to the area. Nearby, Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge provides important breeding and stopover habitat for a diverse array of migratory birds.

Angela is located 25 miles northwest of Miles City along MT Highway 59. The town was established in 1913 when John and Ann Garvin opened a post office store combination.