A Trail Through History

The road from Three Forks to Helena is an old one. Long before the establishment of those cities, it originated as a trail used by Montana's first citizens as they followed the bison herds and other game animals. By the time the Gallatin Valley became an important agricultural area in the 1860s, the trail was well-worn and easy to follow for the freight wagons, pack animals, and passenger coaches making their way between Bozeman, Virginia City, Helena, and Fort Benton. The dusty road echoed with the sounds of creaking leather harnesses and wagons, and the curses of the bullwhackers and muleskinners urging their animals along. To assist travelers in the headwaters area, James Sheed built bridges across the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson rivers. That thoroughfare joins the highway a short distance north of here as Old Town Road. The arrival of automobiles in the early twentieth century changed the character of the road. The Montana State Highway Commission designated this route US Highway 287 in 1960.

When Montana's Roads Had Names

In the early days of automobile tourism, Montana's highways had names instead of numbers. Nineteen named highways crisscrossed Montana in the years following World War I, mostly providing connections to the national parks and other historical and recreational attractions. The roads were interlinked county-maintained roads united by distinctive signs and symbols so motorists could easily follow their destination, Organizations such as the Yellowstone Trail Association, created and promoted by the named highways. Local commercial clubs subscribed to the association brochures and advertised hotels, garages, and tourist camps in their communities in them. The roads had colorful names like Yellowstone Trail, Roosevelt Highway, Vigilante Trail, and Custer Battlefield Highway among others.

US Highway 287 between Three Forks and Helena originated in the 1910s as the Geysers to Glaciers Motor Trail. Dedicated by Montana governor Sam Stewart in June 1919, the Geysers at Gardiner to Glaciers Motor Trail connected the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park to the east entrance of Glacier National Park at East Glacier. The 396-mile chain of unpaved roads was marked by red, white and blue signs with arrows pointing motorists to Yellowstone and Glacier national parks in the eight Montana counties it passed through. In 1920, a new branch of the highway took motorists along this route through Townsend to Helena.

Road promoters touted the trail as the shortest path between Yellowstone and Glacier with "pathfinders" in each community ready to make road repairs and assist tourists. The Geysers to Glaciers Motor Trail had disappeared from Montana maps by 1930.

Erected by Montana Department of Transportation.