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.

John Quincy Adams of the Milwaukee Land Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, platted the present town of Three Forks in 1908. Unlike most railroad officials, Adams and his son, B. S. Adams, took an unusual personal interest in the town’s development. Foundations were laid for the J. Q. Adams Block in 1916. In March 1918, the Three Forks Herald finally reported completion proclaiming it “one of the most beautiful [buildings] in the State.” The Neo-classical style building represents what might today line Three Forks’ commercial district had drought, World War I, and depression not intervened. Elegant brickwork and sophisticated proportion reflect the talents of an anonymous, finely trained architect. A significant representative example of early twentieth century “modern” local architecture, the clean lines and symmetry contrast sharply with Three Forks’ earlier, more heavily ornamented commercial buildings. The upper façade remains unchanged. The first ground-floor occupants were the Robertson Jewelry and Drug Company and the Adams’ Three Forks Land Company. A private men’s social club occupied the second floor.

Members played billiards and pool in a large arched open space surrounded by oak panels. The club had a kitchen, dining area, and quarters for the live-in steward. The billiards room and sitting room with fireplace remain intact on the second floor. The tin ceiling, mosaic floor tiles, and two vaults survive on the main floor. The exterior masonry and windows are as originally designed except the tin storefront and glass were removed and “modernized” in 1972.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

Aviation captivated America during the 1920s, particularly when Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic in 1927. The United States made rapid strides and airfields opened all over the country. The town of Belgrade constructed Gallatin County’s first airfield in 1929. The opening of Siefert Field, attended by 8,000 people, even caused the county’s first traffic jam. By 1930, the U.S. proudly claimed the most advanced airway system in the world, and in 1935 Northwest Airways received federal approval to provide Montana with east-west airmail service. The U.S. Department of Commerce subsequently constructed the Airway Radio Station at Siefert Field. Federally constructed airway stations, spaced approximately 200 miles apart along the airways, provided services critical to the development of civil aviation. The station housed the radio range and ground-to-air system used by airmail pilots on the Minneapolis-Spokane-Seattle civil airway. Aeronautics Bureau employees manned the station 24 hours a day, operating radio equipment and gathering weather information, which they transmitted over teletype. As technology advanced, high frequency VHF signals proved more reliable in the 1930s and radio range equipment in the Airway Radio Station became obsolete. Gallatin County moved the station to nearby Pogreba Field in 1953, where it now serves as the Three Forks Airport terminal. The small Craftsman style building, one of two such stations left in Montana, is a reminder of early airmail service and the technology that made round-the-clock, all-weather flying feasible.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

One of Montana’s most amazing historical events occurred near here in 1809. In September of that year, John Colter and John Potts, former Lewis and Clark Expedition members, were trapping beaver on the Jefferson River near the headwaters when a band of Blackfeet Indians captured Colter and killed Potts. The Blackfeet gave Colter a chance to escape and provide themselves with a little entertainment. They stripped him, gave him a head start, and ordered him to run across the prickly pear cactus- covered flat east of the river. With the Indians hot on his heels, Colter undoubtedly made an all-time record that day for both sprints and long distance events. He outran the Indians over a six mile course and gained the cover of timber along the Madison River. Once in the stream he may have hidden either under a driftwood jam or in a beaver lodge. The hide-out saved him from the disappointed and mystified Indians. When night came Colter left his refuge and headed east, naked and weaponless. Over a week later, he reappeared, sunburned, emaciated, and with swollen feet, at the Missouri Fur Company trading post, Fort Raymond, at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers, more than 200 miles east of here. Colter’s Run has inspired novels and motion pictures. Local businesses sponsor an annual Colter-inspired marathon run without nudity and the prospect of being killed by the Blackfeet.

The Headwater's Region was the setting for the legend of ... Colter's Run 1808

In the fall of 1808 John Colter and John Potts, both former members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, were trapping up the Jefferson River. Angered by previous encounters with white men, a band of Blackfeet attacked the two trappers. Potts was killed; Colter was stripped and told to run for his life. Heading out across the plains, Colter outdistanced all but one of the pursuers. Nearly exhausted, Colter turned on the Indian, killing him. The trapper continued on to the river, where he hid under a snag. The Blackfeet searched for him but finally gave up at darkness. Colter emerged and headed for the trapper's fort on the Big Horn River, a journey made in seven days.

Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, England, France and Spain competed in the search for a water route across North America. Explorers such as DeSoto, La Salle and de la Verendrye believed that the Mississippi-Missouri was the fabled Northwest Passage to the wealthy Orient. By 1760, the French had penetrated father up the Missouri that any other nation, but England emerged from the French and Indian Wars as the strongest power on the continent. With the birth of the United States in 1776, a fourth nation entered the contest for domination of the western lands. The power struggle continued for another 25 years, with the United States siding with one European nation, then another. In the end, the desire of France to limit England's power made possible the purchase of the western territory by the United States.

The Headwaters drew many trappers because of its large beaver population.

Lewis and Clark had barely returned to the East when, spurred by their reports of vast numbers of beaver, Manuel Lisa formed the Missouri Fur Company. Recruiting several veterans of the Expedition - John Colter, George Drouillard, John Potts and Reuben Fields - along with other trappers, Lisa established a fur post on the Big Horn, and next, in 1810, at the Three Forks. His monopoly of the fur trade was destroyed by the War of 1812 and by Indian hostility. In the 1820's and 1830's, two other fur companies (Rocky Mountain and American) continued to trap in the Headwaters region employing men whose names were to become legendary: Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Jim Beckwourth, Jedediah Smith. By the 1840's, however, the beaver in this area had been trapped to near extinction, and silk hats

The original townsite of Gallatin City, north of here on the west side of the combined Madison and Jefferson Rivers, was selected in 1862. In Feb., 1863 sixty cabins were being constructed. The river was forded when it was low and a ferry was available when it was high. In 1864 President Lincoln declared Montana a Territory and Gallatin County, (one of nine Montana counties) named Gallatin City the county seat. In 1865 the town had moved to the east side of the river near the present Headwaters Park. The county’s first flour mill was built at Gallatin City in 1866. Freighting on the Missouri River was impossible due to several waterfalls below Fort Benton. When Bozeman was voted the county seat in 1867 and the Northern Pacific Railroad was scheduled to by-pass Gallatin City, the town was gradually abandoned.

Erected 2000 by The Montana Cultural Trust The Gallatin County Historical Society.

Built by Jarvis Akin, the Hotel was originally a one-room building of hand-hewn logs. It was the center of Gallatin City's social life; travelers sometimes complained of not being able to sleep because of the ruckus. As the town died, the Hotel was turned into a barn; later, sections of it were torn down and carted away to be used elsewhere.

George Drouillard, the son of a Shawnee mother and French-Canadian father, was one of the most valued members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Meriwether Lewis noted in a letter to Secretary of War Henry Dearborn that Drouillard was "a man of much merit; he has been peculiarly useful from his knowledge of the common (sign) language of gesticulation, and his uncommon skill as a hunter and woodsman." Discharged from the Corps of Discovery in October, 1806, Drouillard partnered with St. Louis fur trader Manuel Lisa in 1807 to further trap and trade on the upper Missouri. Upon returning to St. Louis, Drouillard described his explorations of the Bighorn region to William Clark, then Superintendent of Indian Affairs, who added the new information to his map of the West.

Three year later in the employment of the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company, Drouillard found himself once more poised at the headwaters of the Missouri River. As the company men, under Pierre Menard, constructed a trading post between the Jefferson and Madison Rivers, the trappers drew constant attention from the Blackfeet who resented their presence. Chafing at the constraints the ever-present Blackfeet placed on the trappers Drouillard and a party of men from the post set out to trap the upper Jefferson. After two days of successful trapping on his own, Drouillard and two others left the main camp on the third day. When they did not return, a search party discovered the mutilated bodies of all three men less than three miles from camp. The physical evidence indicated that Drouillard "made a most obstinate resistance" before being overwhelmed.

George Drouillard, a "man of much merit," lies buried in an unmarked grave somewhere near the banks of Jefferson River.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

Lewis and Clark

Corps of Discovery Sites Along this Portion of the Missouri River Valley

Crimson Blufffs

July 24, 1895 (Lewis Journal) "Set out at sunrise; the current very strong; passed a remarkable bluff of a crimson colored earth on Starboard intermixed with Stratas of black and brick red slate."

July 24th (Sgt. Gass) "This morning was fine, and we early prosecuted our voyage; passed a bank of very red earth..."

July 24th, 1805 (Clark Journal) "...fine day wind from the NW. I proceeded on up a creek on the derection of the Indian road at 10 oClock discovered a horse 6 miles to my left towards the river as I approached the horse found him fat and verry wild we could not get near him, we changed our Derection to the river for water having previously Crossed 5 handsom Streams in One Valley."

Yorks Islands

Wednesday July 24, 1805 (Lewis) "we saw many beaver and some otter today: the former dam up the small channels of the river between the islands and compell the river in these parts to make other channels, which as soon as it has effected that which was stoped by the beaver becomes dry and is filled up with mud sand grave and driftwood, the beaver is then compelled to seek another spot for his habitation wher(e) he again erects his dam. thus the river in many places among the clusters of islands is constantly changing the direction of such sluices as the beaver are capable of stoping or of 20 yds in with. this anamal is that way I believe to be very instrumental in adding to the number of islands with which we find the river crouded." (Sometime later, Clark penned on his map:)

Yorks 8 Islands

July 25. 1805 (Lewis) "... the valley appeared to termineate and the river was again hemmed in on both sides with high cagily and rocky cliffs, soon after entering these low mountains we passed a number of fine bold springs which burst out underneath the Land, clifts near the edge of the water; they wer very cold and freestone water."

Second Gates of the Rocky Mountains

All trail and campsites locations are approximate. Some lie on private land.

Three Forks - the Headwaters of the Missouri River

Welcome to Three Forks and surrounding communities where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers converge to form the headwaters of the 2,54-mile monumental Missouri River. Native peoples prospered here over 10,000 years ago by hunting wildlife such as buffalo, elk and antelope and by crafting stone tools and weapons. Today, abundant natural resources - rich soil, minerals, and timber combine to define the prosperity of this portion of the Upper Missouri River Valley.

Independent, enterprising and hard-working people living off the land wisely developed, used and managed the natural resources for their livelihood.

Take a look around and you will discover that agriculture - wheat and various grains, cattle, and other agricultural products form the economic base of the valley. Products produced in this region are distributed worldwide! Gold, talc, and timber, along with the production of cement, add to the economic base.

Colorful History Near Three Forks

• Crossroads and travel corridor for many native peoples

• Madison River Buffalo Jump dating back 4,000 years

• Sacajawea, Lewis and Clark's young Shoshone Indian interpreter, captured from here people by a Hidatsa raiding party.

• When Lewis and Clark arrived at the headwaters in July, 1805, Sacajawea recognized the area of her capture.

• On July 28, 1805, Lewis and Clark named the three rivers the Jefferson, in honor of President Thomas Jefferson; the Madison, for Secretary of State, James Madison; and the Gallatin, for Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury.

• Clark returned the headwaters in August of 1806 on his return journey.

• The city of Three Forks was founded by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad in 1908. The railroad era ended in 1980.

Your Turn to Explore!

Native tribes, Lewis and Clark, fur traders and many others explore this region. Now it's your turn to discover. Start your journey by touring the town of Three Forks. To get there, drive south on US 287 to the yellow flashing light and turn left. Or, take I090 east to Three Forks exit and turn right. Don't miss the Headwaters Heritage Museum, or there Caboose Visitors Center. The surrounding area has attractions you won't want to miss including:

• Headwaters State Park - Frontage Road from Three Forks exit

• Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park

The kiosk is in the background, next to the caboose.

• 16 miles SW on Highway 2

• Madison Buffalo Jump - 14 miles SE of Three Forks

• Parker Homestead State Park - SW on Three Forks on US 287

• The town of Willow Creek - SW of Three Forks

• Blue ribbon trout fishing - on the Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson rivers.

The Missouri River - Source of Life

No doubt about it, the Missouri River is the lifeblood of this valley. Along this proton of the Missouri River country, notice the lush fields of grain; cattle lazily grazing; past and present mining operations; wildlife galore; forests and unlimited recreational activities.

The mighty Missouri starts its long 2,547-mile journey eastward to St. Louis at the headwaters near Three Forks where the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rives converge. It is one of the longest rivers in the United States, second only to the Mississippi.

The Valley Changes Forever In 1896 the Helena Water and Electric Power Company started construction of a wood and earth dam, and power plant just above the site of Canyon Ferry. That dam created Lake Sewell which was 7 miles long and 2 to 3 miles wide. Electrical power fro the plant was supplied to the smelter in East Helena. The Montana Water Board, Montana Power Company and the Bureau of Reclamation initiated a study of the water resources in 1941, which led to the construction of the new Canyon Ferry Dam which was completed in 1954. The dam and the 25-mile long Canyon Ferry Reservoir added 155,000 new acres of irrigated land and helped water an additional 82,000 acres of inadequately irrigated land. With the new reservoir came other benefits such as boating, fishing, camping as well as abundant wildlife.

Historic Travel Corridor

Whether trudging along 10,000 years ago or passing by today, travelers found this portion of the Upper Missouri Valley a well traveled corridor. Lewis and Clark pushed, paddled and pulled up the Missouri in 1805, with fur trappers following in their footsteps. Miners, farmers and homesteaders came next.

This portion of the Upper Missouri was too shallow for big steamboats. Near present-day Townsend, three small steamships were launched, but they never returned. Over 25 ferryboats crossed this 100-mile stretch of the Upper Missouri. Ferries provided an important link to the wagon road system in the late 1800s which supplied the booming mining towns.

Today, this area is a modern travel corridor that whisks travelers between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. The river valley still plays an integral role in the lives of people by providing water, recreation, wildlife and relaxation from the slow meandering water flowing through the valley.

Conservation and Stewardship

This portion of the Upper Missouri River Valley is still a pristine natural area of Montana where people continue to use, develop and carefully manage natural resources. Good stewardship is the key factor for long-term conservation. Mining land is being carefully reclaimed; the timber industry practices environmentally sound logging practicers; and farmers and ranchers continue to care for their land so future generations can enjoy and prosper in the valley.

Please tread lightly on the land.

Erected by U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service.

In Patriotic Memory of

Sacajawea an Indian woman whose heroic courage steadfast devotion and splendid loyalty in acting as guide across the Rocky Mountains made it possible for the

Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804 - 1806 to occupy so important a place in the history of this republic

Erected 1914 by The Montana Daughters of the American Revolution.

“The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principle stream of it, as, by its course & communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean… may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent…” from Thomas Jefferson’s instructions to Meriwether Lewis, July 4th, 1803

Lewis and Clark explored the Missouri River in search of the "Northwest Passage."

"The object of your mission" wrote President Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark "is to explore the Missouri River and such principal streams of it ... as may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across the continent." Lewis and Clark, along with 32 other members of the expedition, camped on the banks of the Jefferson near here. Although they realized by then that the Missouri would not lead directly to the Pacific, they still considered it "an essential point" in the geography of North America. The Expedition rested here, exploring the surrounding area and noting the wide variety and abundance of game and plants. The following year, Clark and some members of the Expedition returned here on their way east.

You are standing at the headwaters of the great Missouri River. The Jefferson and Madison Rivers converge with the Gallatin joining one mile downstream to become the Missouri River. Here, the famed explorers accomplished a major goal of their expedition: to explore the Missouri River to its source. They camped here for several days, exploring the area while they prepared to continue their journey.

Clark arrived at the Headwaters first, on July 25, 1805. He quickly explored the area and then continued on, hoping to find the Shoshone and the horses they desperately needed. He returned two days later, exhausted and ill. Lewis arrived that day, and the whole party camped for 3 days while they continued to explore the area. The camp is thought to be less than a mile up the Jefferson River from here on private land.

As the party left the Headwaters, they were anxious to find the Shoshones, who they hoped would provide them with horses to continue their journey across the mountains. On August 13, 1805 the Corps met up with the Lemhi Shoshone, including Sacagawea’s brother.

On their return trip, Lewis and Clark split up to explore more of the territory north and south of the Missouri River. Clark passed through here again in the summer of 1806.

Lewis describes in his journal how they determined this to be the source of the Missouri River. They named the three tributaries the Jefferson, the Madison, and the Gallatin, after the organizers of the expedition: President Jefferson, Secretary of State James Madison, and Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin.

”Both Capt. C. and myself corrisponded in opinion with rispect to the impropriety of calling either of these streams the Missouri and accordingly agreed to name them after the President of the United States and the Secretaries of the Treasury and state…”

Meriwether Lewis, July 28, 1805

”a fine morning we proceeded on a fiew miles to the three forks of the Missouri those three forks are nearly of a Size, the North fork appears to have the most water and must be Considered as the one best calculated for us to assend…”

William Clark, July 25th, 1805

”I was verry unwell all night, Something better this morning, a very worm day untill 4 oClock when the wind rose & blew hard from the S W… Several deer killed to day men all employed dressing Skins for Clothes & Mockersons…”

William Clark, July 28, 1805

The Missouri and Mississippi drainage determined the boundaries of the ... Louisiana Purchase.

The acquisition, as well as the expiration, of the Mississippi-Missouri by the white man was carried out against a background of European power politics. In selling the Louisiana territory to the U.S., Napoleon of France acquired money to further his own ambitions against England, while at the same time setting up against England "a maritime rival who will humble her pride. "For the United States, the Louisiana Purchase was "an event of such magnitude that its results are beyond measurement. It doubled the area, adding resources of incalculable value, providing a potential that was certain to make the U.S. a great power and guaranteeing our expansion beyond the Rockies to the Pacific... There is no aspect of our national life, no part of our social and political structure, and no subsequent event in the course of our history that it has not affected." - Bernard DeVoto

The Milwaukee Land Company, a subsidiary of the Milwaukee Road, established the town of Three Forks in 1908. Company land agent John Q. Adams chose this townsite and held a lot sale in 1908. Buyers came by the trainload, purchasing 250 lots. District Superintendent Reverend George King with Reverends Charles Crouch and Charles Rhodes purchased two lots for the First Methodist Episcopal Church. In a mess tent by the roundhouse eleven days later, Reverends Crouch and Rhodes held the first religious services in the new town. The church was chartered in 1909 with thirteen members. Reverend Fleet initiated a building program in 1911 and it progressed under Reverend McClure. The cornerstone was laid with great fanfare in 1913. Presiding Elder Jacob Mills of Bozeman donated $2,500 to assure the church a secure financial foundation, and pastors from across Montana attended the first service on Easter Sunday, 1914. Methodist and Presbyterian congregations combined between 1920 and 1953 as the Federated Church. In 1968, the Methodists merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to become the present United Methodist Church. Despite heavy earthquake damage in 1925, this landmark church remains a classic example of the Gothic Revival style. Impressive features include graceful pointed arches with tracery windows, a Norman style crenellated bell tower with corner buttresses, and a steeply pitched cross-gabled roof. The interior, restored in 1993, includes a soaring 30-foot wood beamed ceiling, original oak pews arranged in three tiers, and stained glass windows.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

Approx.. 2 miles north on the Trident Road (#286) is the confluence of the Jefferson and Madison Rivers. A mile further downstream you can view the Gallatin River merging to form the headwaters of the Missouri River, the longest U.S. river. (approx.. 2500 miles) In 1804 at the bidding of President Jefferson, Lewis and Clark and several men came up the Missouri River from St. Louis, Missouri. In Mandan (now North Dakota) a young Shoshone girl named Sacajawea, her husband Charbonneau, and baby Pomp joined the group. The expedition continued following the Missouri River and arrived at the headwaters of the Missouri River July 1805. For many years Indian tribes travelled through the Missouri headwaters and the Gallatin valley to and from buffalo hunts. The chert (fine grained quartz crystals) mine located across the Missouri River at the mouth of the Gallatin River was used by Indians for making arrows, tools, and trading with other tribes.

Erected 2002 by The Montana Cultural Trust The Gallatin County Historical Society.

The Headwaters has been populated for over 11,000 years

The Headwaters region was occupied for more than 11,000 years by bands of hunter and gatherers. Ample big game such as bison, elk and deer, and the abundant natural rock for tool making were prime attractions in prehistoric times.

The earliest identifiable Indians who lived year-round in these valleys were Shoshonean speaking people. Western tribes, after acquiring the horse in about 1720, came across the mountains to hunt buffalo in the Three Forks area. By the time white men arrived in 1805, the Blackfeet had forced these mounted but more poorly armed people back across the mountains. A treaty made in 1855 between the Indians and whites declared the Headwaters region to be "a common hunting-ground for 99 years, where all nations, tribes and bands on Indians may enjoy equal and uninterrupted privileges." Rapid settlement by the white man brought this treaty to an end in about nine years.

A native of Three Forks, Montana, born March 16, 1922, Dean Porgerba loved to fly airplanes, especially single engine jets. Dean was a veteran of W.W. II and the Korean War. In his country's third conflict, his plane was shot down over the North Vietnam/Chinese border, October 5, 1965. Pogreba was listed as "Missing in Action".

For thirty years, the Pogreba family and friends worked to resolve his fate. Like all those whose fate is unknown, Dean is more than a name etched in granite on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Pogreba Field reflects the community's determination that future generations will remember him and all those who did not return.

Lewis Aldrich • Clarence Bauer • Alvin Doag • Claude Burrell

William Burkett • Raymond Callagean • Lloyd Coleman • Boyd Collins

Eugene Collins • Clifton Edwards • Paul Gates • Robert Hale

Grover Hayes • Wesley Helland • Kenneth Hoffman • William Janssen

Walter Janssen • John Kelly • Harry Kirkham • Gordon Latimer

Hal Lower • Wilbur Mace • Walter McDonnell • James Nelson, Jr.

Ben Oiye • George Oiye • Elmer Olson • Lewellyn O’Dell • Faye Parker

Ralph Pike • Lloyd Pyfer • Robert Shouse • Edward Talbott • John Tinjum

Myrtle Verwolf • Wayne Winks • Byron White

The town of Three Forks, born to serve as a division point for the Chicago, St. Paul, and Milwaukee Railway, took root in 1908. As the town grew to a sizable settlement of 2,300, the Empire Theatre opened to serve local audiences. Manager David R. “Slim” Byrd attracted traveling troupes on their way to other destinations. In August 1912, Byrd held a grand re-opening of his newly remodeled “amusement house.” He renamed it the Ruby Theatre after Ruby Langdon, a local teenager who not only knew how to recruit talent but was also a well-loved local singer. A few weeks later, David Byrd married nineteen-year-old Ruby and soon sold the theater. New owner E. C. Waddell brought the first silent movies to Three Forks including “The Idler” (1914), “Anna Karenina” (1915), and “The Girl I Left Behind Me” (1915). Theater[M1] -goers also enjoyed live road shows, traveling magicians, and high school plays. The present building of concrete faced with red brick replaced the old frame theater in 1916. Butte architect Wellington Smith designed the building—a grand undertaking for a small community. The new Ruby Theatre had an auditorium seating 400 and two commercial storefronts while the second floor housed professional offices. As “talkies” replaced silent movies, the Ruby continued to offer community entertainment linking Three Forks to the world through newsreels, epic movies, and famous actors. The Ruby provided entertainment until the 1970s. The historic theater retains most of its original design elements including its pressed metal cornice, original nameplate, decorative brickwork, and arched second-story windows.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

This statue was erected to commemorate Sacajawea and the Bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803- 1806. She was a member of the Corps of Discovery and was invaluable as an interpreter in obtaining horses from her Shoshone people, necessary in crossing the western mountains. Her knowledge of food sources and recognition of landmarks near her homeland were also important contributions. Sacajawea and her infant exemplified the peaceful mission of the expedition.

Her story began here when a band of Agaidika (Shoshone) Indians traveled from the west to the Three Forks area to hunt buffalo in the fall of 1800. They were attacked by Hidatsa warriors. Sacajawea, then about 10- 12 years old, was kidnapped and taken to their Knife River earth lodge villages in what is now North Dakota. Toussaint Charboneau, a French- Canadian fur trapper, took her as a wife. February 11, 1805, she gave birth to Jean Baptiste, called “Pomp” by William Clark. They joined the expedition and arrived at the Missouri headwaters on July 27, 1805. The Corps camped for several days on the Jefferson River at the place of her people's encampment when she was captured-- about three miles from this site. Clark, with his party, with Sacajawea and Pomp, passed through the headwaters on the return trip, 13 July, 1806. Fact and fiction contribute to her rich legacy. She is one of our most admired American women.

Sculpture by Mary Michael

Erected 2005 by Three Forks Area Historical Society.

Familiar with the Headwaters area, Sacajawea was invaluable as an interpreter for Lewis and Clark.

In 1800, Sacajawea was camped on the Jefferson River with her Shoshone tribe. Attacked by a band of Minnetarees, she was captured and traded to the Mandans. There at the age of about 16, she became one of the wives of a French-Indian trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau, and accompanied him when he was hired by Lewis and Clark as an interpreter. Sacajawea proved more knowledgeable than her husband, however, and the Expedition came to rely on her. Clark commented in 1806: "The indian woman…has been of great service to me as a pilot through this country…"

Arrival of the Milwaukee Railroad caused Three Forks to move (1908-1910) one mile up the Missouri River from its 1863 townsite, as happened with many sister towns in the developing West. Milwaukee Railroad purchasing agent John Q. Adams saw need for a hotel to serve travelers and residents, and he thriftily purchased the Madison House (built 1862) and had it moved from the “old town” on log rollers. The Madison House’s front half is the apartment wing on the northeast end of the hotel, and its rear half forms the main kitchen, a dining room, and staff rooms in the southeast wing. The 1910 construction houses the main lobby and hotel rooms. With the Milwaukee Railroad depot across the street, the Sacajawea Hotel promptly became a business and social center for the area. Only five years later, the railroad removed most of its facilities, slowing Three Forks’ growth. The formal exterior proclaims the Sacajawea as a classic pioneer town grand hotel, but its Arts and Crafts style interior is warmly informal and welcoming, as intended by Bozeman architect Fred Wilson.

Erected by Montana Historical

Society; Department of the Interior, National Register of Historic Places.

In front of you is the site of Gallatin City, 1865-1880's. After it became obvious that steamboats could not operate economically from Fort Benton to the Headwaters, the town was relocated from the north side of the river to this location. Sitting astride the main stage and wagon routes, agricultural products from the Gallatin Valley passed through Gallatin City to the gold camps of Bannack, Virginia City and Helena. The town died quickly when the railroad bypassed it in the 1880's and commerce moved to more convenient points.

"The Nisei bought an awful big hunk of America with their blood." - General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell

"You fought the enemy abroad and prejudice at home and you won." - President Harry Truman, July 1946

This memorial is to recognize and honor the men and women of Japanese ancestry who served and fought for America in World War II. These Nisei, second generation American born citizens of Japanese immigrant parents, fought in Italy and France as members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. After Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were not allowed to serve in the military, as they were classified "4-C, enemy alien." However, in 1943, President Roosevelt signed a law to create a unit made entirely of Japanese Americans. This 442nd RCT went on to become the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service.

The 442nd story has a strong Three Forks connection. There were several Japanese families living here, whose sons and daughters went off to fight the war in Europe.

This memorial was conceived by Three Forks residents Bud and Esther Lilly. Bud grew up in Manhattan and knew the Three Forks Japanese American kids, playing against them in basketball and football. From his own WWII military service, Bud understood the Nisei story and the special role of the 442nd RCT in the War. This Memorial salutes these men and women.

This unit was designated the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, but would go down in history based upon the unit's motto:

"Go For Broke"

George Oiye

As an engineering student at Montana State College, George was not allowed to enlist in 1941. Like all Japanese Americans, he was classified "4-C, enemy alien," even though he was required to take ROTC and was captain of the rifle team. His sister was held in an internment camp. For his service, George was decorated with a Bronze Star. After the war he worked in the aerospace industry as a specialist in optical engineering and designed technology used on the International Space Station.

The Satake Family

Four members of the Satake family served in the war: John, Frank, King, and Irene. Irene retired from the Service as a Colonel. Brother Jim was too young to serve in the war but joined the military later.

Yokichi Itoh

A star athlete at Three Forks High School, Yokichi played basketball and was an all-state half back on the football team. Quarterback George Oiye said, "I just gave You the ball and got out of the way." After being seriously injured in the war, You graduated from medical school at Temple University. Following his training, he returned to Livingston, Montana, where he was a general practitioner from 1956 to 1985. He was respected for his clinical competence and appreciated for his gentle and caring manner.

"Blood that has soaked into the sands of a beach is all of one color. America stands unique in the world, the only country not founded on race, but on a way - an ideal. Not in spite of, but because of our polyglot background, we have had all the strength in the world. That is the American way." - Captain Ronald Reagan, 1945 "They were superb! That word correctly describes it: superb! They took terrific casualties. They showed rare courage and tremendous fighting spirit. Not too much can be said of the performance of those battalions in Europe and everybody wanted them...." - General George C. Marshall

Erected by Bud and Esther Lilly.

Clad in buckskin, the trapper carried with him his knives, gunpowder and lead. a Hawken rifle, perhaps a pipe and a book. Except for flour and salt, he lived entirely off the land. He did his trapping in the spring and fall. During the summer, trappers would gather at the annual rendezvous to exchange the season's catch for supplies. In winter the trapper would take refuge in whatever shelter he could find, passing the time by curing and tanning skins, making clothes for next year. Popular history has surrounded the mountain man with glory and adventure, but reality was often short rations, bitter cold boredom and even sudden death.

The Gallatin Valley

While known to Montana First Citizens for Millennia, it was not until William Clark explored the valley in July 1806 that we have the first written description of the Gallatin Valley. Clark described the valley as an "open level plain" as he and his party headed eastward, crossing into the Yellowstone River valley over what is now known as Bozeman Pass on July 15th. Clark's description of the large number of beaver dams drew British and American fur trappers to the valley. In 1810, William Ashley established Three Forks Post near here. Famed mountain man Jim Bridger was familiar with the valley. The mountain range to the east is named for him.

Rich gold placers on Grasshopper Creek, Alder Gulch, and Last Chance Gulch in the early 1860s drew thousands of European-Americans to southwestern Montana. The Gallatin Valley's central location to the gold camps and its fertile soil made it the breadbasket of Montana Territory. Farmers and ranchers in the valley sold their products in Bannack and the gold camps strung along the length of Alder Gulch. Bozeman, Belgrade, Manhattan, and Three Forks were important agricultural communities. The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883 opened the valley to national markets for their wheat, barley, and cattle. Today, agriculture remains an important industry in the "The Garden Spot of Montana."

Gallatin City

A few months after prospectors discovered gold in Grasshopper Creek, 115 miles to the south, a group of Missouri speculators, with big dreams of the future, stood at the Missouri headwaters. They envisioned a rich agricultural center and steamboat port near here that would make the area a Garden of Eden for those who got in on the scheme. To that end, the promoters lured people from the mining camps and the Minnesota-Montana Road to settle at the headwaters. The Gallatin Town Company platted a town on the west side of the Jefferson River a little over four miles east of here. Small log cabins were soon followed by a flour mill and a ditch from the Madison River to power it. James Shedd constructed a series of river bridges shortly thereafter. At its height in 1866, Gallatin City posted a church, school, stores, and post office. The settlement was the first Gallatin County seat. But the planned "San Francisco of a Northern Eldorado" never materialized.

The promoters big plans for the Headwaters failed. The Great Falls of the Missouri proved an insurmountable barrier to Gallatin City being a steamboat port. The area around the headwaters also proved not to be the best for farming. The area was not particularly attractive for settlers or very favorable for farming, leading one resident to write that Gallatin City was "not one of the cities toward which people gravitate." Settlers in the area left in droves, while Bozeman prospered. By 1870, the county seat had moved to Bozeman and only 160 people remained in the area. Gallatin City, like many other optimistic plans in Montana, flopped, leaving behind abandoned buildings and collapsed log cabins as monuments to a failed dream.

Erected by Montana Department of Transportation.

Log cabins were introduced to North America by the Swedes and Germans. Because they were easy to build and made use of readily available materials, log cabins became the most common building on the frontier. This cabin has dovetail notches and cement chinking. Other common notches were the saddle notch and the V-notch. Before cement became available, cabins were chinked with moss, clay, old rags or newspapers.

Many nations traveled and lived along these banks, giving their own names to the river. “Missouri” is the official name given by the U.S. Geological Survey. It dates back to French explorer Jacques Marquette’s journal and 1673 map of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. His Algonquian-speaking guides called the people living at the mouth of the Missouri River “8emessourit,” * meaning “people with canoes (made of logs).” Over time, the name was simplified to “Missouri” and became the river’s name as well. Eventually the connection between the name and the people Marquette referred to was lost. However, the name “Missouri” became so popular that it is now used in over 300 geographic names. * In 16th and 17th century French, the letter 8 represents an “oo” or “w” sound, later written “ou” (Marquette’s map) (Portrait of an “8emessourit” man c. 1834, by Karl Bodmer

Erected by PPL Montana.

This region was alive with beaver, otter and game before the white man came. It was disputed hunting territory with the Indian tribes. Sacajawea, the Shoshone squaw who guided portions of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was captured near here when a child, during a battle between her people and the Minnetarees. Her memories of this country were invaluable to the explorers. The Expedition, westward bound, encamped near here for a few days in the latter part of July 1805. The following year Captain Clark and party came back, July 13, 1806, on their way to explore the Yellowstone River.

In 1808 John Colter, discoverer of Yellowstone Park, and former member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was trapping on a stream in this vicinity when captured by a band of Blackfeet. His only companion was killed. Colter was stripped, given a head start, and ordered to run across the flat which was covered with prickly pear. The Indians were hot on his heels but Colter undoubtedly made an all-time record that day for sprints as well as distance events. He outran the Indians over a six-mile course and gained the cover of the timber along the Jefferson River. Once in the stream he dove and came up under a jam of driftwood. This hide-out saved him from a lot of disappointed and mystified Indians. When night came he headed east, weaponless and outnuding the nudists. He traveled in this condition for seven days to Fort Lisa, his headquarters, at the mouth of the Big Horn River.

In 1810 the Missouri Fur Co. built a fur trading post close by but due to the hostility of the Blackfeet Indians were forced to abandon it that fall.

On their upstream journey in 1805, Lewis and Clark traveled through this area in two groups. On his return journey in 1806, Clark's group passed through the Headwaters area on their way to the Yellowstone River.

Sites depicted on this map of the Upper Missouri River presented left to right (south to north).

• Lewis & Clark campsite July 27-29, 1805; Clark campsite July 13, 1806

• Missouri Headwaters State Park Boat Ramp; YOU ARE HERE

• Lewis campsite July 26, 1805

• Clark campsite July 24, 1805

• Fairweather Fishing Access Site Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

• Toston Dam Boat Launch, US Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Land Management

• Lewis campsite July 25, 1805

• Toston Fishing Access Site Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Erected by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

The Thomas-Frederick Mill was one of two built in the Gallatin Valley during the 1860’s to process locally-grown grains and to guarantee a reliable supply of flour and meal. Flour from here was freighted regularly to the gold camps of Helena, Bannack and Virginia City. The Mill was often forced to shut down in the winter when the Madison River, its source of power, froze over.

Typical Water Mill Operation (Top) bucket elevator lifts grain to crib at center and screw-driven conveyor moves it horizontally to the hopper at right. Grain is chuted to grinders (center). After it is milled, flour flows to bin (bottom). Power for automation comes from rotating wheel in stream (lower right).

Easy river access and large numbers of beaver made the Headwaters a logical place for the ... Three Forks Post - 1810

In 1810, Manuel Lisa of the Missouri Fur Co. sent a large party of 32 trappers under command of Pierre Menard and Andrew Henry to establish a post at the Headwaters. Arriving on April 3, 1810, they built a "small enclosure" consisting of a "fort and trading house at the Forks between the Jefferson and Madison Rivers." They accumulated large numbers of beaver, but grizzly bears and Blackfeet killed several trappers. Among the dead was George Drouillard, the Shawnee half-breed admired by Lewis and Clark for his wilderness skills. Col. Menard finally concluded that it was hopeless to maintain a post at the Three Forks. In the fall of 1810, the trappers abandoned the attempt to establish a permanent trading post at the Headwaters.

Three Forks Post

The Headwaters of the Missouri River were potentially a fur trapper's paradise. Following the return of the Corps of Discovery in 1806, the expeditions's co-leader, William Clark told stories about the abundant beaver living near the confluence of the Gallatin, Jefferson, and Missouri rivers. Visions of quick riches at the headwaters attracted the fur traders such as Manuel Lisa, Andrew Henry and Pierre Menard. In 1809, they formed the Missouri Fur Company to establish a fort at the headwaters. In March 1810, a group of thirty-five fur trappers made the arduous trek to the area. Guided by Lewis and Clark Expedition veterans John Colter and George Drouillard, the group arrived at the headwaters in April 1810 and built what would be known as Three Forks Post. Its exact location is unknown , but it may have stood between the Madison and Jefferson about two miles above the rivers' confluence. While the trappers intended the fort to provide protection against attacks from local tribes, especially the Blackfeet, it seldom did.

The Blackfeet did not want the Americans trapping in their territory. Frequent attacks by the tribe made the headwaters a particularly deadly area to work. Trappers there feared that would not make it out alive. The first Blackfeet attack against the company's men occurred eight days after they built the post. The Blackfeet killed two trappers and three other men disappeared. The attacks continued and, in early May, the Blackfeet killed and mutilated George Drouillard , Meriwether Lewis's right-hand-man during the expedition. Despite the area's plentiful resources, the company decided to abandon the post; the potential profits of trapping there was not worth the lives of their men. After three months the Missouri Fur Company abandoned the post. The Blackfeet burned the fort to the ground.

John Colter

One of Montana's most famous and toughest mountain men, John Colter had a notorious history in the headwaters area. Colter was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Even before the Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis, Colter decided to stay in the West and left the Corps' service in August 1806. He spent the next few years exploring and trapping beaver along the extensive waterways of the Louisiana Purchase for the Missouri Fur Company.

While trapping along the Jefferson River hear here in 1809, Colter and fellow trapper John Potts were surrounded by a group of Blackfeet Indians. The Blackfeet killed Potts after he shot and killed a member of the tribe; they had different plans for Colter. Stripping him naked and offering few hundred yards' head start, Colter began to race for his life with the Blackfeet in hot pursuit. Running approximately five to six miles across prickly pear cactus and rocks, Colter suddenly turned to face the Blackfeet Indian who pursued him most closely. After wrestling his spear away from him, Colter killed the man and hid beneath a driftwood dam or beaver lodge in the Madison River until nightfall. Over a week later, he appeared, sunburned, hungry, and with swollen feet, at Fort Manuel Lisa, at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Big Horn rivers more than 200 miles east of here.

Colter's luck at the headwaters never improved. After traveling with the Missouri Fur Company to the area in 1810, Colter left just eleven days after his arrival stating that after his close call the Blackfeet a year prior, he promised never to return; it was a promise he kept. Colter left the headwaters area for good and died of jaundice in St. Louis three years later.

Solid bank buildings were designed to assure customers that their money was safe from both theft and bank failure—a tenuous premise in the days before Federal Deposit Insurance. Here Romanesque arches, rusticated sandstone, thick masonry walls, and cavernous entryways marked the first-floor façade and symbolized the bank’s ability to endure, just as had the stone buildings of the Middle Ages. The less elaborate brick second story provided offices for Three Forks’ professionals, including doctors, dentists, and lawyers. Built in 1910, when the town was less than two years old, the sturdy building—financed by John Q. Adams, who founded Three Forks for the Milwaukee Land Company—also expressed its owner’s faith in Three Forks’ future. The bank changed hands several times before American National Bank purchased the seemingly prosperous enterprise in 1917. Soon after, however, extended drought and low commodity prices shattered the homestead economy. Thousands of farmers lost their land, land values dropped by fifty percent, and over half of Montana’s banks failed, including American National in 1923. Two years later, an earthquake shook Three Forks.

The quake’s effects can be seen in the blond replacement brick and truncated cornice on the building’s west side. After the bank closed, Adams’ son Benjamin used the building for his real estate office until 1942. Thereafter, it housed a variety of businesses. In 1960, it became a bank once more when Security Bank of Three Forks opened the town’s first bank in thirty-seven years. The building became home to the Headwaters Heritage Museum in 1982.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

From 38 to 30 million years ago, great herds of rhinoceros-like herbivores, called Megacerops, roamed this part of Montana. Megacerops, also known as Brontotheres, were massive animals. Classified as Perissodactyla, Megacerops had three toes on its front feet and four toes on its back feet. Adults stood 8 feet tall at the shoulder and were around 16 feet in length; they weighed as much as two tons. They were about as big as African Forest Elephants are today. Megacerops had a branched horn on its snout. The snout may have functioned for mating purposes and as defense against the predators of the time. The climate at that time was warm and damp with lakes surrounded by reeds and other riparian vegetation.

Megacerops went extinct about 30 million years ago. Scientists have speculated that climate change and the resulting change in vegetation may have caused their extinction. The animal's primitive teeth may not have been able to browse the leaves and fruit it lived on, contributing to its disappearance.

The Lakota Indians found Megacerops fossils uncovered by rainstorms on the Great Plains. Many believed the animal caused thunderstorms when running over the clouds and called them Thunder Horses.

Shedd's Bridges

Many settlers who came to Montana in the 1860s quickly saw opportunity and were quick to recognize the needs of travelers in the territory. As immigrants from Scotland, James Shedd came to Montana Territory about 1864 and built bridges across the Madison and Jefferson rivers a mile or so north of Three Forks. He and his wife, Elizabeth, charged travelers tolls paid in gold dust, to cross the structures. Shedd built a hotel, called Bridge House, to serve sojourners on the roads between the Gallatin Valley and Virginia City and Helena. By 1871, the Shedds operated seven toll bridges in the area. A small settlement called Bridgeville, grew up around their hotel. Shedd sold the operation in 1880 and the hotel burned down in 1881.

Geo-facts:

• Megacerops means "giant horned face" in Greek

• Because of its great size, Megacerops had few predators, except for carnivorous mammals called creodonts and nimravids.

• The order Perissodactyla also included horses, rhinos, and tapirs.

Geo-activity:

• Imagine the fields on both sides of the highway filled with bellowing herds of Megacerops rather than cattle or horses. What do you think the area looks like then?

Erected by Montana Department of Transportation.

In 1908 construction began on Montana’s first cement manufacturing facility. In May 1910, the first cement was shipped to a hardware store in Missoula, Montana. The company-owned village of Trident was built before the plant was completed and at its peak housed about 200 employees and their families. The village included a store, boarding house, hotel, school (1911-1965), post office, movie theater and pool hall. Only U.S. citizens were allowed to live in the village. Non-citizens lived in dirt-floor shanties down river from the plant in what was known as WOP Town (workers without papers).

Cement is made from local limestone, shale and sandstone. Iron ore and gypsum are shipped in to supplement these raw materials. The raw materials (except gypsum) are heated at very high temperatures (2500 degrees F+) to form clinker which is then ground with gypsum to make the gray powder cement.

Erected 1998 by Holnam, Trident Cement Plant and the Gallatin County Historical Society.

Dedicated to all the men and women of the Headwaters Area, who gave of themselves while serving in our armed forces in times of war and peace

Erected by VFW Post 7621 American Legion #93.

The Montana soil is swallowing hundreds of old homestead buildings like this one. Each takes with it untold stories of men and women whose lives brought them drought and blizzards, loneliness and companionship, fear and simple joys, much like we know today yet sprung from a world that will never be again.

”As I looked across the rolling expanse of prairie, filled with the beauty of a Montana sunset, I sent up a little prayer of thanksgiving from my heart for this, our very first home. Only a rectangle of prairie sod, raw and untouched by the hand of man, but to us it was a kingdom…

…We have no regrets; life is fuller and sweeter through lessons learned in privation, and around our homestead days some of life’s fondest memories still cling. We are of Montana, now and always… I feel that creating a home and rearing a family in Montana has been a grand success, and my cup seems filled to overflowing with the sweetness and joy of living.”

• Pearl Price Robertson

Homesteader in Big Sandy, Montana, 1911

A Kingdom of Hope

Like the cottonwoods that shelter this cabin, the Parker family who build it dug their roots deep, weathered many seasons of hardship, and drank what sustenance the could from the soil. The Parkers were among thousands of Americans who took advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862 to stake their dreams on the arid Montana plains. Like so many others families, they notched out a living with sweat and optimism, and enjoyed little in the way of material comfort.

In the 1890s, newlyweds Nelson and Rosa Ellen (Harwood) Parker refurbished a miner’s shack on nearby Antelope Creek. A few years later they built a cabin for their growing family on the Jefferson River, but a spring flood washed that home away. The Parkers escaped in a rowboat, Rosa clutching the youngest of her three children between her knees. They vowed to move to dry ground.

In 1910, Nelson filed a patent to homestead 160 acres here. They built this sod-roofed cabin, and hauled water from creeks and ditches for years before they could afford to dig a well. Eventually the Parkers built a larger home near Three Forks, and abandoned this cabin.

In 1939, Orville and Josephine Jewett bought the place for their family of four children. The Jewetts farmed, hunted, trapped, and sheared sheep through the Depression and World War II. When they lived here, the cabin had three rooms, all painted with calcimine or white-wash. Bright linoleum covered wide-plank floors, curtains softened the windows, and the laughter of the Jewett’s four children rang across the fields.

A few members of the Jewett family still live nearby. In 1985 they leased the site to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to share and preserve this sample of Montana’s heritage. In 1998 the cabin was stabilized to delay deterioration.

Please help preserve Parker Homestead, and all the old homestead buildings you come across in Montana. Refrain from littering, use the place respectfully, and leave it in peace.