🏔️Montana

The Treasure State · Big Sky Country

Montana is the fourth-largest state by area and one of the least densely populated. Its eastern half is rolling Great Plains; its western half is Rocky Mountain wilderness, including the breathtaking peaks of Glacier National Park. The state produced some of the richest copper and silver mines in American history and is still known for its expansive skies, cattle ranching, and 3,100 fishable rivers and streams.

From Louisiana Purchase to Statehood

Most of Montana came to the United States in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark crossed the region in 1805–06, and their encounter with the Shoshone — whose teenage member Sacagawea was guiding them — happened in Montana. Fur traders followed; gold and copper discoveries at Grasshopper Creek (1862), Last Chance Gulch in Helena (1864), and Butte (1864) drew tens of thousands. Montana became the 41st state in 1889.

Little Bighorn

On June 25, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and more than 260 soldiers of the 7th Cavalry were killed by a combined force of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The battle was the greatest Native American military victory of the Indian Wars, though the triumph was short-lived — federal response intensified and the Lakota were forced onto reservations within a few years.

Copper Kings

Butte became known as "the Richest Hill on Earth" after the discovery of enormous copper deposits in the 1880s. Three mining magnates — Marcus Daly, William A. Clark, and F. Augustus Heinze — fought the bitter "War of the Copper Kings" for control of Butte and Montana politics. The Anaconda Copper Mining Company eventually dominated, and Butte supplied much of the copper for America's electric grid and telephone system.

Glacier and Yellowstone

Montana contains Glacier National Park, dubbed the "Crown of the Continent," with more than 700 miles of hiking trails and the scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road. Part of Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the world (1872), sits in southwestern Montana. The state's rugged terrain has made it a magnet for fly fishing, elk hunting, and skiing.

Montana Facts

• Montana has three times as many cattle as people.
• Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, in 1916 — four years before the 19th Amendment gave women the vote nationwide.
• Montana has only one area code (406), leading locals to call themselves "406ers."
• The state motto "oro y plata" is Spanish, unusual for a non-Spanish-heritage state.
• Montana has seven Native American reservations, home to twelve federally recognized tribes.

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