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First explored for France by François
and Louis-Joseph Verendrye in the early 1740s, much
of the region was acquired by the U.S. from France
as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Before
western Montana was obtained from Great Britain in
the Oregon Treaty of 1846, American trading posts
and forts had been established in the territory.
The major Indian Wars (1867–1877)
included the famous 1876 Battle of the Little Big
Horn, better known as “Custer's Last Stand,” in
which Cheyenne and Sioux defeated George A. Custer
and more than 200 of his men in southeast Montana.
Much of Montana's early history
was concerned with mining, with copper, lead, zinc,
silver, coal, and oil as principal products. Butte
is the center of the area that once supplied half of
the U.S. copper.
Fields of grain cover much of
Montana's plains. It ranks high among the states in
wheat and barley, with rye, oats, flaxseed, sugar
beets, and potatoes as other important crops. Sheep
and cattle raising make significant contributions to
the economy.
Tourist attractions include
hunting, fishing, skiing, and dude ranching. Glacier
National Park, on the Continental Divide, has 60
glaciers, 200 lakes, and many streams with good
trout fishing. Other major points of interest
include the Little Bighorn Battlefield National
Monument, Virginia City, Yellowstone National Park,
Fort Union Trading Post and Grant-Kohr's Ranch
National Historic Sites, and the Museum of the
Plains Indians at Browning. |
