Great Falls to Fort Benton, Montana

August 18-20, 2020:  Great Falls - Fort Benton, Montana

I check out of the Hotel at 11 AM, it is cloudy, rain on and off.  I am concerned about my house battery’s charge as it’s been mostly cloudy for the past two days.  I had put a bag of ice in the refrigerator back at the hotel to hopefully give it a break and it seemed to help.  I can rig up a 12V extension cord to plug into the vans battery if need be, but I don’t want to do this unless it’s really needed.  This is sort of a test of the limits of my solar system.

I am traveling north now on route 87 towards Havre, Montana.  A short distance down the road I make a few stops to take photos of the vast wheat fields and the  small town of Carter.

Geometric shapes across the horizon

Little church of the prairie ?

Amid the golden waves of grain

The Iron Horse rumbles through

I continue to a roadside historical site outside of Fort Benton. There is a great scenic view of the Missouri River from this point where it makes about a 280 degree turn.  After reading the signs, I realize that I need to stop at Fort Benton and check it out.  I was somehow ignorant of the significance of this place.

A beautiful partial view, the river continues to bend around to the left

Mullian Road description

Fort Benton sign

Who would have thought that river steamboats could to this point ?

Who came up with this crazy name ?

As I enter the historic downtown, I am impressed, there is a grassy park like area with large Cottonwood trees running along the Missouri River with well done historic signage.  There is the  impressive Grand Hotel on Main Street which is lined with many other historic buildings. There are three museums and an old iron walking bridge spanning the Missouri River.  I will need a full day minimum to cover this.

I get much information from the friendly attendant at the visitors center then go to the nearby Upper Missouri River Interpretive Center.  It has good exhibits on the river, the geology, plants and wildlife.

I then return to the downtown and walk main street exploring the shops and reading the historical signs on the buildings.  The history here is amazing, this town was the northernmost river boat port on the Missouri River and as such became a very important transportation hub.  Fort Benton initially started as a trading post with the Indians back in the fur trading days.  The advent of the River Boat traffic created a boom period, similar to that found in a gold mining town, wide open, no law, rampant crime / vise and also many business opportunities.  Fort Benton was even called the Chicago of the northwest.  The prosperity went from about 1860 to 1887 when the completion of the continental railroad put the river boats out of business.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Benton,_Montana

The Grand Union Hotel is the place to stay in town

A romanticized painting of the Grande Union Hotel

  

The heart wrenching story of Shep

Shep's memorial

The bridge to nowhere these days

Great bar name

Wild times in the river boat days

This building housed one of the giants of commerce

T.C. Power was the Walmart of its day

I visited a brewery, the Golden Triangle Brewing Company,  in a historic old building which appears to be a new business.  As I was the only customer I had a good conversation with the owner / brewer was a young man.  He has done a great job of redoing the buildings interior and saving much of the original details such as the tin ceiling and building a bar top out of old barn boards.  His beer was excellent as well.

Towards the end of the riverboat period, another transportation link was built called the Mullian Road which ran 600 miles between Fort Benton and Walla Walla, Washington.  This added another market for overland shipment of goods.

There was also a lively illegal liquor trade connection called the "Woop UP Trail" freighting supplies north over the Canadian border   

I also visited the Fort Benton Museum which has a recreated fort modeled from the original.  The adobe blockhouse and a few other wall foundations are the only remaining parts of the original Fort.  They have a great museum on the history of the Fort, which was never really a fort, but a trading post.  They also have an art gallery with a great collection of Karl Bodmer prints that were donated by a New Jersey woman after visiting the museum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Bodmer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Bodmer

It al began as a trading post

The entrance to the fort

The Traders and the Indians lived in harmony

Life changed with the arrival of the horse and firearms

Remarkable Karl Bodmer prints

I also visited the Montana Agriculture Museum which outlines the farming history of this area from the early settlers to today.

It also house the Hornaday-Simthsonian Bison exhibit which is considered the most significant collection in the US.   The animals were collected in 1886 by William T Hornaday from the last wild herd for the National Museum in Washington DC.  It was feared that they were about to become extinct and none had yet been preserved in the national collection.

http://fortbentonmuseums.com/the-museums/hornaday-smithsonian-buffalo/

All facets of agriculture are displayed

The Great Northern Railroad promoted settlement and established towns

The Steam Tractors broke up the prairie sod

A very nice Chrysler coupe on display

The story behind the car

The way they used to harvest the wheat, not so easy

Many think this big bull was the model for the buffalo head nickel

William Hornaday was an early conservationist and taxidermist 

I am sitting in the van waiting out a sudden wind and rain storm before I venture into the Palace Bar.  I  find it nice and clean inside, I really had expected it to be a real dive.

The Palace was OK

I then go down the street to the Public House Cafe and Restaurant which is a town favorite recommended by the museum docent.  He is right, I order something a little different, mac and cheese with chicken, it comes out in a nice large bowl and was excellant !      

Next stop will be Havre, Montana !