Montana's DAR Markers . . . Honoring Where History Was Made

Dedication
This book is a 200-page thank you to the women of Montana State
Society Daughters of the American Revolution. We appreciate and
remember your 125 years of service and herein ensure that your work in
placing historical markers across the state is well and truly documented.
To repeat one of the best salutes to the work of Montana DAR,
made by Mr. R.C. Dilavou, principal speaker at the DAR marker
dedication at Pompey’s Pillar:
Ladies of the DAR, I salute you upon the great work you have
accomplished in the past. I congratulate you upon the work that you
are now doing. And I leave with you, full of confidence in your
patriotism and loyalty, the many opportunities that lie before you
during the coming years.
Starting in 1908, Montana DAR has installed 70 historical markers
across the state. Of those, 33 remain. This book records why the
markers’ sites were selected, their history, and the back story of each.
Today, placing historic markers seems to be an anachronism. Why
bother? An answer comes from 1925, when David Hilger, state
librarian of the Montana Historical Society said:
Let the future historian ponder when he reads the inscription on this
tablet, let him ponder upon the deeds of valor and sacrifice made by
the men and women of that time. Let him contemplate for just a
brief moment conditions then existing in a new country far from
civilized communities; far from the base of supply; the comforts of
home and modern surroundings; among hostile Indians; with storm
and tempest, drought and dust, injury and sickness; and you have a
brief story of our Montana pioneers …
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