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

During the decline of the fur trade industry,
the Northwest Fur Company purchased the
fort in 1865 and was later occupied by the
United States Army. After 1847, the military
moved into quarters in town, and by 1877 the
fort buildings were completely abandoned. By
the early 1900’s most of the fort’s structures
had disappeared and this historic block house
stood in grave danger of collapsing.
In 1907 Representative T.A. Cummings
persuaded the Montana Legislature to
appropriate $800 to restore and preserve Old
Fort Benton. National Society Daughters of
the American Revolution members
Antoinette Van Hook Browne, Ella Lydia
Arnold Renisch, and Eliza A. Sturtevant
Condon were appointed as Trustees to
administer the funding. Thanks to the
prompt action of the Montana Daughters, the
walls and roof of the block house were
stabilized and stucco was applied to the
exterior in 1908.
Today, this Block House is recognized as one
of the earliest examples of historic
preservation in Montana and as the only
original building in the oldest continuously
occupied Anglo-American settlement in
Montana.
Presented by Montana State Society
Daughters of the American Revolution
August 2019”
HISTORY
This is the site of the Montana State Society DAR’s first state-wide
project as well as its most recent historical marker.
The fur trading post of Fort Benton was first established in 1846 by
the American Fur Company. The Blackfeet Indians asked the
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