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

tower, would have held gunpowder and weapons, with slits for firing
from and thick walls for protection, although the traders had good
relations with the tribes and weren't attacked. Before rebuilding the
blockhouse, a 2016 archeological study was done to determine where
exactly it had stood. Besides finding the blockhouse layout, volunteers
also unearthed a glass bead from Venice (Italy), nails, glass, clay pipe
stems, seed beads, and bones.
DAR’s most recent involvement with the site traces to Montana
State Regent Catherine T. Lane, who in 2014, along with Honorary
State Regents Shirley Groff and JoAnn Piazzola, began looking into
the possibility of working with Fort Benton to place a DAR marker at
the fort. The team of three realized that after all the years of DAR
involvement with Old Fort Benton, there was no DAR marker
recognizing the restoration and preservation efforts of past Montana
Daughters.
To help finance a DAR marker, most Montana chapters and
members contributed to this project, to culminate in an August 2019
statewide marker ceremony. The DAR marker will be placed close to
the entrance of the blockhouse inside the Fort Benton stockade and
visible to all as they enter the historic block house.
Currently, Fort Benton is a National Historic Landmark and part
of the Old Forts Trail, an international heritage tourism trail
connecting seven historic forts in Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
SOURCES
• Record of Tablets and Markers Placed by Montana DAR 1908-1947, by Mrs.
Fred E. May
• State Centennial History, MSSDAR, by Iris McKinney Gray, Vol. V 1894-
1994
• Restoration of Old Fort Benton, in DAR Markers in Montana, compiled by
Mrs. E.E. Bruno, State Co-Chair DAR Markers Committee, 1976-1978
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