Bozeman, Montana

Bozeman is a city in southwestern Montana and the county seat of Gallatin County. With a 2000 population of 27,509, it is the sixth largest city in the state. The city is named after John M. Bozeman, founder of the Bozeman Trail. Located in the fastest-growing county in the state http://www.bozemanchronicle.com/articles/2005/04/15/news/gallatingrowth.txt, Bozeman is an All-America City. Bozeman residents are known as Bozemanites.

History

Prehistory

For thousands of years, Native Americans tribes like Shoshone, Nez Perce, Blackfeet, Flathead and Sioux made the area their home, though the Gallatin Valley was not permanently held by a particular tribe.

Related Topics:
Shoshone - Nez Perce - Blackfeet - Flathead - Sioux

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19th century

William Clark visited the area in July 1806 as he travelled east from Three Forks along the Gallatin River. The journal entries from Clark's party briefly describes the future city's location in a place the local natives called the "Valley of the Flowers" http://www.mtstandard.com/highwaystoadventure/lewisclark.html.

Related Topics:
William Clark - Three Forks

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In 1863, John Bozeman, along with a partner named John Jacobs, opened the Bozeman Trail, an offshoot from the Oregon Trail leading to the mining town of Virginia City through the Gallatin Valley and the future location of the city of Bozeman.

Related Topics:
1863 - John Bozeman - Bozeman Trail - Oregon Trail - Virginia City

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John Bozeman, with Daniel Rouse and William Beall platted the town in 1864 stating "standing right in the gate of the mountains ready to swallow up all tenderfeet that would reach the territory from the east, with their golden fleeces to be taken care of...". The Indian Wars closed the Bozeman Trail in 1868, but the town's fertile land attracted permanent settlers.

Related Topics:
Plat - 1864 - Indian Wars - 1868

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In 1866 Nelson Story arrived with 3,000 head of longhorn cattle sneaking past angry Native Americans and the U.S. Army who tried to turn Story back for safety reasons. Those first cattle formed the first herd in Montana's cattle industry.

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Fort Ellis was established in 1868 by Captain R. S. LaMotte and two companies of the 2nd Cavalry, after the mysterious death of John Bozeman near Yellowstone and considerable political disturbance in the area led local settlers and miners to feel a need for added protection. The fort, named for Gettysburg casualty Colonel Augustus Van Horne Ellis, was decommissioned in 1886 and very few remains are left at the actual site, now occupied by the Fort Ellis Experimental Station of Montana State University http://www.geocities.com/naforts/mt2.html#ellis. In addition to Fort Ellis, a short-lived fort, Fort Elizabeth Meahger (also simply known as Fort Meagher), was established in 1867 by volunteer militiamen. This fort was located eight miles east of town on Rock Creek.

Related Topics:
1868 - Gettysburg

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Northern Pacific Railway tracks finally reached the small town in 1883. By 1900, Bozeman's population reached 3,500.

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20th century

In 1906, a Chinese immigrant name Lu-Sing murdered another Chinese immigrant named Tom Sing (no relation). In a fascinating summary defense, witness indicate that Lu-Sing acted in self-defense but Lu-Sing was found guilty and hung outside the Bozeman Jail http://www.bozeman.k12.mt.us/History/Docs/Museum.html.

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In an episode of , the city was named as the fictional location of First Contact between Vulcans and Humans, an obvious nod from Bozeman native and Star Trek producer Brannon Braga.

Related Topics:
First Contact - Vulcans - Humans - Brannon Braga

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