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from Polson High School <a href="http://www.flatheadreservation.org/index.php/phs"> Michael L. Umphrey website</a> <h2 class="title">Montana Time Line Events in Montana literary history</h2> By Michael L Umphrey MONTANA TIME LINE 1700-1800: Industrialization 1750 Horses have multiplied northward on the plains and the English Colonies are pushing tribes westward 1805 Lewis and Clark Expedition begins 1806 Smallpox has already swept westward by this date 1807 Lewis and Clark Expedition ends Manuel Lisa’s Missouri Fur Co. establishes 1st Fort (1830-43) [setting of The Big Sky] 1832 The largest Rendezvous: Pierre’s Hole 1840 Father DeSmet first meets the Flatheads in the Bitteroot 1841 St. Mary’s Mission construction begins in Stevensville 1850 Many of the streams are trapped out Jesuits leave the Flatheads 1853 Stevens (RR) survey party leaves Ft. Benton 1856 Francios “Benetsee” Finlay discovers gold at Gold Creek 1859 Mullan begins construction of his road to Walla Walla 1860 First steamboat reaches Ft. Benton 1862 Gold discovered at Bannack 1863 Mullan road completed Gold discovered in Alder Gulch, Virginia City 1866 First bank established in Helena 1867 Height of Fort Benton’s steamer traffic 1868 [setting of FOOL’S CROW] 1870 First hunting season established (agricultural and mining frontiers comingling) Baker Massacre 1/23/’70 [FOOL’S CROW] 1872-83 Slaughter of the bison (1874-90) [setting of the Virginian] 1875 Capitol moved from Virginia City to Helena (1876-78) [Garcia’s TOUGH TRIP THROUGH PARADISE] 1877 June-October: Nez Perce march for freedom 1878 Powell reports to Congress: West will not carry settlers 1879 Cattle industry flourishes U.S. adopts policy to subdue Indians and settle land. Utah Northern RR reaches Montana Territory 1880 Butte becomes the biggest boom town in the state Utah Northern RR reaches Fort Benton 1881 Marcus Daly founds Anaconda Silver Mining Company 1883 Starvation winter drives Indians to reservations [setting of A BRIDE GOES WEST] 1884 Last bison dies near Miles City [A BRIDE GOES WEST] Frank Linderman travels west from Ohio 1885-6 664,00 head of cattle in Montana 1886 Jesuits return to the Flatheads 1881 Northern Pacific reaches eastern boarder 1883 NP and UN RR make junction at Garrison 1887 “The Hard Winter”: 1/2 cattle owners out of business. Great Northern RR reaches Great Falls 1888 Last freight to arrive by boat unloaded at Ft. Benton 1889 Montana becomes a state of the Union. Great Northern engineer (re)discovers Marias Pass (1890 -1910) Popular Western novel sales skyrocket 1893 Ranges are fenced; cattle fed in small herds 1895 Conrad Kohrs drives major herd of cattle into state. Dairy industry begins--Big Timber 1900 MT is number one wool grower in the U.S.: 6 mil. sheep. Many species of game becoming extinct 1901 A.B. Gutherie born (1900 -1955) Anaconda copper industry is a pervasive influence 1904 D’Arcy Mc Nickle b. (d. 1977) 1902 Huntly Project Dam 1905 Sugar processing begins in Billings 1909 Enlarged Homestead Act doubles homestead size to 320 acres. Milwaukee RR reaches Garrison (1910 -1922) Honyockers settle 40% of MT 1915 Oil discovered in Carbon County. Commercial meat packing begins--Stevensville 1919 H.G. Marriam begins creative writing school at University of Montana--Missoula (1919 -1922) 20,000 foreclosures due to drought (1920 -30’s) Government policy to exterminate the wolf 1921 Merriam founds THE FRONTIER 1923 Richard Hugo born 1924 Strip mining begins at Colstrip 1929 Linderman begins PLENTY COUPS Beginning of Native American Literature Renaissance 1950’s Conrad and Cut Bank oil fields open 1964 Richard Hugo arrives at U of M. Bell Creek oil field discovered. Tiger Ridge natural gas field discovered (1970 -1980) RARE II study catalogs all remaining roadless areas 1972 State Constitutional Convention 1976 Major Facilities Siting Act Passed 1982 Richard Hugo dies 1986 Colstrip unit 4 goes on-line 1988 Timber supplies depleted; sawmills close 1992 Proposed Baucus/Burns Wilderness Bill opens 5/6 remaining roadless acres to multiple use 1995 John Trochman and others form the ultra right wing Militia of Montana (MOM) 1995 300 snow geese die in the toxic waters of the Berkeley Pit in Butte, America’s largest Superfund site 1996 Unibomber Ted Kazinski arrested in Lincoln 2000 First woman governor elected: Judy Martz 2000 Montana Power sells its electrical generation facilities to PPL 2001 Montana ranked 45th in the nation in per-capita income: $24,033 2002 West Nile virus spreads half way across the state 2002 Montana Dept. of Justice busts 122 meth labs at a taxpayer cost of over 1 million dollars 2003 James Welch dies August 6 at age 62 of lung cancer 2004 March: Manufacturing jobs drop by 900 as Stimpson Lumber shuts down <a href="http://www.flatheadreservation.org/index.php/phs/montana_time_line/">Montana Time Line</a> sent from Michael L. Umphrey's website