Lewistown

Located at the geographical center of the state, the Lewistown area was also at the center of many significant events during Montana’s formative years. The Blackfeet, Crow, and Lakota knew the area as one of their last great buffalo hunting grounds. In 1874, after the establishment of the Carroll Trail by the Diamond R Transportation Company, Alonzo Reed and John Bowles opened a trading post in the area. At about the same time, the U.S. Army built Camp Lewis, named for Major William Lewis, a few miles away at the present site of Lewistown. The camp, which housed infantry and cavalry companies during the summer months, protected travelers on the Carroll Trail. Reed and Bowles were an annoyance to the soldiers as the partners sold liquor to the Indians, until a knife fight ended their partnership in 1880. Camp Lewis became the foundation for a new community in 1881. Lewistown became a thriving trade and transportation center in the Judith Basin graced by substantial sandstone buildings built by Croatian stonemasons.