November 8, 1889 – Montana Joins the Union as the 41st State

As the official Montana government website recounts, the first group of white explorers to cross into Montana were a part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806. (The eastern and central parts of Montana were part of the Louisiana Purchase and were designated as part of the Nebraska Territory established in 1854. The northwestern part was assigned to the Oregon Territory.) Fur trappers and traders came next, followed by missionaries. The discovery of gold brought many prospectors into the area in the 1860s. According to Mental Floss, the equivalent of as much as $3.5 billion was discovered. By 1888, Helena was home to more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the world.

The whole of present-day Montana was included in Idaho Territory in 1863, and was established as the separate territory of Montana in 1864 by President Abraham Lincoln. The name Montana came from the Spanish word for mountain, although Montana has the lowest average elevation (only 3,400 feet) among the Rocky Mountain states. It is, however, home to 64 mountain ranges.

The Montana government website reports that cattle ranches began flourishing in western valleys during the 1860s as demand for beef in the new mining communities increased. After 1870 open-range cattle operations spread across the high plains, taking advantage of the free public-domain land.

There were conflicts of course with the Native Americans who lived on the land, but they were no match for the weaponry of the U.S. Army. One of the Native American’s last efforts to preserve their own way of life was successful, however, at Little Bighorn in Montana. On June 25 and 26 of 1876, 263 soldiers, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer, died after fighting several thousand Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. However, the victory outraged many white Americans, and the U.S. government intensified its efforts to subdue the tribes. Within five years of the battle, almost all of the Sioux and Cheyenne would be confined to reservations.

Battle of the Little Big Horn, painting by Kicking Bear, 1898

During the 1880s railroads crossed Montana, and the territory became a state on this day in 1889.

Anaconda Copper Mining Company (known as the Amalgamated Copper Mining Company from 1899 to 1915) in Butte, Montana was created after the discovery of an area with silver that soon proved to have an even richer supply of copper. Bought out by William Rockefeller in 1899, it became one of the largest corporate trusts of the early 20th century.

Anaconda Copper Mining Company in the 1920s

Since 1945, Montana’s economy has shifted from one relying on the extraction of natural resources to one that is service-based. After 1970 tourism supplanted mining as the state’s second-biggest industry. Agriculture is Montana’s number one industry, cattle being the largest commodity. But according to the Montana Stockgrowers Association, the average Montana farmer and rancher is 58.9 years of age. 84% of primary operators are men. 45% of operators have another primary source of income, outside of farming and ranching; the average annual net farm income is $41,855.

In 1972 Montana adopted a new state constitution.

Population shifts have relocated most of Montana’s people to the western one-third of the state and “emptied out” eastern Montana’s vast spaces. A drop in population cost Montana a U.S. House seat in the 1990s.

While Montana is the fourth largest state in area, as of 2022 the estimated population of Montana was only 1,122,867 million, making it the 44th most populous state. There are only two states in the US that are more sparsely populated than Montana — Alaska and Wyoming.

Montana does, however, have a sizable population of animals. It has the largest grizzly bear population of all the lower 48 states. (The grizzly bear is the State Animal.) Cattle outnumber people in Montana 2.5 to 1. And Montana is home to the largest migratory elk herd in the nation.

The state seems to have more problems from its human population than the animals however. According to “In These Times,” in April 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into the handling of sexual assault by the University of Montana (UM) after 80 rapes were reported over a three-year period in Missoula, home of UM. Investigators found that survivors were denied access to justice due to insufficient — or nonexistent — university policies. UM, along with the city and county of Missoula, signed mandatory consent agreements with the DOJ in 2013. Mandatory bystander training was introduced in 2014. As of May, 2018, more than 8,500 students underwent this training. First-year and transfer students must attend the training before they are allowed to register for classes. 

University of Montana at Missoula

Montana is the only state in the US with a triple divide, which allows water to flow into the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Hudson Bay.

Montana is one of the most racially homogenous states. 88.7% are white. It is ranked 49th in terms of its population of Asian Americans. The state is also ranked 50th in the nation in terms of the percentage of African Americans. However, the state does have around 66,000 Native American inhabitants (6.7% of the state’s total population). Three counties in the state — Roosevelt, Glacier, and Big Horn — have a Native American majority population. Out of the 56 counties in Montana, 46 are considered “frontier counties,” with average populations of 6 people or less per square mile. In October, 2023, Missouli, Montana saw a number of Neo-Nazi demonstrations against Jews and Native Americans.