By: Dave Roos

Montana

A Young Woman Recreating at a Mountain Lake in Montana
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Published: October 10, 2025Last Updated: October 10, 2025

Montana is the fourth-largest U.S. state by area, behind Alaska, Texas and California. But with an average of only 7.7 people per square mile, Montana is also one of the country’s least densely populated states. Although the name Montana is derived from the Spanish montaña (“mountain” or “mountainous region”), it has an average elevation of only 3,400 feet—the lowest among the Rocky Mountain states. The largest industry in Montana is agriculture, followed closely by tourism, energy extraction and mining.

Indigenous Montana History

For centuries before European contact, Montana was the ancestral territory of many Native American tribes, including Crow, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Assiniboine, Gros Ventres, Kootenai and Salish. When Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery arrived in Montana in 1805, most of the territory they passed through was controlled by the Blackfeet.  

After Lewis and Clark, fur trappers were some of the few Europeans to venture into Montana in the early decades of the 19th century. Catholic missionaries arrived next and established St. Mary’s Mission among the Salish people in 1841, the first permanent white settlement in the region. 

Disease, war and broken treaties decimated Montana’s Native American population and forced them onto reservations. Today, 12 recognized tribes in Montana make up more than 6 percent of the state’s population. Only the Blackfeet live on part of their original ancestral land. 

Montana Gold Rush 

Montana was a sleepy frontier outpost until 1863, when gold was discovered at Alder Gulch in southwest Montana. As with other gold rushes in the West, the Montana gold strike attracted a swarm of prospectors to the far-flung destination. Montana officially became a U.S. territory in 1864. The territorial capital was Virginia City, one of several boomtowns, like Helena, that seemed to spring up overnight. 

Among the fortune-seekers who arrived in Montana in the 1860s were thousands of Chinese migrants. Discriminatory laws made it difficult for Chinese miners to own claims, so the Chinese people who stayed in Montana often opened laundries and restaurants. By the late 19th century, Chinese-owned businesses became the target of boycotts related to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Battle of the Little Bighorn

In 1876, General Custer and members of several Plains Indian tribes, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, battled in eastern Montana in what would become known as Custer's Last Stand.

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The Battle of Little Bighorn 

The 1876 battle commonly known as “Custer’s Last Stand” was really the last stand of the Lakota chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse against the encroaching U.S. Army.  

In the spring of 1876, more than 10,000 Lakota and Cheyenne gathered at a camp along the Little Bighorn River in Montana. They had been driven from their land in South Dakota after gold was discovered in the Black Hills. The camp at Little Bighorn—which the Native Americans called Greasy Grass—was organized by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, who defied from the U.S. government to relocate to reservations.  

In June, federal troops led in part by Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, arrived at Little Bighorn with orders to round up the Lakota and Cheyenne holdouts and force them onto reservations. The plan was for Custer and several other generals to surround the encampment, but Custer made the rash decision to launch his own “surprise attack.”  

On June 25, 1876, Custer led the charge at Little Bighorn and was immediately outmanned and outgunned. Custer was killed along with all 210 of the men under his command. The Battle of Little Bighorn was the worst U.S. defeat of the Plains Indian Wars.  

Railroads and Homesteaders 

The arrival of railroads in the 1880s transformed Montana and tied it to the rest of the fast-growing country. Building them was a massive undertaking that relied heavily on immigrant labor from China, Japan and European countries such as Italy, Sweden, Norway and Bulgaria, some of whose workers stayed and settled in Montana. 

Montana became the 41st state on November 8, 1889. Around the same time, rich silver and copper deposits were discovered near Butte, launching a boom in hardrock mining. Over the next few decades, the Anaconda Copper Company of Butte grew to become one of the largest mining operations in the world. 

Homesteaders came to Montana in droves in the early 20th century after Congress doubled the land allotment in the Homestead Act from 160 to 320 acres. Railroad companies ran advertisements promoting the fertility of Montana farmland and the ease of growing wheat.

Severe drought struck in 1917, leading to massive dust storms in the 1920s. Many of the new arrivals abandoned their claims and moved farther west.

Montana Today 

Montana’s population topped 1 million for the first time in 2012. Roughly two-thirds of residents live in the western part of the state. While ranching and farming remain the state’s biggest industries, tourism became its second-largest revenue source in the 1970s. Most tourist dollars are concentrated in gateway communities serving Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park, which Montana shares with Wyoming and Idaho.  

Date of Statehood: November 8, 1889 

Capital: Helena 

Population: 1,084,225 (2020) 

Size: 147,039 square miles 

Nickname(s): Treasure State; Big Sky Country 

Motto: Oro y Plata (“Gold and Silver”) 

Tree: Ponderosa Pine 

Flower: Bitterroot 

Bird: Western Meadow Lark 

Interesting Facts 

  • Carved by glaciers more than 10,000 years ago, Flathead Lake is the largest freshwater lake between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. It is 28 miles long, 5 to 15 miles wide and covers nearly 200 square miles.

  • The National Bison Range was established in 1908 in western Montana to preserve wild bison from extinction. In addition to elk, deer, antelope, bears and other animals, roughly 500 bison live in the wildlife refuge.  

  • The world’s first international peace park was established in 1932 when Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, were combined. In 1995, UNESCO listed the two parks as a joint World Heritage site for their diverse and abundant plant and wildlife species and outstanding scenery.

  • The coldest temperature ever recorded in the 48 contiguous states was minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit in Rogers Pass on January 20, 1954. In January 1972, Loma, Montana, broke the national record for the greatest 24-hour temperature change, with a 103-degree jump from minus 54 to 49 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • Eleven tribal nations live on seven reservations in Montana. A 12th tribe, the Little Shell Band of Chippewa, lives within the state without its own land. 

  • Montana’s large gold and silver mines gave rise to its nickname, the Treasure State, and its motto, Oro y Plata (Spanish for “Gold and Silver”).

Sources

Brief History of Montana

Montana.gov

The Blackfeet Nation Has Long, Epic History

University of Montana

Native American Culture and History in Montana

Visit the USA

Historic Buildings of Virginia City: A Walking Tour

Montana History Portal

The Chinese in Montana

Montana History Portal

The Rich History of the Anaconda Copper Mine

Intermountain Histories

Montana in the 20th Century

Montana Historical Society

2025 Montana Economic Report

Bureau of Business and Economic Research

About the author

Dave Roos

Dave Roos is a writer for History.com and a contributor to the popular podcast Stuff You Should Know. Learn more at daveroos.com.

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Citation Information

Article title
Montana
Author
Dave Roos
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
October 13, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
October 10, 2025
Original Published Date
October 10, 2025

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