Fort Ellis
To the Headwaters
Conflicts along the Bozeman Trail between Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians and settlers escalated with the establishment of forts along the route in 1866. After Indians killed John Bozeman, in the Yellowstone Valley in 1867, the federal government established Fort Ellis in the Gallatin Valley that same year. For the next two decades, soldiers from the 13th Infantry and the 2nd Cavalry manned this post, participating in battles at the Little Bighorn in 1876 and the Big Hole in 1877.
In 1870 Lieutenant Gustavus Doane departed Fort Ellis to survey what would later become Yellowstone National Park. The first tourist parties, outfitted in Bozeman and escorted by soldiers, established the Gallatin Valley as the gateway to the Park.
A century later this valley remains a primary corridor into the wonders of Yellowstone. Fishing, hunting, dude ranching, skiing, a land grant university and mountain scenery continue to make the Gallatin Valley a destination.
Marker is on 19th Avenue near I-90 eastbound entrance ramp (at milepost 305), 0.1 miles east of N. 19th Ave. and E. Valley Center Rd., on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
