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History of the Area and of the Mission Ranch
AREA HISTORY:
The heroic Lewis and Clark expedition spent more
time exploring Montana than any other state. Clark, who had been
particularly curious about the Yellowstone River ever since the
expedition had passed its mouth on the way west in 1805, took the
southerly route along the Yellowstone River. When they passed
the present day Mission Ranch, they were mounted on horseback and
moving fast to locate cottonwood trees large enough to build a flotilla.
Clark camped in our river bottom directly across the Yellowstone
River from us, July 15, 1806.
Gold! and the Bozeman Trail:
In the 1860's over 100 placer gold strikes were made
in the gulches of southwestern Montana. One of those, Emigrant
Gulch, was located just south of Livingston. The Bozeman Trail,
an Oregon Trail cutoff, offered the fastest and easiest route for
gold seekers coming to Montana. Pushing through the
last of the great Teton Sioux hunting grounds, however, it was also
the most dangerous---hence the name, the "Bloody Bozeman."
Forks of the Bozeman Trail crossed our ranch and also the area across
the river from us.
Fort Parker:
On the flat, directly west across Mission Creek from
the Bed and Breakfast is the site of Fort Parker, a true frontier
fort and the first Crow Indian Agency. Fort Parker was referred
to as the "the Mission" by locals, even though there was
no mission there. Nevertheless, that reference is the source
of our name "the Mission Ranch." Built as a refuge
for the Crows (Children of the Raven) from their enemies--the Sioux,
Cheyenne, and Blackfeet, the government attempted to encourage the
Crows away from nomadic hunting and into the more sedentary lifestyle
of agriculture. Understandably, farming held little appeal
for the Crows. As the government began to reduce the size
of the Crow Reservation, the fort was moved in 1875, to a location
on the Stillwater near the town of Absorkee, and again, from there
still farther east to Crow Agency, south of Hardin, where the agency
is located today.
Ranch History:
Around the turn of the century a detour into the
dairy business was attempted on the Mission Ranch. In fact,
the Mission barn was a milking barn, and the milk it produced supplied
the development at Yellowstone Park, less than an hour to the south.
The Mission Ranch is now, as it has been essentially since Fort
Parker times, a working cattle ranch and is known for raising high
quality black angus cattle.
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See the Virtual Tour
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 Mission
Creek Ranch Bed and Breakfast has teamed up with Yellowstone
Trout Scout Outfitters to offer special FLY FISHING-LODGING
PACKAGES. To review these packages, click
here. |
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Mission Creek Ranch Bed and Breakfast
10 Mission Creek Road Livingston, Montana
59047
Phone: 406-222-8290 Fax: 406-222-8290 Toll Free:800-320-5007
Email: info@missioncreekbandb.com
Website: www.missioncreekbandb.com
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