Why Three Forks
Built at the confluence of the Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers, Three Forks is rich in history. The area was an important stop for Lewis and Clark in the summers of 1805 and 1806. Once they arrived in Three Forks with Sacajawea, the Shoshone Indian girl who became Lewis and Clark’s guide, she recognized the mountains of the area. This led her to take the Jefferson Fork up to the “Beaver’s Head” and lead the party over the Continental Divide.
Lewis and Clark were not the only prominent historical figures to be affected by Three Forks. Expeditionist John Colter made his famous escape from the Blackfeet Indians here in 1809. One year later he returned to help establish the town of Three Forks. The original town of Three Forks began to take shape in 1908 with the building of the Milwaukee Railroad. Gold discoveries in Montana in the 1860s turned Three Forks into a crossroads for miners, settlers and freighters traveling between the gold fields. Click here to read more about Three Forks at BozemanNet in a new window.