From Florence to Sula the Bitterroot Valley has a lot of history. St. Mary's Mission in Stevensville was established in 1841 by Father Pierre DeSmet, who came in response to a request for "Black Robes" by various Indian tribes of western Montana and Idaho. In the late 1880's Marcus Daly built his family a summer home in Hamilton. The Daly Mansion occupies 24,000 sq. ft. on 3 floors with 24 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and 7 fireplaces. Fort Owen in Stevensville, was established by Major John Owen in 1850 who purchased it from the Jesuits who had settled in the valley in the mid-1800's. The post was active from 1850-1862. The Valley also offers many museums, in which you can see pieces of the past come alive.

Stevensville:
Captain William Clark's last official government act was to sign the passport for Father DeSmet, who then founded St. Mary's Mission. John Owen built the Fort Owen Trading Post, and Stevensville, accordingly, was started by John R. Winslett and J.K. Houk. The two traders came off the Emigrant Road in 1863. They had a string of 65 packhorses and mules. They tried to find a site near Fort Owen, but were unable to, so they went south for about 1 mile and built Stevensville's first store. On May 12, 1864, the settlers there named the little community Stevensville after Isaac Ingells Stevens the first governor of the then Washington Territory. This was officially proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln. The original Stevensville-townsite was platted in 1879 by G.A. Kellogg.

Hamilton:
Hamilton was not a pioneer village in the days that it was founded. Instead it was a planned town of wide streets and avenues, a complete economic center for an area of farms and stock ranches. History of Hamilton began when Marcus Daly, a great finance figure of the 1880 era in Butte and Anaconda mining development, made his way into the Bitterroot Valley seeking other interests than mining. About 1887 Daly bought up small sawmills west of the present site of Hamilton and almost overnight he had established a lumbermaking industry on the bank of the Bitterroot River. Marcus Daly's next move was to bring two men from another state to plan and develop his dream town. They were James Hamilton and Robert O'Hara, who came from Minnesota in 1890. Daly named Hamilton after James Hamilton. Incorporated about 1894, Mr. O'Hara was named the first mayor. Daly's town had a bank, stores, shops, a school, four churches - a ready-made Hamilton!

Victor:
In the mid-1860's, A. Sterne Blake and his Shoshone wife came to the valley and were among the original founders of Victor. Mr. Blake was the first elected State Legislator from Missoula County. At that time Victor was part of Missoula County. Victor was originally platted as Garfield, after President James Garfield, but was later renamed Victor after Chief Victor of the Salish tribe.

Florence:
Its earliest settlers called the town "One Horse" for the little creek that drains through it from the Bitterroot Mountains. In 1880, the town was renamed Florence for the daughter of A.B. Hammond. Mr. Hammond was instrumental in opening the Bitterroot Valley for lumbering, and brought the railroad to the Bitterroot to transport timber. He set up a sawmill in the center of one of the Bitterroot's best logging areas, and this site became the town of Florence, incorporated in 1888.

Lewis & Clark in the Bitterroot:
The Lewis & Clark Expedition entered the Bitterroot Valley near what is now called Lost Trail Pass, at the western Montana boarder. The name Lost Trail reflects the experience of the Lewis & Clark Expedition as they traveled across the steep slopes in the snow and sleet. The exact route is still a mystery. Many believe they traveled around what is now Saddle Mountain and descended to the West Fork of Camp Creek.

The Corps of Discovery came into the Bitterroot Valley on September 4, 1805. In the Sula basin, the came upon a Salish Indian camp. The Salish were aware of the Corps approach. Since they had no blankets, the tribe thought they might be a group of travelers who had been robbed or possibly lost their blankets in battle, Even though the Salish were short of food, they shared what they had and treated their guests with hospitality. They also traded fresh horses to the Corps, who needed them to continue their journey.

On September 6, 1805, both parties left camp. The Salish headed to buffalo country, the Expedition went around Sula Peak, then followed the east side of the river. On September 8, the party passed Skalkaho Creek and moved through Hamilton and Corvallis. They crossed Gird Creek by the Daly Mansion and continued north down the east side of the river, close to where the Eastside Highway now runs. On September 9, 1805, they probably traveled right down Stevensville Main Street, had it been there! They crossed the Bitterroot River somewhere north of Florence. They proceeded to Travelers' Rest of the south bank of Lolo Creek, where they rested and prepared for their journey on to the Pacific Ocean.

On their return, Lewis & Clark separated at Travelers' Rest. On July 3, 1806, Lewis and a small group went north to explore the shorter route their guide had pointed out. Clark headed south on the west side of the Bitterroot River with Sacajawea, her baby, 20 men and 50 horses. The river was too swollen to cross, so the journey continued on the west side, which required crossing many treacherous creeks.

On July 5, they found five small islands that offered safe passage around the West Fork. They continued toward the Sula basin, site of the previous year's Salish meeting. They camped south of the Sula Ranger Station. On July 6, they crossed the Continental Divide and moved to the Big Hole over what is now called Gibbon's Pass.

Source: Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce