Fort Peck - Montana

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Fort Peck, Montana

Fort Peck Museum, with displays of Indian artefacts and fossils
U.S. Government Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Centre
live theatre at Fort Peck theatre
historical buildings from boom times still standing
interpretive trail for Lewis and Clark journey
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
Fort Peck Reservoir offers fishing (walleye and others), hiking, hunting, camping, wildlife watching

Fort Peck was named by army officers, Colonel Campbell Kennedy Peck and Commander E.H. Durfee, when it was established as a trading post and Indian agency in 1867 with a monopoly on the fur trade with the local native American nations. Even longer ago, the current town and lake were under water in a sub tropical climate, as evidenced by the abundance of fossils, studied at the University of Montana Paleontology Centre.

Building the dam involved workers who signed on during the Great Depression, desperate for food, shelter and useful work. The worker population peaked at 11,000 in 1936 and support businesses and shanty towns boomed, then later disappeared as work ran out. Such colourful elements of Fort Pecks past are preserved in the museums, part of the rich local story of a fascinating part of America.