Fort Maginnis (1880 - 1890)

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(Also listed as Fort McGinnis). Military fort,established in 1880 by elements of the 3rd U.S. Infantry. In 1881 elements of the 1st Cavalry were assigned to the post. The fort was located on the east side of the Judith Mountains, on Ford Creek. Its mission was to protect cattlemen, the Carroll Trail and the mining town of Maiden from raiding Blackfeet and Sioux, and to encourage settlement in the area. Named for Major Martin Maginnis, Montana territorial delegate to congress. This fort was the last of five forts -- Keogh (1877), Custer (1877), Missoula (1877), Assiniboine (1879), and Mcginnis (1880) -- built following the defeat of Col. Custer by the Sioux at Little Bighorn in 1876. With the benefit of hindsight, historians argue the fort was obsolete when it was built. In 1890, the fort was abandoned as the Indian threat had diminished, and the soldiers were notoriously inefficient in trailing rustlers (whether Indian or non-Indian) and recovering stolen stock. The buildings were appropriated and moved by the neighbors, but their foundations remain along with a nearby cemetery, which contains the grave of E.C. "Teddy Blue" Abbott, cowboy pioneer and author of "We Pointed Them North". Also nearby is the site of Granville Stuart's DHS ranch, about 20-25 road miles from Lewistown, on state land.