Fort Benton Historic District, Historic waterfront district in Fort Benton, Montana, US.
Fort Benton Historic District is a riverside district along Front Street featuring structures dating from the era when this was a major trading hub, including a bridge from the 1880s. The area contains museums, a reconstructed fort structure, and interpretive centers that explain the original purpose and operations of this location.
Founded in 1846 as a fur trading post, this location grew into the largest inland port in the United States before railroad expansion reduced its importance. The shift in trade routes marked the end of its era as the primary hub for river commerce.
The district reflects how traders and settlers lived and worked at this river port, with buildings that tell of fur trade networks and frontier commerce. Museums here preserve stories of trading relationships and daily life in this remote outpost.
The district is easily explored on foot with multiple buildings and museums accessible at a relaxed pace over a few hours. Interpretive signs throughout the area help visitors understand what each building was and how it functioned in the trading port.
A blockhouse from the 1850s is the only remaining original structure from the fur trading post era and offers a direct look at the earliest buildings on site. Nearby stands a larger hotel from the 1880s, showing how the place evolved as it became more prosperous.
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