Fort Ellis: Gateway to Yellowstone

Fort Ellis was established in August of eighteen sixty-seven just east of Bozeman, built to protect settlers in the Gallatin Valley from raids during the long contest over Sioux and Crow territorial boundaries. The Army stationed several companies of infantry and cavalry here through the eighteen seventies. The fort served as the launch point for two of the most consequential expeditions in American scientific history: the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition of eighteen seventy, which produced the first systematic description of what became Yellowstone National Park, and Ferdinand Hayden's geological survey of eighteen seventy-one.

Both parties departed from Fort Ellis before riding south through the Gallatin Canyon. The post was declared surplus and abandoned in eighteen eighty-six once the Indian Wars wound down. Little remains on what is now Montana State University land beyond earthwork outlines, a historical marker, and the old commanding officer's house.