We've Been Working on the Railroad!Main MenuThe Stevens ExpeditionStevens titleThe Northern Pacific Railroad SurveysSurveys titleBuilding the RailroadsBuilding titleWhy come to the United States?migration titleWho worked on the railroads?work titleOrganized labor and the railroadslabor titleRailroad hospitalshospitals titleRailroad-driven immigrationimmigration titleThe Legacy of the Railroadslegacy titlethe Historical Museum at Fort Missoula2ed0a4c76b15fe2d208dedaebb1fcaaa8b4d9c38
Red River cart, built by Joe Dussome (pictured here with his wife Caroline), President of the Homeless Indians
1media/stevens_1_img_thumb.jpg2020-07-30T11:19:40-07:00the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula2ed0a4c76b15fe2d208dedaebb1fcaaa8b4d9c38376444Red River carts like this one were hired for Governor Stevens’ expeditions, and he spoke highly of their sturdiness and practicality.plain2020-08-01T14:22:58-07:00Courtesy of the Montana Historical Society; PAc 2011-65.06the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula2ed0a4c76b15fe2d208dedaebb1fcaaa8b4d9c38
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12020-07-30T11:24:40-07:00The Stevens Expedition13stevens 1 plain textplain2020-09-08T09:27:58-07:00 The first railroad survey of the Montana territory was done in 1853. It was spearheaded by Isaac Stevens, then governor of Washington Territory. Stevens’ goal was to map the territory and find a path for a railroad line from the Puget Sound to St. Paul, Minnesota. His mission also included negotiating treaties with tribal leaders to remove them from their lands. Those lands would be opened for white settlement and for the development of the railroad. Stevens relied heavily on locals, including French Canadian trappers and Metis Indians who knew the terrain. He spoke highly of these men in his final report, praising their knowledge of the land and their ingenuity in crossing it. Despite this, Stevens believed strongly in Manifest Destiny, or the idea that the United States was called by God to expand across the entire continent. This required the existing inhabitants of the continent to leave – or be forcibly removed.
