Fort Missoula Historic District | |
 Barracks at Fort Missoula | |
   | |
| Location | Missoula, Montana, USA |
|---|---|
| Built | 1877 |
| Architect | Civilian Conservation Corps; Et al. |
| NRHP reference No. | 87000865 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 29, 1987 |
Fort Missoula was established by the United States Army in 1877 on land that is now part of the city of Missoula, Montana, to protect settlers in Western Montana from possible threats from the Native American Indians, such as the Nez Perce.[2]
Beginning in 1888, the fort was home to the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Regiment (3rd Formation). While stationed at Fort Missoula, this unit tested the practicality of soldiers traveling by bicycles by conducting numerous training rides, with one ride all the way to St. Louis, Missouri. The Trans-America Bicycle Trail established in 1976 goes through Missoula, and covers some of the routes pedaled by the 25th Regiment.
During World War II, Fort Missoula housed an internment camp for Italian detainees, who called the area Bella Vista,[3] and Japanese Americans arrested as "enemy aliens" after Pearl Harbor.[4]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ Long, Wallace J. The Military History of Fort Missoula. Friends of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. 1983
- ^ Cooke, Alistair (2006) Alistair Cooke's American Journey, p. 187. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-7139-9879-5
- ^ "Fort Missoula (detention facility)" Densho Encyclopedia