Fort Owen, U.S. Route 93, Stevensville, Ravalli County, MT

Significance: St. Mary's Mission, founded in 1841 by Father Jean de Smet, owned the land upon which the ruins of Fort Owen are located. The Mission was abandoned by the Jesuits in 1850 and the land sold to John Owen for the sum of $250. The bill of sale, signed by Father Giorde, was dated Nov. 5, 1850. Fort Owen became a trading establishment named after its owner and never served as an official military post. A small palisaded fort was constructed of adobe bricks. Work in earnest did not begin before 1857. The fort was built a few hundred yards east of the mission grounds on higher land. The adobe bricks were molded in wooden boxes, sun dried, and hauled to the fort site from the adjoining field. The walls of the fort were of adobe. Bastions were erected on the southeast and southwest corners of the fort protecting the main south gate. Little remains today of the fort. Only a small part of the east wall remains where the east barracks were reconstructed in the 1930's.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-12
Survey number: HABS MT-12
Building/structure dates: ca. 1857 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: ca. 1930- ca. 1939 Subsequent Work