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Early history of African-Americans in Montana
Early history of African-Americans in Montana
Ellen Baumler 8:09 p.m. MST November 3, 2015
Several instances of the presence of African-Americans in the territory before the major gold rushes are known. William Clark’s slave, York, traveled with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805-06; Henry “Negro Henry” Mills worked for the American Fur Company in Fort Benton from the late 1850s; James Beckwourth was a well-known trapper of the 1820s and 1830s whose life has been the subject of some interest; and Isaiah Dorman served as a Sioux interpreter for the army who fell with Custer at Little Bighorn. Blacks also often worked on the steamboats that traveled widely up and down the Missouri River and docked at Fort Benton.
....
Canyon Hotel waiters, Yellowstone National Park, 1901. (Photo: Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, H-4873.)
Ellen Baumler 8:09 p.m. MST November 3, 2015
Several instances of the presence of African-Americans in the territory before the major gold rushes are known. William Clark’s slave, York, traveled with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805-06; Henry “Negro Henry” Mills worked for the American Fur Company in Fort Benton from the late 1850s; James Beckwourth was a well-known trapper of the 1820s and 1830s whose life has been the subject of some interest; and Isaiah Dorman served as a Sioux interpreter for the army who fell with Custer at Little Bighorn. Blacks also often worked on the steamboats that traveled widely up and down the Missouri River and docked at Fort Benton.
....
Canyon Hotel waiters, Yellowstone National Park, 1901. (Photo: Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, H-4873.)