Fort Sherman (3)

Fort Sherman (3) (1873-1874) - A fortified Story and Hoffman Company trading post established in 1873 near Lewistown, Fergus County, Montana. Moved and renamed Reed's Fort (2) in 1874. History The trading opportunities presented by the possibility of a new Crow Indian reserve in the Judith Basin of the Central Montana Territory interested white businessmen Nelson Story and Charles W. Hoffman. In the fall of 1873, Story and Hoffman retained Peter Koch to travel north from Bozeman with a bull train of materials to "build, stock and manage" a trading post. He sited the new post on the west side of Big Spring Creek, just north of Little Casino Creek, and named it Fort Sherman. After the ox train with the goods and supplies arrived the new post was built in November and December 1873. These were the first permanent houses within the Judith Basin. Koch described the basin area as the finest game country, swarming with buffalo, elk, and deer. It soon became evident that the removal of the Crows to the basin area would not happen and Peter Koch left in March 1874. T. L. Dawes took charge of the Fort Sherman trading post. That year "Major" Alonzo S. Reed, an old Indian trader, purchased the trading store from Story and Hoffman and moved it down Big Spring Creek about a mile and a half, to the crossing of the Carroll road, where it became known as Reed's Fort. Moved and was renamed in 1874. Current Status Unknown. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Lewistown, Fergus County, Montana. Maps & Images Lat: 47.0624732 Long: -109.428238 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 3,947' GPS Locations: 47.0624732, -109.428238 Fort Sherman (3) See Also: Reed's Fort (2) Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 478. NPS - National Register of Historic Places - Reed's Fort Post Office, Page 7-10 Links: North American Forts - Fort Sherman (3) Waymarking - Reed's Fort Post Office Fortification ID: MT0180 - Fort Sherman (3) Visited: No