The Judith Landing Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

near

Winifred, Montana } Winifred is a small town in rural north-central Fergus County, Montana, United States, founded in 1913 and providing services for its region's populace. The town population was 172 at the 2020 census. History Winifred was founded in 1913 as the ...

which was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1975. It is large, in size, spanning parts of

Choteau Choteau is a city in and the county seat of Teton County, Montana, United States. It lies along U.S. Routes 89 and 287, (the latter terminating at the former in this city) approximately east of the Rocky Mountains, near Flathead National Fo ...

and Fergus counties, including the confluences of the

Judith River The Judith River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 124 mi (200 km) long, running through central Montana in the United States. It rises in the Little Belt Mountains and flows northeast past Utica and Hobson. It is ...

and Dog Creek into the Missouri River. It includes the Hayden Site, site in 1855 of the first discovery of

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

skeletal remains in the Western hemisphere. The district was expanded in 2014 in a boundary increase NRHP listing. It includes

archeological sites An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...

and was listed for its information potential. It is along the Missouri River and includes a

Corps of Discovery The Corps of Discovery was a specially established unit of the United States Army which formed the nucleus of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that took place between May 1804 and September 1806. The Corps was led jointly by Captain Meriwether Lewis ...

campsite of May 28, 1805 of the

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

expedition. It is a historic site managed by

BLM BLM most commonly refers to: * Black Lives Matter, an international anti-racism movement and organization * Bureau of Land Management, a U.S. federal government agency BLM may also refer to: Organizations * BLM (law firm), United Kingdom and ...

; extends into Fergus County. Boundary increase on 2014-04-11. The listing included eight

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, 37

contributing sites In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, and a

contributing object In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

. "The Judith Landing Historic District includes the beautiful, rugged landscape of dry high bluffs, intermittent creeks, and verdant bottomlands along the Missouri River at the mouths of the Judith River and Dog Creek. The district established in 1975 embraces a 15-square mile area and includes property in both Fergus and Chouteau Counties. The boundary increase area addressed in this nomination lies within Fergus County, and abuts the southeastern side of the original district, including a portion of the Dog Creek drainage and breaks encompassing the site where

Ferdinand Hayden Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union Ar ...

uncovered and collected several specimens of fossilized

bones and teeth in 1855. Hayden’s discoveries constituted the first identified dinosaur skeletal remains in the Western Hemisphere. Subsequent paleontological expeditions, including the 1875 Army Corps of Engineers Expedition led by Col.

William Ludlow William Ludlow (November 27, 1843 – August 30, 1901) was an officer in the Corps of Engineers and a major general in the United States Army who served in the Civil War, Plains Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War, and led a scientific exped ...

with

George Bird Grinnell George Bird Grinnell (September 20, 1849 – April 11, 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880 ...

and Edward S. Dana, the 1876

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...

expedition, and

Charles H. Sternberg Charles Hazelius Sternberg (June 15, 1850 – July 20, 1943) was an American fossil collector and paleontologist. He was active in both fields from 1876 to 1928, and collected fossils for Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel C. Marsh, and for the ...

’s 1914 trek, also explored the fossil beds in the Dog Creek Drainage first discovered by Hayden." With photos Historic function: Domestic; Transportation; Landscape; Funerary; Defense; Agriculture/subsistence Historic subfunction: Single Dwelling; Fortification; Camp; Graves/burials Criteria: event, event, architecture/engineering, architecture/engineering, person, person, information potential, information potential "A recreation area located between

Winifred Winifred is a feminine given name, an anglicization of Welsh ''Gwenffrewi'', from ''gwen'', "fair", and ''ffrew'', "stillness". It may refer to: People * Saint Winifred * Winifred Atwell (1914–1983), a pianist who enjoyed great popularity in Bri ...

and

Big Sandy, Montana Big Sandy is a town in Chouteau County, Montana, United States. The population was 605 at the 2020 census. Big Bud 747, the largest farm tractor in the world, was located here from 1997 until 2009, and returned in 2020. The Lewis and Clark Trai ...

today, this place has a long history of early exploration. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District in 1975. Among the many events identified within this Historic District are a

campsite, May 28, 1805; Fort Chardon Trading Post, 1844–1845;

Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represen ...

1855 Lame Bull Treaty; Camp Cooke (first military post in Montana), 1866–1870; PN Cable Ferry, 1880–1908. On the south side of the river at Judith Landing, the entire river bottom was once part of a large, open-range cattle spread founded by T.C. Power, merchant prince of Fort Benton, and John Norris, who managed the ranch for the company. Today, the recreation area provides a campground and is a common take-out point for many boaters along the Missouri River." There is a Judith Landing Recreation Area in Montana.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Archaeological sites in Montana National Register of Historic Places in Chouteau County, Montana National Register of Historic Places in Fergus County, Montana Buildings and structures completed in 1805 Paleontological sites of North America Lewis and Clark Expedition