The Rocky Springs Segment of the Whoop-Up Trail was the location of campsites for travellers along the

Whoop-Up Trail The Whoop-Up Trail, also known as the Macleod-Benton Trail was a wagon road that connected Fort Benton, Montana, to Fort Hamilton, Alberta. The trail was initially a trade route between Montana and the southern region of Alberta, which was then kn ...

between

Fort Benton, Montana Fort Benton is a city in and the county seat of Chouteau County, Montana, United States. Established in 1846, Fort Benton is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in Montana. The city's waterfront area, the most important aspect of its 19 ...

and Fort Hamilton, Alberta in the 19th century. In 1991, it was the best-preserved segment of the Whoop-Up Trail within Montana and it included rut tracks still visible and the surrounding landscape was mostly natural. The numerous small springs in the area were mostly dried up by 1991 "due to modern cultivation and resultant ground water changes". It 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 ...

in 1993. A National Register study of the Whoop-Up Trail included "Diamond R. Brown's account of being caught in a tremendous snowstorm in 1871 at Rocky Springs": :the cold was almost unendurable, whiskey froze, :coal oil became thick slush, our horses chewed :the wagon boxes and consumed a dozen brooms. :Many of the animals froze to death. The

, extending from

, to Fort Hamilton, Alberta, was, initially, a trade route between

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

and the southern region of now

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, then known as

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...

, and controlled by a British fur trading company, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

. In 1869, negotiations were taking place to transfer control to Canada. Several American traders took advantage of lack of policing in the area and set up trading posts. In addition to their usual trade goods such as guns, metal implements and blankets, they began supplying adulterated alcohol known as "firewater", to the

Blackfeet The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Mon ...

, for buffalo robes, horses and anything else of value. Several posts were established and one of the earliest was Fort Hamilton, in 1869, which burnt down and was replaced by another in 1870, near

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to ...

, which became known as

Fort Whoop-Up Fort Whoop-Up was the nickname (eventually adopted as the official name) given to a whisky trading post, originally Fort Hamilton, near what is now Lethbridge, Alberta. During the late 19th century, the post served as a centre for trading activ ...

. This trade continued until the arrival of the North-West Mounted Police, in October 1874, when it was considerably curtailed by their establishment of

Fort Macleod Fort Macleod ( ) is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It was originally named Macleod to distinguish it from the North-West Mounted Police barracks (Fort Macleod, built 1874) it had grown around. The fort was named in honour of the then Commis ...

. Whoop Up trail continued to be the main supply route from Fort Benton into the north for mostly legitimate goods. The arrival of the railways in the 1880s ended its usefulness.

References

External links

Fort Whoop-Up Interactive Center
Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Historic trails and roads in Montana National Register of Historic Places in Chouteau County, Montana Whoop-Up Trail {{Montana-NRHP-stub

See also

References

External links