Beaverhead County

Beaverhead County, located in southwest Montana, sits at the top of the Missouri River drainage. In 1805, Lewis and Clark navigated the river 20 miles south of Dillon and met peacefully with the Shoshone tribe. Settlement was sparse until the discovery of gold in 1862, when the town of Bannack sprang up overnight to become the first territorial capital. The number of towns in the county grew quickly with new discoveries of gold, silver, lead, and copper. Other settlers came to raise cattle and s