Books to Read Before You Visit
Bring history to life and explore Fort Benton through books before you visit!
Recommended Reading list, suggested by locals:
Fort Benton: World’s Innermost Port
By Joel Overholser
1987
“Inch for square inch, it contains more FB history than any other book.”
Birthplace of Montana: A History of Fort Benton
By Jack Leple
1999
“Good, easy to read from pre-history to the (almost) modern era. If I had only one book to send to a visitor, this would probably be it.”
Historic Tales of Fort Benton
By Ken Robison
2023
“Great vignettes of Fort Benton’s “most historic” moments and events. Another great gift for visitors.”
Half Interest in a Silver Dollar
By James Murphy
1983
“The story of the Conrad brothers, arguably Fort Benton’s most impactful family.”
Tough Trip Through Paradise
By Andrew Garcia
1967
“Very little Fort Benton, but an incredible story of a trader with the Indians in this territory in the 1870s. And his story of the Nez Perce flight and final battle is the best I’ve read.”
Roadside Geology of Montana
By David Alt and Donald Hyndman
“[We] take it everywhere and find it endlessly fascinating. For an out-of-stater like me it’s a great introduction to the area.”
My Life as an Indian
By James Williard Schultz
“This book brought history closer to home for me than any other. It made the 1850’s feel not so long ago.”
Packets to Paradise
By John G. Lepley
Thomas Francis Meagher: The Irish General
By Paul Wylie
“From birth to rebellion in Ireland, prison in Tasmania, and escape to America only to get pulled into leading an Irish brigade in the Civil War—as if that wasn’t a full enough life! The next chapter brought him to the Montana Territories as acting governor. How he met his mysterious demise in Fort Benton is a tale better than any fiction.”
Fort Benton (Postcard History Series)
By Ken Robison
“…one so many people love, and it’s a great visual history.”
Floating on the Missouri
By James Willard Schultz
Forty Years a Fur Trader
By Charles Larpenteur