Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, July 16, 2014 – B3
RAVALLI REPUBLIC
What are the Bitterroot’s defining icons? Ravalli Republic launches summertime series SHERRY DEVLIN RAVALLI REPUBLIC
You see them, or a photograph of them, and no matter where you are at that moment, you say: “Bitterroot!” The historic St. Mary’s Mission. A bitterroot flower, fleeting in its beauty but enduring against all odds. One of the majestic peaks of the Bitterroot Mountains. Or fly-fisherfolks chasing a hatch on the Bitterroot River, creating their own “hatch.”
The beautiful Slack Barn at the Teller Wildlife Refuge. The heritage apple orchards that drew commerce and settlers to the Bitterroot decades ago, some of which still provide sweet autumn harvests. The Bitterroot Valley’s icons are a spectacular collection that tell the story of our people and their purposes. They are what make us uniquely, and proudly, citizens of the Bitterroot. This summer, the Ravalli Republic will celebrate 40 Bitterroot icons as part
of our coverage of the 150th anniversary of the designation of Montana Territory by the U.S. Congress. Beginning today, we’ll feature one icon per day, in words and photographs, for eight weeks. We’ve picked the starter list, but want our readers to fill it out with their own nominations. What do you think are the Bitterroot Valley’s essential icons? A historic document or place? A building or an artifact? An animal or a plant? Send your nominations by email to editor@raval-
lirepublic.com; or add them to our posts on Ravalli Republic Facebook, or to our online stories about the icons. Then join us for the ride as we celebrate all things Bitterroot this summer of 2014 – with daily newspaper features, an online photo gallery, an interactive photo matching game, on Facebook, Twitter and in a video tour of iconic Missoula. We begin on the steps of St. Mary’s Mission, where the history of Montana’s white settlement begins.
St. Mary’s Mission
PERRY BACKUS – Ravalli Republic
PERRY BACKUS RAVALLI REPUBLIC
STEVENSVILLE - On a quiet back street in the small town of Stevensville, there’s a place where history still lives. Those who have come to know it well lovingly call it the place where Montana began. Historic St. Mary’s Mission, with its gleaming white historic chapel and well-preserved log buildings, stands in the shadow of the Bitterroot Mountain’s St. Mary’s Peak. In all of Montana, there’s not another community that can match the longevity of this hallowed place or the incred-
ible story that it has to tell. The Salish people – who have always called this valley home – were introduced to Christianity through members of the Iroquois Tribe who had come to Montana as guides for the Hudson Bay Co. trappers. From 1831 to 1839, the Salish and Nez Perce tribes sent delegations to St. Louis in an effort to bring back a Jesuit priest to the Bitterroot Valley. Many didn’t survive the journey. Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet
planted a rough-hewn wooden cross on the east bank of the Bitterroot River on Sept. 24, 1841, just west of the present-day site of the chapel and established a mission that he named St. Mary. On a peaceful summer eve when this place is all your own, it’s easy to imagine what it must have been like way back then while strolling among the buildings where DeSmet and others lived their lives in the wilderness. The historic buildings bear
the axe-blade marks that shaped the logs that protected them from the elements. A carefully pruned apple tree planted over 160 years ago by the county’s namesake, Father Anthony Ravalli, still thrives. Built in 1861, Chief Victor’s cabin is the oldest structure on the site. While it’s not exactly sure who did the work back then, there is a good chance that local trader and fort owner John Owen offered a hand. For those who want to take their own step back in time, volunteers offer guided tours through the summer months.
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