t. Mary’s Mission

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t. Mary’s Mission: Montana’s First Best Place

Colleen Meyer Historic St. Mary’s Mission Executive Director

The history of the Bitterroot Valley is rich in Indian culture. For as long as the Salish Elders tell their stories, the Salish People will know the Bitterroot Valley was their ancestral homeland. This was sacred land, where the spirits of their ancestors dwelled, and where the earth nurtured their families.

In the early 1800’s Iroquois Indians from Canada found their way onto the Salish lands while trapping for the famed Hudson Bay Company. They told their new Salish

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neighbors of “black robes” who buried their dead and believed in an everlasting life. Their teachings suited the Salish traditions and they became determined to have their own “black robes” in the Bitterroot Valley.

Over an eight-year period, the persistent Indians sent four separate delegations over 1,500 miles to St. Louis requesting missionaries to come to their homeland. Their determination paid off when, on September 24, 1841, Father Pierre DeSmet, S.J., along with five Jesuit missionaries arrived in the Bitterroot Valley to establish St. Mary’s Mission.

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Four years later, Father Anthony Ravalli, S.J. arrived. A true renaissance man, he was not only a priest, but also a physician, pharmacist, architect, artist, mechanic, carpenter, farmer and teacher. The compassionate man cared for the Indians and settlers of the region for 24 years. He left an indelible mark on all the people he served, while initiating several of the celebrated first occurrences in Montana. Ravalli County is the namesake of this remarkable man. Today, visitors to St. Mary’s Mission are amazed to see Father Ravalli’s incredible artistic and creative skills.

With the establishment of St. Mary’s

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Mission in 1841 a noteworthy number of “firsts” began to occur. St. Mary’s Mission was known as the “Mother of Missions” as it was the first of many missions in the Pacific Northwest. St. Mary’s was much more; it was the first pioneer settlement. Here the first apple orchard and vegetable gardens were grown with the help of Montana’s first irrigation ditches The first wheat was harvested and ground in Montana’s first gristmill. Corrals were constructed, the first cattle were raised and marked with the “Cross on a Hill” brand, thus the beginning of the cattle industry in Montana. The first logs were sawn

and Montana’s first clapboard buildings were assembled. Here was the first doctor’s office and dispensary for medicine, which can be seen today. The first classes in reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught in the Salish language. The first band played numbers by German and Italian composers. In Missoula County the first conveyance of property in Montana is registered between St. Mary’s Mission and John Owen.

A guided tour of St. Mary’s Mission brings the visitor into living history. The photo gallery and artifacts in Chief Victor’s Cabin reveal a sense of the 19th century when the Indian and European cultures merged. St. Mary’s Chapel with living quarters, Father Ravalli’s log cabin and pharmacy are all restored and furnished with items

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hand crafted by Father Ravalli. The Salish Encampment represents the ancestral homeland of the Bitterroot Salish Tribe.

Historic St. Mary’s Mission and Museum shares the story of remarkable people in a turbulent time, with the assimilation of two very different cultures against the backdrop of the American Frontier. Walk through history; see, touch and hear this fascinating and significant chapter of our nation’s past.

St. Mary’s Visitor Center hosts a Museum, Western Art Gallery and Gift Shop.

Visit us Tuesday through Saturday. Guided Tours: 11 a.m.to 2 p.m. Visitor Center: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.315 Charlos Street – Stevensville, 406-777-5734 saintmarysmission.org

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