Charles M. Russell
National Wildlife Refuge
Rocky Point, located on what is the western half of the refuge, was a tough frontier town from the 1860s till about 1900. It served legitimate ranchers and businessmen, as well as thieves and outlaws.
It was a rendezvous and trading centre for woodchoppers, trappers, miners, cowboys, whiskey traders, and outlaws.
There was a thriving steamboat business from St. Louis to Fort Benton until the coming of Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railroads in the 1880s. At the Great Bend of the Missouri River, where the Musselshell meets the Missouri, riverboats would take on wood.
This is also a place where horse rustlers and other outlaws would gather. The rustlers would assemble their stolen horses from the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming here; change the brands; and take them to Canada for sale.
They would return with horses that they had stolen in Canada. A vigilante group of stockmen, known as Stuart’s Stranglers, eventually ended the raids by capturing and hanging the rustlers.
At the eastern end of the refuge was Old Fort Peck. A stockade built here in 1867 housed a trading post rather than a military fort. In 1871, the Milk River Indian Agency was move here and served several tribes.
In 1879, the agency was moved to Poplar Creek and the trading post was abandoned.
The Hess Homestead, and the Kendall, Bell, and Mauland ranch sites remain today much like they were at that time.
The Wiederrick homestead was built in the 1870s. The Long-X Ranch, one of the first cattle operations in the area, lasted from the late 1800s till about 1950.
The cowboy artist, Charles M. Russell, visited the area in the 1880s. His paintings and sculptures depicted the beauty of the land, the wild animals, and cowboy life of Montana. The refuge is named for him.
The construction of Fort Peck Dam was authorized by the US Congress in 1933. Its purpose was for flood control and the improvement of navigation. It is the world’s largest hydraulically earth-filled dam.
Fort Peck Game Range was established in 1936. It became known as the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in 1976. Its purpose was to restore and preserve some of the original natural beauty of Montana and its wildlife.
See map of the refuge.
We would like to thank Sharon Lahr, Office Assistant, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, for providing information for this page.
(This page was updatedin November 2012.)
