DescriptionFrancis A. Chardon established a fur trading post near the confluence of the Missouri and Judith rivers in 1844 for the American Fur Company. Although it was established to serve the Blackfeet, the Indians did not like the location of the post since it was not near their prime hunting grounds. A year later, when Alexander Culbertson took over, he relocated the post upriver. At the rivers’ confluence, on September 13–14, 1846, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet arranged a council between the Salish and Blackfeet, which resulted in an agreement between the two to cease hostilities in the face of Crow encroachment. Less than a decade later, Isaac I. Stevens held a treaty negotiation with the Blackfeet near Judith Landing that resulted in the establishment of the first Blackfeet Agency in Fort Benton and defined the limits of Blackfeet territory. Judith Landing became a favorite stop for steamboats to take on more wood during the upper Missouri River steamboat era. The federal government established Camp Cooke (1866–70) to protect the steamboats operating on the river, but in fact the military post had little purpose, and the army abandoned it in 1870. At the same spot, in 1869, T. C. Power established Fort Clagett, named for William H. Clagett, who owned the land. The post office opened in 1872. Power diversified his cattle interests and eventually went into partnership with G. R. “Bill” Norris to establish the PN Ranch, running approximately 20,000 sheep by 1884. The community, on the line between Fergus and Chouteau counties, thrived as a service center for area ranchers and homesteaders before slowly dying out. Judith Landing became a national historic district in 1975 and is listed in the National Register.Personal NamesChardon, Francis A.Culbertson, AlexanderSmet, Pierre-Jean DeStevens, Isaac I.Power, T. C.Norris, G. R. "Bill"Other Name(s)Camp CookeFort ClagettContributing InstitutionMontana Historical Society Library and ArchivesGeolocation[1] Elevation2421 ft.CountyFergus CountyChouteau County
