Camp Cooke

Both signs call it the first military post in Montana; the men posted here found it among the worst. The 13th Infantry raised it of cottonwood logs and adobe and named it for Brigadier General Philip St. George Cooke, and by 1867 it held about four hundred men. A history of the post finds soldiers unable to leave even when their enlistments ran out, and Montanans calling the site the badlands. Detachments went off in 1867 to build Fort Shaw and Fort Ellis. Rats overran the post before the army gave it up in March 1870.

What the plaque says

Camp Cooke First Military Post in Montana Near this site, where the Missouri River and Judith Rivers join together, the United States Army built the first military post in the Montana Territory on July 10, 1866. The post, under the operation of the 13th Infantry, continued to provide service to the area until the official closing of Camp Cooke on March 31, 1870. A number of soldiers died and were buried in the post cemetery. The bodies were never moved. Camp Cooke First Military Post in Montana July 10, 1866 - March 31, 1870 Near this spot soldiers of the 13th Infantry of the U.S. Army built the first permanent Army post in the Montana Territory, where the Judith and Missouri Rivers join together.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• The Judith Landing — steps away
• Claggett Hill Trail — 0.9 mi
• The Judith River Formation — 1.2 mi
• Fort Chardon — 1.3 mi