Laurel Area Historical Events

The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806)

On the return trip from the West Coast, Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark divided the expedition party into two groups in order to explore the various rivers and passes. Clark followed the Yellowstone River to meet Lewis at the junction of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. Clark’s party camped near the junction of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone and the Yellowstone River, near present day Laurel.

Chief Joseph, Canyon Creek Battlefield

In the mid-1800’s, the Nez Percé agreed to a treaty that confined them to a spacious reservation that included much of their ancestral land. After gold was discovered on the reservation in 1860, a new treaty reduced the reservation to one tenth of its original size. Those chiefs whose lands lay within the reduced reservation boundaries signed the treaty; those whose lands fell outside the boundaries refused, becoming known as the “non-treaty” Nez Percé.

“Non-treaty” Nez Percé wished only to find a place where the army would leave them alone and where they would be far enough from settlements to avoid further clashes. In August 1877, they fought with Colonel Gibbon at the Battle of the Big Hole (in Western Montana). On September 13, 1877, the U.S. Army, under the leadership of Colonel Samuel Sturgis, tried unsuccessfully to block their path at Canyon Creek (approximately 6 miles north of Laurel).Finally, on September 30, Chief Joseph surrendered to Colonel Nelson Miles near the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, just 40 miles south of the Canadian border, where the Nez Percé were surprised by army troops.

A statue in Firemen’s Park in downtown Laurel commemorates the great Indian leader, Chief Joseph (in-mut-too-yah-lat-lat, Chief of the Wal-lam-wat-kin band of Chute-pa-lu, or Nez Percé).

The Friends of Canyon Creek Battlefield, Inc. of Laurel worked to preserve and interpret the site. Fundraisers helped establish a visitor’s exhibit at the site. The battlefield is in the National Park Trails System.

Please make plans to come visit Laurel and explore the many interesting sights and sounds it has to offer.

The Laurel Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center is located at 108 E. Main Street in Firemens Park. They have maps, brochures and information available on Yellowstone Park, Montana and Wyoming, tourist attractions, Custer Country Tourism Region and other Montana tourism regions. The Chamber can be reached at 406-628-8105 or by fax at 406-628-2045.