JCHS’ Bozeman Trail Program Tuesday Night in Buffalo

The Johnson County Historical Society (JCHS) will present a program entitled The Historic Bozeman Trail: A New Journey Tuesday night at the Johnson County Library.

In a release from the JCHS, Dave McKee, who is currently president of the Fort Phil Kearny/ Bozeman Trail Association, will present the program which will focus on the the history of the 535-mile Bozeman Trail.

The trail was estabished in 1863 as a shortcut between the Oregon Trail in Wyoming and the gold fields in the Montana Territory, which saw intense military and civilian use with many skirmishes and battles before it was abandoned in 1868.

McKee will discuss the trail’s history and discuss the effort to obtain a formal listing of the Bozeman Trail as a National Historic Trail.

He will touch on prominent names associated with the Bozeman Trail such as John Bozeman, Colonel Henry Carrington, Lieutenant William Judd Fetterman, and John “Portugee” Philips, as well as American Indian leaders Red Cloud, American Horse, and Crazy Horse.

The program will be offered on Tuesday, September 20 at 6:30 pm in the Twing Room at the Johnson County Library.

The program is free and the public is encouraged to attend.