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When Montana was made a
Territory, May 26, 1864, the
pioneers began to plan for a legislative session, in accordance with
the act creating the territory. Sidney Edgerton was the first
governor of Montana, being appointed by
President Lincoln while he
was on
the way home from Washington, D. C., where he was one of a group
securing the consent of the president, and assisting in arranging
the details necessary to make Montana a territory. Members of a
territorial legislature were chosen and convened at the town of
Bannack, Montana Territory, December 12, 1864.
An act was approved
by this legislative assembly on February 2, 1865, creating the
counties of Beaverhead, Big Horn, Chouteau, Deer Lodge, Gallatin,
Jefferson, Edgerton (later becoming Lewis and Clark), Madison and
Missoula.
All but Big Horn were authorized to perfect their
organizations, but Big Horn was attached to Gallatin County for
judicial and legislative purposes, as there were few white men in
the county. At that time, Big Horn County, which included that
entire portion of the territory not included in the boundaries named
for the other eight counties, contained practically 56,284 square
miles. This, with Gallatin's official quota made an area of nearly
80,000 square miles, more than half the territory within the limits
of Montana. For many years, Gallatin carried this burden until Big
Horn County passed out of existence and other counties were formed
from this area. Some of the counties formed or at least partially
formed from Big Horn County are:
Park,
Sweetgrass,
Stillwater,
Yellowstone,
Carbon,
Custer,
Dawson and
Wheatland. |
