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History · Fort Shaw

Fort Shaw’s post office opened in 1867, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1886 on.

1867first post office
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Fort Shaw began

When was Fort Shaw founded?

1867

The Fort Shaw post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 256159 years
Founding year: the first Fort Shaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Fort Shaw’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18863 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1983. Watch Fort Shaw change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fort Shaw’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fort Shaw’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Fort Shaw on the map, 1886 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fort Shaw. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Fort Shaw on the 1886 USGS mapFort Shaw on the 1954 USGS mapFort Shaw on the 1983 USGS map1886Great Falls sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fort Shaw.

The story so far

Fort Shaw, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fort Shaw yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Fort Shaw is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 256 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 280 at the 2010 census. Named for a former United States military outpost, it is part of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area. First called Camp Reynolds, Fort Shaw is named for Col. Robert G. Shaw of Boston, the first white officer to lead a unit of the United States Colored Troops in the American Civil War. The U.S. government established this fort on the Mullan Road in 1867. A community developed around it. The fort was decommissioned in 1891 and repurposed as an Indian boarding school. The Fort Shaw Indian girls' basketball …

Its first post office opened in 1867. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 280 to 256 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Fort Shaw, 1867 to 1892

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Fort Shaw post office opens
  3. 1876In the archivePlan of
  4. 1877Born hereJames Woodruff is born here
  5. 1886Born hereEmma L. Brock is born here
  6. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1892In the archiveMap of the Vicinity of Fort Shaw, Montana Territory
By decade

Fort Shaw, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1890s2 items
Plan of1876Plan ofMapMap of the Vicinity of Fort Shaw, Montana Territory1892Map of the Vicinity of Fort Shaw, Montana TerritoryMap
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the National Register

1 listing protects 6 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Fort Shaw Historic District and Cemetery
Fort Shaw Historic District and Cemetery
Districts
All 1 listings
Fort Shaw Historic District and CemeteryDistrict · listed 1985

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Fort Shaw

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
E
Emma L. BrockAmerican writer and artist · b. 1886
James WoodruffAmerican military officer · b. 1877
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Fort Shaw’s post office has been open since 1867.

Gone or out of use
Fort ShawmilitaryFort Shawlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fort Shaw
Fort ShawFort Shaw Soldiers

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Fort Shaw’s history

What year was Fort Shaw founded?

The Fort Shaw post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Fort Shaw?

One place: the Fort Shaw Historic District and Cemetery (listed 1985).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.