Three Forks (pop. 1,700) is named for the three forks of the Missouri River which were discovered by Lewis and Clark in 1805. The area was a favorite hunting ground for the American Indians. The first permanent settlement was established nearby in 1864 and the town was founded in 1908.
The Headwaters Heritage Museum in Three Forks contains artifacts depicting local history. Exhibits include replicas of rooms from a settler's house, a blacksmith shop, schoolhouse and millinery shop.
Address: Headwaters Heritage Museum, Box 116, Three Forks, MT 59752-0116, United States
Phone: 1 (406) 285-4778, Fax: 1 (406) 285-4724
The Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park near Three Forks features one of the largest known limestone caverns in the Northwest and 9mi/15km of hiking trails.
Address: Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, Box 489, Three Forks, MT 59752-0949, United States
Phone: 1 (406) 287-3541, Fax: 1 (406) 287-3034
Before Indians had horses for buffalo hunting, the used "pishkuns" like the Madison Buffalo Jump State Historic Site. Men camouflaged in furs crept among a buffalo herd to haze it toward the top of a cliff, finally initiating a stampede. Women waiting below butchered the animals and preserved the meat, hides, bones, and other parts, all of which were used.
Missouri Headwaters State Park marks the field where the Missouri River begins its 4,368mi/7,030km journey to the Gulf of Mexico on the Atlantic Ocean. Lewis and Clark named these three rivers for President Jefferson, his secretary of state James Madison, and his secretary of the treasury Albert Gallatin.
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