Cemeteries and Monuments of Gallatin County Montana

Our monuments have been erected in Gallatin County, impressive ceremonies marking their dedication or unveiling. On August 8, 1914, a monument unveiled in Bozeman was erected.

“In commemoration of the organization of the Territory of Montana, May 26, 1864, and of the admission of the territory to the union of states, November 6, 1889. Erected August 8, 1914, by the Society of Montana Pioneers, assembled in annual reunion.” The reunion that year marked the Golden and Silver Jubilee of Montana, and the Golden Jubilee for Bozeman, the city being officially named August 9, 1864.

The Montana Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze tablet on a huge boulder donated by J. Q. Adams, in the city of Three Forks, in October 1914, “In patriotic memory of Sacajawea, an Indian woman, whose heroic courage, steadfast devotion and splendid loyalty in acting as guide across the Rocky Mountains made it possible for the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804-1806 to occupy an important place in the history of the Republic.”

The Mount Hyalite chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Bozeman, in 1923, placed a bronze tablet on an immense boulder at the east end of Main Street on the corner of Buttonwood Avenue, on the Yellowstone trail, marking, “The trail of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805.” The chapter secured the boulder from Gallatin Canyon with the aid of the county commissioners of Gallatin County.

On the sixtieth anniversary of the establishing of Fort Ellis as a military post three miles east of Bozeman, Mount Hyalite chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Bozeman, on August 27, 1927, unveiled a monument on the site of the abandoned post, with a bronze plate they had placed on a large stone secured from Gallatin Canyon, recording that: “Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition encamped here, July 14, 1806, with his valuable guide, Sacajawea, her husband Charbonneau, their son Baptiste, and the following men: Pryor, Shields, Shannon, Bratton, Hall, Windsor, Gibson, Labiche and York, the slave.” This monument is on the Yellowstone trail.

Cemeteries in Gallatin County

There are cemeteries in or near Bozeman, Manhattan, Belgrade, Three Forks, Willow Creek and Gallatin Gateway, and in some rural districts, including Reese Creek, Springhill and East Gallatin, but the largest and among the most beautiful cemeteries in Montana is the Sunset Hills Cemetery of Bozeman, used by people of all parts of Gallatin County, by people of other parts of Montana, and sometimes by people of other states former residents of the valley, who bring their loved ones to this spot for their final resting place.

The original plot for the Bozeman cemetery, to which many acres have since been added, was a five-acre plot purchased and presented to the city in 1872, by Lord Blackmore. He and Lady Blackmore of England were traveling in Montana, and while he was starting on a trip through Yellowstone Park, Lady Blackmore remained in Bozeman, where she died suddenly. Her husband decided to have the burial here, in accordance with an agreement made by the couple in their travels. In appreciation of the kindness of the people of the city, Lord Blackmore purchased the plot from the Rouse brothers, had the burial for his wife, presented the ground to the city for a cemetery, and later had a monument erected at his wife’s grave. On this monument, the Bozeman Cemetery Board, a few years ago, had an appropriately engraved copper plate placed.

The remains of John M. Bozeman, for whom the city was named, are buried in this cemetery, a monument at his grave being erected by Nelson Story.

The Masonic lodges and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows have their sections in the Sunset Hills Cemetery, and in 1930, a tract was set aside for the people of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, who expect, in time, to move the bodies from their Holy Cross Cemetery northwest of Bozeman to this section.

Arrangements are being made to set apart a section for the burial of war veterans and their families. Ground has been purchased south and east of the present grounds used for the cemetery, rented at present for farming purposes, to be added to Sunset Hills Cemetery as needed in the future.

Present Cemeteries in Gallatin County

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