page_title: Fort Owen State Park
section_title: State park
hierarchical_section_title: Fort Owen State Park / History of Fort Owen / State park
caption_attribution_description: Nez Perce National Historic Trail, Fort Owen State Park near Stevensville, MT. US Forest Service photo, by Roger Peterson
context_page_description: Fort Owen State Park is a historic preservation area owned by the state of Montana in the United States, located on the northern outskirts of the town of Stevensville, Montana. The park is named for Fort Owen, a mission and later trading post established in 1841 and named for trader John Owen. The park is one acre in size, 3,293 feet in elevation, and is owned and managed by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Fort Owen is known as the "cradle of Montana civilization".
context_section_description: Fort Owen is located on the Stevensville Cutoff Road, south of Missoula, Montana, on U.S. Route 93.
  Little is left of Fort Owen. The only original structure still standing is the East Barracks. The back wall, a portion of the side walls, and the interior walls are original adobe brick manufactured and erected by Father DeSmet and his associates in 1841 and 1842.
  Archeological investigations by the University of Montana from 1957 to 1980 uncovered the fort's foundations, which are visible to visitors. Visitors can also see a reconstructions of an 1850s cabin, a root cellar, and a well house.
  Fort Owen State Park is a one-acre (0.40 ha) plot surrounded by private property and is open every day of the year. Volunteers from the Stevensville Historical Society occasionally staff the park to answer questions, but visitors mostly rely on interpretive signage to learn about the mission and the fort and their history.
caption: Barracks
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