The Story of Saint Peter's Mission

Before there was a Great Falls or a Cascade, and when Helena was barely a gold camp, St. Peter's Mission was established near Birdtail Rock. Father Pierre DeSmet was the first Jesuit to come to Montana. His journey resulted from four trips by the Flathead Indians to St. Louis to request that a Blackrobe be sent to them. Father DeSmet traveled across the country with a group of trappers in 1840. He established missions in the Bitterroot and St. Ignatius, and after meeting a small band of Blackfeet, he became determined to bring a mission to the Blackfeet.

The site of St. Peter's Mission was the...