Territory of Montana | |||||
Organized incorporated territory of the United States | |||||
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Coat of arms |
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Montana Territory, 1879 | |||||
Capital |
Bannack (May 28, 1864-February 6, 1865) Virginia City (February 7, 1865-1875) Helena (1875–1889) |
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Government | Organized incorporated territory | ||||
History | |||||
• | Split from Idaho Territory | May 26, 1864 | |||
• | Statehood | November 8, 1889 |
Coat of arms
The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the State of Montana.
The Montana Territory was organized out of the existing Idaho Territory by Act of Congress and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 26, 1864. The areas east of the Continental Divide had been previously part of the Nebraska Territory and Dakota Territory and had been acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.
The territory also included a portion of the Idaho Territory west of the continental divide and east of the Bitterroot Range, which had been acquired by the United States in the Oregon Treaty, and originally included in the Oregon Territory. The part of the Oregon Territory that became part of Montana had been split off as part of the Washington Territory.