St. Mary's Mission (Stevensville, Mont.)

St. Mary's Mission has the distinction of being the first Catholic establishment in Montana and its surrounding region. Father Peter De Smet, S.J., opened contact with a delegation of Flathead Indians at the Green River (Wyoming) fur trade rendezvous in midsummer, 1840, and promised them he would return the following year. Consequently, De Smet and his five Jesuit companions dedicated their inaugural mission in October, 1841. St. Mary's remained a central Jesuit endeavor until November, 1850, at which point the property was sold to trader John Owen. Those intervening nine years had brought many new pressures to bear, causing the Flatheads' early religious enthusiasm to wane into general indifference.

From the description of St. Mary's Stevensville Mission records, 1841-2005. (Graham Public Library). WorldCat record id: 539581289