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 Bad Rock Trail - Thompson Falls, MT Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 47° 34.564 W 115° 10.323
11T E 637468 N 5270802
About 8.5 miles southeast of Thompson Falls one will find this historical marker at a pullout on the north side of Highway 200.
Waymark Code: WMWCCB
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 08/13/2017
Views: 0
The Clark Fork River rises on the western slopes of the continental divide in northwestern Montana and flows generally northwest, eventually becoming the Pend d'Oreille River, which flows into the Columbia In British Columbia just north of the Canada-U.S. border. As the longest east-west valley in this part of the country, it naturally became a migration route for aboriginal peoples for their annual treks to fish salmon, gather foodstuffs and other materials and to trade with other tribes.
The most easily traversed east-west route in the area, when European fur traders, later followed by settlers, arrived in the area they used the route, just as the natives had for 9,000 years or more. Today, one of three main arteries in the region, Highway 200, follows the 9,000 year old travel route of the Clark Fork River, as did the Northern Pacific Railway (now the Burlington Northern).
It was David Thompson, North West Company fur trader, surveyor, explorer and cartographer extraordinaire who first made note of the trail when he arrived in the area in 1809. Thompson referred to the trail as " The Saleesh Road to the Buffalo".
It was 1809 when David Thompson, the first European of record, set foot in present day Sanders County. He was following a well-used trail that he recorded as the Saleesh Road to the Buffalo. He called the river it followed the Saleesh River. By the early 1900s the road had been renamed the Kootenai Trail. Thompson, a Wintering Partner in the North West Company, established the first trading post in present day western Montana, Saleesh House, on the Thompson Prairie. He had just completed Kullyspel House on the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille near Hope, Idaho that autumn of 1809.
The Road to the Buffalo basically followed present day Hwy 200 with the exception of the loop it took northeast from Plains, turning through the Camas Prairie returning to the Flathead River upstream from Perma.
Early river travelers went by foot, on horseback and in canoes. Local tribal bands used a special type of canoe known as the sturgeon nose. For a short period during the gold rush era (1860s-70s), stern wheel steamboats churned up the river.
From Sanders County
BAD ROCK TRAIL
The nearby Bad Rock Trail was an important route for the aboriginal people who inhabited northwest Montana. The first documented account of the trail was by North West Company trader David Thompson in 1809. Located within sight of the company's trading post, Saleesh House, he reported that it was the scene of many battles between the Kootenai, Salish and the Blackfeet people. Over the ensuing years, the trail became a much cursed obstacle on the road that led up the Clark Fork: It was used by a parade of western notables, including explorers Isaac Stevens and John Mullan and by copper king William A. Clark. Shortly after crossing over Bad Rock in 1841 Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet wrote 'had before seen landscapes of awful grandeur, but this one surpassed all others in horror. My courage failed at the first sight.'
In 1883, the Northern Pacific Railway blasted away portions of the trail to complete its transcontinental line. The process was repeated in 1936 when the Montana Department of Transportation constructed this segment of the highway. Bad Rock Trail continues to be a commanding presence on Highway 200 in northwest Montana.
From the Montana Historical Highway Marker
Feature Discription: See long description
Web address for the route: [Web Link]
Beginning of the road: The trail likely has its origin at the Columbia River, an area where many tribes met annually to fish salmon and trade.
End of the road: The trail likely had no real end, branching into other trails which led over the continental divide, thence to the buffalo hunting grounds of Eastern Montana.
Secondary Web Address: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
We ask that if you visit the site, please include a unique picture with your impressions of the location. If possible, and if you are not too shy, please include yourself and your group in the photo. Extra points will be given for your best buffalo imitation or if you are licking something salty.
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