Montana Ferries
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Early interest in the Missouri River was focused on the flow of goods up-river and down-river. Before long, as the land was settled, the flow of goods, people and livestock across the Missouri, from one bank to the other became of equal or greater importance. There were no bridges in the wild Montana, but the first ferry began operation in 1863. It is said that there were about 25 ferries by 1906 when bridges began to replace them. Most were simple affairs, powered by the force of the river’s own current. Only three small ferries still operate in 2009, the Carter ferry, the Virgelle ferry, and the McClelland ferry and they are all on the Missouri between Great Falls and the Fred Robinson Bridge where US-191 crosses the Missouri. |
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The Carter Ferry was established by Chouteau County in 1917. It cost $850 following State Highway specifications. It was replaced in 1945, and again replaced in 2004.  |
The Virgelle Ferry was built for Chouteau County in 1913
for $1050. The house in the photo was provided by the
county for the operator as living quarters.
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| The McClelland Ferry is in the Missouri Breaks north of Winifred. It originated in the early 1900’s but was destroyed by ice in 1928 and not replaced until 1940. This ferry links Blaine County on the north side of the river with Fergus county on the south side.The ferry is mostly used by farmers and ranchers and then only in dry weather as the approach roads become extremely muddy and impassable in wet weather conditions. This ferry and the one at Virgelle were also replaced with Federal funds in 2004 when the Carter Ferry was replaced. By 1956 the original number of ferries was reduced to six, with 16 bridges between Toston and Culbertson. The number of ferries have now been cut to only these three remaining ferries on the Missouri. |  |
| There were ferries on other rivers in Montana at various times. One that lasted until a bridge was built in the 1960’s was the St. Regis Ferry, which crossed the Clark Fork of the Columbia. River crossings in this area were problematic beginning in the 1850’s when Lt. John Mullan, began construction of the “Mullan Trail”.This is also the area where the infamous “Camels Hump” had to be traversed on the Yellowstone Trail in the 1920’s and 30’s between St. Regis and De Borgia. This ferry was about midway between St. Regis and Paradise on MT-135. The photo was taken in 1950, by Bill Hartley, permission to use it is from Scott Wyckman. |  |
to Bridges
| The first Missouri bridge in Montana was at Fort Benton in 1897. It was a “swing bridge” that would pivot at its center to allow ships to pass. It was only opened once shortly before a flood took it out in 1908. It was finally replaced in 1921 and that span is now a walking foot bridge. |  |
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| Many of the highways in Montana follow rivers and this necessarily results in numerous bridges. This is especially true of the Yellowstone, the Missouri, the Milk, and the Clark Fork. Some of these, both old originals, and newer replacements are shown. | 
Great Falls, now a foot bridge
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Fred Robinson Bridge US-191 |
Flathead Bridge at Polson |
Yellowstone at Livingston
On the Yellowstone Trail |
Clark Fork at Deer Lodge
On The Yellowstone Trail |
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Madison River 1867
Bozeman to Virginia City |
July 25, 2017 at 4:09 pm
Like this section, Greg! N and I crossed on the McClelland Ferry a couple of years ago….. FREE and FUN!. One more item checked off our Montana Bucket List! There’s a campground on the north side of the river, and the nearby town of Winifred has really fixed itself up for visitors to stop, shop, and refresh. We were impressed!
October 7, 2017 at 6:04 am
Great feature for the Knowledge Site. Two years ago I used the Virgelle ferry. It is a cool experience, unique to Montana I believe, and free as part of the State Highway system.