Historic St. Mary's Mission

Historic St. Mary's Mission in Stevensville marks the place where Jesuit missionaries settled among the Bitterroot Salish in 1841. It is regarded as the first permanent non-Indigenous settlement in what became Montana, and the museum calls it the state's first pioneer community, where farming, medicine and schooling were introduced. Today it is a small complex of historic buildings run by a volunteer non-profit, about 20 miles north of Hamilton.

The Salish had asked for priests for years, and in 1841 Father Pierre-Jean De Smet and other Jesuits founded the mission. Raids by the Blackfeet forced it to close in 1850, and the Jesuits sold the property to the trader John Owen for $250. In 1866 the mission was re-established and the church rebuilt; it was enlarged in 1879. In 1891 Chief Charlo and the Bitterroot Salish were forced to move north to the Jocko Valley reservation, which ended St. Mary's role as an Indian mission. That removal is part of the story the site tells.

Visits are by guided tour. The complex includes the mission chapel, an infirmary, a dovecote, a cabin holding Salish artifacts and a visitor center with a museum and gift shop, which opened in 1996. From 1921 the site served as St. Mary's Parish, and a new parish chapel was dedicated in 1954. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and the wider St. Mary's Mission Historic District in 2010.

The tour season runs from mid-April to mid-October, so by October 18 the 2026 season is ending or has ended; the next season starts in mid-April 2027. Tours run Tuesday to Saturday, with start times between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mountain Time, and cost $10 per person; children 5 and under are free. Book online through the mission's website. Tickets can be rescheduled but are not refundable. Groups larger than 10 and school groups must call 406-777-5734 in advance.

Stevensville is an easy half-day trip from either Missoula or Hamilton along US-93. Combine the mission with a walk round Stevensville's small main street, and allow about an hour and a half on site for the tour and the museum.