An Early Missoula Image
This colored lithograph gives an idea of what Missoula looked like in the 1850s. The image appears in volume 12 of Reports of Explorations and Surveys, which documented an expedition to determine the route for what would eventually become the Northern Pacific Railway. The expedition was led by Isaac Stevens, governor of the Washington Territory, of which present-day Montana was then a part. You can find more pictures of early Missoula in our collection of online photos.
Call number: SpColl-MTColl, 978 U58rmi
Tags: lithography, Missoula, Montana, nineteenth century, railroads, Stevens Expedition