Did You Know Montana Turned 156 This Week?
According to Wikipedia, on May 26, 1864, the Territory of Montana became an incorporated territory of the United States. It split from the existing Idaho Territory by Act of Congress and was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.
That existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when Montana officially became the 41st state in the Union.
Did you know that Montana has been a part of territories of Louisiana, Missouri, Oregon, Nebraska, Washington, Dakota, and Montana before becoming a state in 1889? Took us a while to get settled into our own name!
According to the Montana's official state website, Montana's first state capital in 1864 was Bannack. In 1865, Virginia City became the territorial capital. In 1875, the territorial capital moved from Virginia City to Helena. In 1894, Helena won a runoff election and became the permanent state capital of Montana.
For more information of the history of the Montana Territory and Montana State capitals, click here.