Fort Howes

Fort Howes was a civilian redoubt established in 1897 in what was then Custer County, Montana, United States in response to the murder of a sheepherder.

Men of the Ashland area began building a fortified redoubt on the crest of a hill located on the Howes ranch, along Otter Creek, a tributary of the Tongue River, to discourage further Indian attacks.

Cowboys and stockmen were posted at the fort as guards, and on multiple occasions in the early summer of 1897 they observed Cheyenne warriors riding nearby and examining the structure.

The group was joined by cowboys, and when they numbered about 200 men, rode into Lame Deer, Montana to apprehend the Cheyenne warriors that had killed John Hoover.

The station is staffed by BLM fire operations personnel and three Type 6 engines, which have direct fire suppression responsibility for BLM, USFS, and private affidavit lands within Custer National Forest in Powder River County and portions of Custer, Rosebud, and Big Horn counties.