Stevensville (Salish: ɫq̓éɫmlš[3]) is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States.

[4] Stevensville is officially recognized as the first permanent settlement of non-indigenous peoples in the state of Montana.

Forty-eight years before Montana became the nation's 41st state, Stevensville was settled by Jesuit Missionaries at the request of the Bitterroot Salish tribe.

Between 1812 and 1821, the Salish learned about the "powerful medicine" of Christianity and Jesuit missionaries from Iroquois fur traders.

In 1831, four young Salish men were dispatched to St. Louis, Missouri, to request "Black Robes" for the tribe.

Again in 1835 and 1837 the Bitterroot Salish dispatched men to St. Louis to request missionaries, but to no avail.

Finally in 1839 a group of Iroquois and Salish met Father Pierre-Jean De Smet in Council Bluffs.

[6] Construction of a chapel began immediately, followed by other permanent structures including log cabins.

The settlement was the site of many of Montana's "firsts": irrigation, agriculture, ranching, and cattle branding.

Father Ravalli, Jesuit priest and physician, arrived at the mission in 1845 and built the first pharmacy.

[5] In 1850 Major John Owen arrived in the valley and set up camp north of St.

Both St. Mary's Mission and Fort Owen still have permanent structures that stand in present-day Stevensville, denoting its historical past starting in 1841.

[8] The name of the settlement was changed from St. Mary's to Stevensville in 1864 to honor territorial governor Isaac Stevens.

[10] In 1891, the Bitterroot Salish who remained in the valley were forced to remove to the Flathead Indian Reservation.