In July 1806, William Clark, arguably one of the first Bozeman pioneers, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, took a side trip and visited the Gallatin Valley as he travelled east from Three Forks, Montana following the Gallatin River. Journal entries from Clark's party briefly describe the future Bozeman as the "Valley of the Flowers," which came from the southwest Montana native tribes' apt description of the pristine Gallatin Valley land.

In 1863, John Bozeman and his trusty side-kick, John Jacobs, established the Bozeman Trail, a side trail off the famous Oregon Trail. The Bozeman Trail ran through the future city of Bozeman, across the Gallatin Valley and up to the mining town, Virginia City, Montana which lies on the western side of the Gallatin Valley in the Tobacco Root Mountains. John Bozeman began an agricultural colony in the Gallatin Valley to raise potatoes and wheat for Montana miners working in the Virginia City gold mines.

John Bozeman, Daniel Rouse, and William Beall platted the City of Bozeman in 1864, stating "standing right in the gate of the mountains ready to swallow up all tenderfeet that would reach the territory from the east, with their golden fleeces to be taken care of...." In 1865, Bozeman was appointed Gallatin County probate judge. About this time, he choose to discontinue leading wagon trains into Montana Territory. Soon thereafter, in 1868, the Indian Wars closed the Bozeman Trail, but the fertile Bozeman land soon attracted permanent settlers seeking agricultural real estate.

In 1866, Nelson Story arrived in Bozeman, MT with 3,000 longhorn cattle. He snuck by angry Native Americans and the U.S. Army, which tried to turn Story back for safety reasons. Story's cattle formed the first herd of today's Montana Farm and Ranch industry.

Following John Bozeman's mysterious death near Yellowstone, Fort Ellis was established. The story is told that Bozeman and Thomas Cover encountered a group of Blackfeet at the crossing of the Yellowstone River on April 18, 1867. At this point the story clouds, some say Cover killed Bozeman; some say the Blackfeet killed him. Regardless, John Bozeman's adventurous life came to an abrupt and premature end, and considerable political disturbance in the area led local settlers and miners to request additional protection from the Blackfeet.

In response, Fort Ellis, east of Bozeman, Montana, near Bozeman Pass, was established in 1868 by Captain R. S. LaMotte and two companies of the 2nd United States Cavalry. The fort, named in honor of Gettysburg casualty, Colonel Augustus Van Horne Ellis, was decommissioned in 1886; little remains of the actual site, its key realty now occupied by the Fort Ellis Experimental Station of Bozeman's Montana State University (MSU).

Not only was Fort Ellis established in this period, but Fort Elizabeth Meahger, which did not last long, was built by volunteer United States militiamen in 1867. Fort Meahger, by which it was better known, was established eight miles east of the town of Rock Creek. Northern Pacific Railway tracks were finally laid to the nascent town in 1883, and by 1900, the Bozeman, Montana population reached 3,500 residents.

Best Cities? Topping the List is Bozeman Montana... Dream Town #1 in 2006  &  Dream Town #2 in 2008

Modern Bozeman - Hatchfest - Bozeman Culture: Music - Art - Theatre - Film

Today's Downtown Bozeman, Montana made an appearance in the film, "A River Runs Through It," starring Brad Pitt. Bozeman's filmmaking importance continues with its new, annual fall film festival, Hatchfest. It attracts film industry stars and experts who freely mentor Bozeman film and art students and novices. Bozeman's refurbished historic Ellen Theatre, named for Ellen Story, the mother of T.B. Story, a famous Bozeman architect, is the new home of Montana Theatre Works, which is restoring the Bozeman Ellen Theatre to its original glory.