NPS Photo Originally established as a Military Preserve in 1883, Big Hole National Battlefield was designated a National Monument in 1910. From 1910 to 1933, administration of Big Hole National Battlefield was shared between the War Department and the U.S. Forest Service. The battlefield came under National Park Service (NPS) administration in 1933 and was designated a National Battlefield in 1963. During its tenure with the NPS, the battlefield has been administratively nestled under Yellowstone National Park, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, and Nez Perce National Historical Park. In 1992, Nez Perce National Historic Park was legislatively expanded to 38 total sites over four states, including Big Hole National Battlefield. Please visit the NPS Stats page.
The enabling legislation for Big Hole National Battlefield specified only the location and the acreage within. Today the battlefield is managed as a sacred site that preserves and memorializes the location of the battle between the Non-Treaty Nez Perce and the 7th US Infantry that took place on August 9th and 10th of 1877.
Big Hole National Battlefield preserves the site of the Nez Perce camp that was attacked on August 9, as well as the Siege Site where Nez Perce warriors held down the 7th Infantry for 24 hours while the survivors of the attack broke camp and escaped. In addition to maintaining the cultural landscape, the battlefield preserves an array of riparian and wetland habitats, sagebrush steppe and grassland habitats, and upland forest habitats.
Interior Region(s): Missouri Basin Region 5
Size: 655 acres Staffing: 6 permanent staff, 7 temporary staff, 5.5 total full-time equivalents Annual Visitation: 36,234 Budget: $ 593,000 Economic Benefits to Communities: The most recent National Park Service report shows that 36,234 visitors to Big Hole National Battlefield in 2020 spent $2.6 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 34 jobs in the local area, and contributed $ 2.69 million to the local economy Beaverhead County Sheriff Dept Senators: Jon Tester (D-MT), Steve Daines (R-MT)
Representatives: Matt Rosendale (R-MT) |
Last updated: February 4, 2022