Bozeman tourist information

For thousands of years, Native Americans tribes including the Shoshone, Nez Perce, Blackfeet, Flathead and Sioux made the area their home, though the Gallatin Valley was not permanently held by any particular tribe.

William Clark visited the area in July 1806 as he traveled east from Three Forks along the Gallatin River. The journal entries from Clark's party briefly describes the future city's location in a place the local natives called the "Valley of the Flowers".

In 1863, John Bozeman, along with a partner named John Jacobs, opened the Bozeman Trail, an offshoot from the Oregon Trail leading to the mining town of Virginia City through the Gallatin Valley and the future location of the city of Bozeman.

In two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, Carbon Creek and Desert Crossing, the city was named as the fictional location of First Contact (as shown in the movie Star Trek: First Contact) between Vulcans and Humans, an obvious nod from Bozeman native and Star Trek producer Brannon Braga. A starship in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Cause and Effect is also named after the town, the USS Bozeman.

In 1906, a Chinese immigrant name Lu-Sing murdered another Chinese immigrant named Tom Sing (no relation). In a fascinating summary defense, witness indicate that Lu-Sing acted in self-defense but Lu-Sing was found guilty and hanged outside the Bozeman Jail.

The first Federal Building and Post Office was built in 1915. Many years later, while empty, it was used along with downtown Bozeman in filming A River Runs Through It (1992) by Robert Redford and starring Brad Pitt. It is now used by HRDC, a community organization.

Bozeman's filmmaking connection is continued with an annual arts festival, HATCHfest, that takes place in early October and attracts entertainment industry notables who mentor film, music, design, architecture, art, fashion and writing students. Past industry notables who were involved in this unique mentoring opportunity include: Peter Fonda, Bill Pullman, Michael Keaton, Dean Cain, John Dahl, Jim Brubaker, Erica Huggins, Jack Green, Patrick Markey and William Fichtner.