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 The Sacajawea Hotel was built in 1910 by the Milwaukee Road purchasing agent John Q Adams (no relation to the former president), to serve passengers and crew of the railroad. Three Forks was the jumping off point for touring Yellowstone Park in the teens and twenties.
The hotel was named for Sacajawea, the Shoshone guide woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their exploration of the area in 1805. She was captured as a young girl by the Hidatsa tribe and married to one of their men, who later lost her in a bet to Charbonneau the French explorer/trapper.
Sacajawea's knowledge of the area and of native peoples saved the Lewis and Clark group many times. After tracing the Missouri to its roots, the Corp. of Discovery needed horses for the portage across the Continental Divide. By a queer turn of luck, Sacajawea was related to the chief of the Shoshone Indians whose summer camp was across the Lemi pass south west of Three Forks, and who subsequently aided the group across.
She was the only teenager, the only woman, and the only Indian in a group of intrepid white men - and she was invaluable. Had it not been for Sacajawea, the history of this country would have been different.
"Sacajawea" is the commonly accepted spelling of her name, though there are at least five different spellings in the Lewis and Clark journals, including "Sakakwea" and "Sacagawea." In Shoshone, her name means "Bird Woman" or "Boat Woman." There is much controversy on the age and place of her death. Some historians believe she died at the age of 25 in South Dakota. According to some records, Sacajawea died of old age (somewhere nearing 100 years) on April 9, 1884. It is said that her son, John Baptiste, born just before she left on the Lewis and Clark expedition, was later raised by William Clark and sent to the best schools.
Standing proudly at the entrance to Three Forks, the Sac is situated across from the old Railroad Depot. Sheltered from weather by the Continental Divide, Three Forks is in the "Montana Banana Belt," with more than 300 sunny days per year, little snowfall, and mild temperatures by Montana standards.
The plans for the Hotel were drawn by Bozeman architect, Fred Willson. The bulk of the hotel was built around the old "Madison House," which was pulled to this location by horse teams from its site in Old Town. As the story goes, construction was delayed when the contractor lost his horse teams in a poker game. The "Madison House" was split in two and forms the dining room and office space at opposite ends of the hotel.
The Sac has endured its share of economic misfortune. In 1927, the Milwaukee Railroad extended the line to Gallatin Gateway. The town of Gallatin Gateway then became the final whistle stop for tourists visiting the Park, and the Sacajawea lost much of its business. The tumultuous relationship between the Sacajawea and the Milwaukee Railroad finally ended in 1980 when the historic Three Forks tracks were pulled up.
 The first operators of the hotel were Mr. and Mrs. N. Kleber, but a succession of owners followed; the hotel changed hands six times in 80 years. Mrs. (Pauline) Makoff, one of the previous owners of the Sacajawea Hotel, and her brother, Mr. Actor, proved to be invaluable consultants during the 1991 renovation.
They owned the hotel between 1948 and 1975. In 1982, Roger Jenkins helped with the process of putting the hotel in the National Historic register. As the story goes, one of the owners fell on hard times and had to sell some of the original furniture to cover debt to keep the hotel open. Smith and Jane Roedel purchased the Sac in 1991. They performed extensive renovations drawn up by Three Forks architect, Clark Llewellyn.
The third floor of the hotel was originally a rail worker's dormitory with two baths serving the entire floor. However, in 1991, nine gracious guest rooms (each with a private bath), including an Anniversary Suite, were built. The Lewis and Clark room in the basement, which housed a bar and room for drummers to peddle their wares, was also transformed in 1991 into a spacious and comfortable conference facility for groups up to 75.
Great care was taken throughout the renovation to preserve the character of the building. Most of the original, trim woodwork was refinished and new sections painstakingly sawed and stained to match the originals. The light fixtures in the lobby are all original, as are the steam heat registers and the dark spruce beams in the 14-foot ceilings.
The original heating system consisted of two boilers from steam locomotives. The boilers have been replaced with a modern electric heating system, but the boiler stack and steam registers are still in place at the hotel.
The hotel went through another renovation under the direction of Brian Ryder for Paul Tripp, who purchased the hotel in October of 1998 from Jane and Smith Roedel.
The lobby, dining room, and boardroom now have more than 600 pieces of period, inlaid wallpaper. The blocky Arts and Crafts period lobby paper was a reaction to the florid Victorian décor of the 1800's. The lobby furniture is all new and in keeping with the classic theme. A portrait of Sacajawea hangs in the lobby.
The new bar room replaced an outdoor patio between the kitchen and the lobby. The bar itself is reclaimed trestle wood that is more than 100 years old and was once part of a bridge that spanned the Great Salt Lake.
The hotel has been recently purchased, after being closed for close to two years, by Four Mountain Ranch, LLC. With the June 2002 purchase, the doors to the beautiful old hotel are once again open to greet guests. Step through the front entrance and back in time.
Enjoy the "undaunted hospitality" in the dining room that blends simple elegance with true Montana comfort and flare. The boardroom is often full of group meetings during the day and is available for larger dinner groups at night. An outdoor patio that opens onto a ¼-acre lawn serves groups up to 250.
The rocking chairs on the front porch, a Sacajawea Hotel trademark, are not part of the original décor, but they are a great place to put up your feet and rock as the sun sets on the historic Three Forks veranda of the famous old Sacajawea Hotel.
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