Garryowen, Montana

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Garryowen, Montana
Country United States
State Montana
County Big Horn County
Founded 1895
Private Town {{{established_date2}}}
Government
 - Honorary Mayor & Owner Devloped by the Crow Native Americans
Area
 - City  1 sq mi (2.6 km²)
Time zone Mountain (UTC-7)
 - Summer (DST) Mountain (UTC-6)

Garryowen is a private town in Big Horn County, Montana, United States Formed by Crow Native Americans. The "Townhall" currently houses a Conoco gas station and convenience store, a Subway, an arts & crafts store called "The Trading Post," and the Custer Battlefield MuseumAnd also A Non-Profit Called the Center Pole Foundation

Contents

[edit] Attractions

[edit] Tomb of the Unknown Soldier & Peace Memorial
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier & Peace Memorial in Garryowen, Montana
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier & Peace Memorial in Garryowen, Montana

The tomb is a monument that officially marks the end of hostilities between the Lakota-Cheyenne and the U.S. Government. Within the tomb lies the remains of the soldier, and a tomahawk. The tomb was dedicated during an event called "Burying the Hatchett."

[edit] Custer Battlefield Museum
Main article: Custer Battlefield Museum

The Custer Battlefield Museum features many artifacts from the Battle as well as books and memorobillia.

[edit] The Trading Post

The Trading Post is a beautiful gift shop packed with many great collectibles. A sister store is also located across from the entrance to the Last Stand Hill Monument that features similar wares and a cafe.


The Non-Profit

The Exclusive Director Peggy White-Wellknown Buffalo helps youth learn the basics of entrepreneurship, long-term goals and money management. They experience the risks, responsibility and return of creating and owning a business Through the Center Pole Foundation. [1]

[edit] History of Garryowen

In 1895, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad established a tiny station on the Little Bighorn River, where water was taken on and US Army troops, supplies and mail were off-loaded for delivery to nearby forts and homesteads. This station was called Garryowen, after the marching song of George Custer's 7th Cavalry. Myles Keogh, one of Custer's officers, carried the tune and words from Ireland where it had been the marching song for the Royal Lancers, a famous British unit, of which Keogh's father was an officer. When the Crow Reservation lands were created in 1868, Garryowen became part of the Crow's holdings, but the land was later sold by the tribe and the Federal government to private citizens. By 1926, the "town" of Garryowen was in private hands, but still consisted of little more than a small market. It was at this time, just a month before the 50th Anniversary of the Battle, that work was being done on an irrigation ditch just East of Garryowen - along Reno 's line of retreat. Much to their surprise, work crews uncovered a nearly complete set of skeletal remains (no skull was ever found), accompanied by several bullets and buttons, clearly indicating that this had been a Cavalry soldier. Because 14 of Reno and Benteen's men were never accounted for following the Battle , accurate identification of the remains was impossible. However, with planning for the celebration's events in full swing, The Custer Memorial Association decided a memorial service, with full military honors, was due this long-lost Unknown Soldier. The body was to be entombed in a special monument in the battlefield cemetery following a "Burying of the Hatchet" ceremony at Garryowen, in which US government and Indian representatives would smoke a peace pipe and place a tomahawk in the base of the monument.

[edit] The Battle of the Little Bighorn

Garryowen is located on the same lands that the southern edge of Sitting Bull's encampment once sat upon. Major Reno and his detachment fired the first shots just a few hundred yards away from Garryowen.

Coordinates: 45°31′36″N, 107°25′10″W