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Our Story

At the beginning of the twentieth century, soon after the Montana territory earned its statehood in 1889, Hysham was a part of the great expanse of Custer Country. It was on what was then the Crow Indian Reservation. Cattle branded with the Flying E grazed near the Northern Pacific tracks where train men threw off supplies for Hysham. Charlie J. Hysham was associated with the Flying E Ranch, which ran thousands of cattle in the area between the Bighorn River on the west to Reservation Creek on the east, and from the Yellowstone River to the Wyoming line. Treasure County has some outstanding historic sites. Manuel Lisa built the first building, a fur trading post in Montana near the mouth of the Bighorn River in 1807. Fort Cass was the first fort built by the American Fur Company on the Yellowstone River, just three miles below the mouth of the Bighorn. Fort Pease was a stockade constructed in 1875, near the mouth of the Bighorn, as a defense against a party of Sioux Indians and also as a trading post. Remnants of Fort Pease still stand on the original site. Other fort locations remain a mystery. Today Hysham is a clean, friendly little town. The historic Yucca Theatre, built in 1931 by Dave and Jim Manning, is an impressive example of mission style and is the prominent historic landmark on Hysham's main street. Visit the Treasure County 89ers Museum (on main street) to learn more about the history of Hysham and the area.