Camp Reynolds was established on this site on June 30, 1867, to protect the route from Helena to Fort Benton. Its name was changed to Fort Shaw on July 4, 1867, in remembrance of Colonel Robert G. Shaw. It was declared a military reservation on January 11, 1870, relinquished on April 30, 1892, and granted to School District No. 82 on September 22, 1926, by act of Congress.