Fred Choteau Campbell, the youngest son of D.G. and America Cooley Campbell, was born in Shawnee, Kansas, in 1864. He attended Kansas University where he became a charter member of the Kansas University Athletic Association. After graduating, he taught school in Johnson County, Kansas.
In 1890 Campbell entered the U.S. Indian Service as a teacher in Genoa, Nebraska. He was later sent to the Fort Peck Indian Agency in Montana and in 1898 was appointed superintendent of the Fort Shaw Indian Training School. Campbell also served as superintendent of the Blackfeet Agency for ten years before becoming the district superintendent for Montana, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho. During his years with the Blackfeet, Campbell began several innovative programs including regular visits with Indians in their homes, annual mid-winter fairs, and the five-year industrial plan which was designed to have the Blackfeet become self-sufficient through agriculture and stock raising. In 1931 Campbell directed the 4-H Club Hi-Line Association Conference held at Rocky Boy Indian Agency.
Campbell received two Indian names during his years with the Indian Service, Red Head and Iron Shield. In addition, a mountain in Glacier National Park is named for him.
Campbell retired from the Indian Service in 1932 after forty years and settled on his ranch in Meagher County. A Republican, Campbell was elected to the state senate in 1938, representing Meagher County. During the 1939 legislature, he actively worked for the defeat of a bill that would allow the use of peyote by Montana Indians in religious ceremonies.
Campbell married Ella Mead, daughter of John Mead, in 1889. They had three children: Fred Cooley; Mary Freda, who married Peter LeRoy DesRosier; and Mead. Several years after the death of his first wife, Campbell married Sadie Malley. He died in October 1942 in Portland, Oregon.
Fred Cooley Campbell enlisted in the Army Air Force and was killed in action in World War I.
This collection contains the papers of Fred Choteau Campbell including incoming and outgoing correspondence, financial records, an abstract of title,printed materials, subject files, miscellany, and clippings. It also includes a World War I memorial and scrapbook of Fred Cooley Campbell.
Arranged by series. Some material housed in oversize folder in archives map case. See inventory below for more information.
Collection is open for research.
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request
Processed in 1984.
Photographs and selected printed material were transferred from this collection to the M.H.S. Photo Archives, and Library, respectively.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection