This is one of the oldest settlements still active in the state—though barely. Travelers going from Fort Benton the the gold fields in western Montana crossed through here. Before the railroad came it was a boisterous town where trappers, miners and bull whackers got together for a good time. The town got its name from the nearby river. French trappers interpreted the Indian name for the river, Natae-oeti to mean “medicine” or “sun.”