Where was Fort Abraham Lincoln in Paramount's "Warpath" (1951), about Custer's 7th Cavalry and the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn?

"Warpath" (Paramount, 1951): Fort Abraham Lincoln

I let my curiosity get the better of me after I spotted "Fort Abraham Lincoln" in Paramount's 1951 Edmond O'Brien feature "Warpath," about the Battle of Little Bighorn. I wanted to know: Where was this movie fort?

 

Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park

First of all, there's a real Fort Abraham Lincoln — or at least a Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park — that's still standing today, just outside of Mandan, North Dakota.

 

Historical photo of the real Fort Lincoln, said to be from the 1870s

The real Fort Abraham Lincoln, originally known as Fort McKeen, stood at the North Dakota location, where it was once under the command of Gen. George Armstrong Custer.

 

Gen. George Armstrong Custer

Custer, as most Americans learned in school — at least until we started letting our smartphones and AI do all our thinking for us — was the Cavalry general who famously fought, and lost, the Battle of Little Bighorn.

 

Replica of Gen. Custer's house, as it stands today at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park

The original buildings at Fort Abraham Lincoln are long gone now, replaced by modern replicas — including a replica of the house where Custer and his wife, Libbie, lived in the 1870s.

 

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana

But Paramount skipped the North Dakota site entirely, opting to do the bulk of the location filming for "Warpath" in Montana, which was also the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn.

 

Indian memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Today the battlefield is part of the U.S. National Park Service. In addition to the Custer National Cemetery, the battlefield site today is home to numerous memorials to fallen fighters on both sides.

 

"Warpath": The movie version of Fort Abraham Lincoln

When it came time to pick a site for the movie version of Fort Abraham Lincoln, Paramount found a suitable location in Billings, Montana, about 60 miles west of the battlefield.

 

The fort's fancy sign — an obvious fake

The studio went all out to make sure the movie fort had a sign clearly designating it as Fort Abraham Lincoln. And by "all out," I mean they handed off the assignment to the special effects department.

 

The original Fort Lincoln, top, and the "Warpath" version

But in general, the movie fort bears some resemblance to the original Fort Lincoln.

 

Fort Lincoln in "Warpath," with its nearby butte

Luckily for us, the movie fort has an instantly recognizable butte behind it. This butte turned out to be the key to finding the location where Paramount set up its movie version of Fort Lincoln.

 

The same butte in present-day Billings, Montana

The butte is still there today, right in the middle of Billings. Known as Skeleton Cliff, it's located along 6th Avenue North near its intersection with Main Street/Highway 312.

 

Skeleton Cliff, along 6th Avenue North in Billings

The location was previously a fairgrounds, where the County Inland Empire Fair was held. But Billings has undergone a lot of changes since the early 1950s, and the old fairgrounds buildings are gone now.

 

Billings' modern MetraPark Arena

Today the former fairgrounds site is adjacent to the modern MetraPark fairgrounds complex, which has replaced the old fairgrounds as Billings' go-to location for big events like fairs and rodeos.

 

An enduring landmark confirms the filming location

Fortunately, Skeleton Cliff remains firmly in place as Billings continues to grow up all around it. And the sturdy butte leaves no doubt as to where Paramount set up its fort for "Warpath."