4999 US Highway 89
Port of Piegan
Babb, MT 59411
Phone: (406) 732-5982
Fax: (406) 732-5984
History and Area of Responsibility
The station was originally established in Browning, MT in 1934 and operated until 1946 when it was deactivated. In 1956 a Border Patrol trailer was set up at Kiowa Junction, west of Browning, and used as a residence and office for agents on detail. Agents were detailed to Browning on a rotational basis from within Havre Sector.
The Browning station was reactivated in 1957. In 1960, the office was moved into rental quarters on West Pata Street, Browning, MT. In June of 1966 construction was completed on a Border Patrol complex located adjacent to U.S. Highway 2 about one-half mile west of the Browning city limits. The new complex consisted of an office and three individual residences. Border Patrol Agents occupied two of the residences on a continuing basis and the third residence was rented to non-service personnel.
Effective July 1, 1973 Browning was designated a substation under the supervisor at Shelby until the official closure of the station on August 4, 1983. The Border Patrol complex at Browning was transferred to GSA for reassignment to other Federal agencies. The agents of the Shelby station covered this area until the St. Mary substation was incorporated in 1987. In May of 2008, St. Mary became a stand-alone station.
The St. Mary Station's area of responsibility is comprised of 7,800 square miles of mountainous terrain and rolling prairie farm and ranch land. The elevation above sea level is from 4,000 feet on the prairie to 10,000 foot peaks in Glacier National Park. Approximately 870 square miles of the eastern half of Glacier National Park lie within the station area. The St. Mary canal system runs from Babb, MT, to near Del Bonita along the station's northern border for a distance of fourteen miles. A part of the Lewis and Clark National Forest is included in the station area, as is a part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness area.