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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5am Thursday 9am - 6:30pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

Montana Historical Society

Name: Montana Historical Society
Address: 225 N Roberts Street, Helena, MT, 59601, US
Telephone: (406) 444-2694
Price range: $

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Montana Historical Society

The Montana Historical Society saves Montana's past, shares our stories, and inspires exploration to provide meaning for today and vision for tomorrow.

The Montana Heritage Center is now open! Discover more on our web page: mths.mt.gov.

08/31/2026

August is coming to a close, but our community events aren't! Here are some upcoming SEPTEMBER EVENTS to catch. All events are FREE & open to the public, but registration is required for some events.

📖 "A History of Montana in 101 Places" Book Tour - Presentation by Kirby Lambert
Tuesday, Sept 1 | 11:30am-12:30pm
Blackfeet Community College Medicine Spring Library, Browning

🎤 1860s Vigilantism: Big Issues from the Big Sky - Presentation by Mark Dillon
Thurs, Sept 3 | 6:30pm-7:30pm
Montana Heritage Center

🐮 Montana Livestock Brands: Symbols, Stories, History - Presentation by Dan Karalus
Wed, Sept 9 | 1:00pm-2:00pm
Touchmark Senior Living

📘 Montana Reads: The Treasure State's Book Club - "Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment"
Thurs, Sept 10 | 6:30pm-7:30pm
Lewis & Clark Library

📖 "A History of Montana in 101 Places" Book Tour - Presentation by Kirby Lambert
Thursday, Sept 10 | 7:00pm-8:00pm
Elk River Books, 122 S 2nd St, Livingston

🧨 Historically Significant Fi****ms of Montana History - Presentation by Carson Thomas
Thurs, Sept 17 | 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Montana Heritage Center

✏️ Montana History Conference
Thurs, Sept 24 - Sat, Sept 26
Billings, Montana
For more information, the full agenda, and registration, visit https://mhs.mt.gov/education/index3.

🎤 Joseph Kinsey Howard: Montana's Crusader Journalist - Lecture by Nate Schweber
Tues, Sept 29 | 6:30pm-8:00pm
Big Sky Hall, Montana Heritage Center

To learn more and register for these events, visit: mths.mt.gov/education/Community-Events

08/29/2026

It's time for another highlight! The Sweet Spot: Sugar Beets in Montana 🌱

📆Sept. 24 | 1:00-3:00 pm
🎟️ $25

Beginning in the early 1900s, Montana farmers began growing sugar beets. By the 1920s, sugar processing facilities were operating in Billings and shipping affordable sugar across the state. Join Montana State University associate teaching professor Dr. Jennifer Hill and The Extreme History Project Executive Director Crystal Alegria to learn about the history of sugar beets, the use of beet sugar in food production, and the significance of sugar in cultural celebrations and daily life in Montana.

The group will share in some sugar-related tastes, including a beverage, a savory treat, and a dessert! Sign up for this Heritage Food Workshop and others at: eventsquid.com/event/31955.

📷 N. A. Forsyth, between 1901-1911, MTHS , ST 001.185

08/28/2026

On this day in 1923, an unidentified photographer captured this view of motorcycle racing at the fairgrounds during a ‘Flying Circus’ event presented by the Federated Field Flyers Inc. in Harlowton, Montana. The Times Clarion advertised the race as the “world’s most hazard and daring sport speed.” The paper reported that the “dare-devil riders” handled their machines with skill and completed their two-mile race in one minute and fifty-nine seconds. The three-mile race finished in three minutes, and the five-mile race “had the crowd on edge” with its thrilling driving.

[MTHS , Lot 048 HARLO.23]

08/27/2026

The Montana State Capitol scaffolding of 1934 vs. 2026!

According to notes with this photograph, the Montana State Capitol dome renovations of 1934 required 60,000 feet of lumber to build the scaffolding. Among the workers photographed on the site was Joseph M. Klemencic, seen here perched high with fellow workers, second from the left.

Would you climb up there?

[MTHS , PAc 99-27.2, photograph by E.P.]

08/26/2026

Today we celebrate

On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was certified as part of the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. It's important to note, however, that this didn't guarantee suffrage for all women; women of color continued to face discriminatory barriers until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Montana has a suffrage story of its own. On November 3, 1914, Montana men voted 53 to 47 percent in favor of equal suffrage. That year, Montana and Nevada joined nine other western states in extending voting rights to non-Native women. Indigenous women would have to wait until passage of the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act to gain access to the ballot.

These milestones were hard-won, on both a state and national level. Montana suffragists, including Jeannette Rankin, Belle Fligelman, Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassmann, Hazel Hunkins, and Maggie Smith Hathaway, among many others, fought hard for decades to secure the right to vote.

View our website dedicated to stories of Montana women's history at: montanawomenshistory.mt.gov

08/25/2026

Tour Highlight! 🚲 From Rimrocks to Railroads: Cycling Through Billings History

Follow former Billings TrailNet executive director Kristi Drake on this 14-mile e-bike tour through Billings. Starting at Zimmerman Park, you'll coast through sites like the Yellowstone Kelly interpretive site, Boothill Cemetery, the former site of Coulson, the Austin North house, Moss Mansion, and more!

📆 Sept. 24, 1:30-4:00 pm
📍 Meet at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Billings
🚲 $50 with bike rental, or free with personal bike

Can't make that tour? You're in luck! There will be a duplicate tour with guide Bill Cole on Saturday, as well.
📆 Sept. 26, 1:30-4:00 pm

Register at: eventsquid.com/event/31955

📷 Photographer Edgar I. Syverud riding near Osnabrock, North Dakota, ca. 1909. Photographer Henry B. Syverud. MTHS Lot 045 v1p17.1.

08/24/2026

It's back to school for many this week! ✏️🍎 Who's feeling like these Knowlton School students?

Evelyn J. Cameron photographed teacher Clara Walter with her students in 1907. The students are listed as Beryl George, Harold Cummings, Maud Po***ck, Andy Dragseth, Elizabeth Dragseth, Jetta Dickson, Jack Wood, Lena Dragseth, Clara Walters (teacher), Follis Wood, Byron Cummings, Mildred Cummings, Brenda Dickson, Hannah Dragseth, Mildred Crosby, and Answorth Dickson, with no order specified. [MTHS , PAc 90-87.G085-002]

We're so excited to start seeing students back at the Heritage Center for field trips!

08/22/2026

Today marks the beginning of ! We have many wonderful items that highlight National Parks, including the Minerva Stagecoach.

This horse-drawn coach carried tourists through Yellowstone National Park, first operating as part of the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Company. This line ran from 1898 to 1913, then was renamed to the Yellowstone-Western Stage Company.

After the 1916 season, all the transportation companies were consolidated into the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company (YPTCo). Transportation shifted from horse-drawn to automotive, with the YPTCo eventually operating its famous bright yellow buses. [Minerva Stagecoach, c. 1900, gift of Isabel Haynes, 1979.26.08]

Come see the Minerva! Admission to the museum is free, always.

08/21/2026

On this day in August 1941, photographer R. H. McKay captured these images of the fire at the Western Montana Fair in Missoula, Montana. According to the North West Tribune, equipment from the city and from Fort Missoula responded to the fire alarm, and within thirty minutes the grandstand, main livestock barn, and 4-H Club building were reduced to ruins. The paper reported that no human life was lost and none of the animals in the barns were lost, though the chickens under the grandstand and about fourteen cars were lost to the fire. After cleaning away the debris and erecting temporary bleachers the Fair resumed its programming the following day.

[MTHS , Lot 048 MISS-fi.10]
[MTHS , Lot 048 MISS-fi.11]
[MTHS , Lot 048 MISS-fi.12]
[MTHS , Lot 048 MISS-fi.13]
[MTHS , Lot 048 MISS-fi.14]
[MTHS , Lot 048 MISS-fi.15]

08/20/2026

Another Blood Drive is coming to the Montana Heritage Center!

Monday, August 24 | 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mountain Bluebird Room

Your donation helps save lives! Book your appointment now at redcrossblood.org with code MHSMT or call 1-800-RED CROSS

Address

225 N Roberts Street
Helena, MT
59601

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5am
Thursday	9am - 6:30pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

(406) 444-2694

Website

http://mths.mt.gov/, https://montanamuseum.org/

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