Montana The Magazine of Western History

01/06/2025

In 1966, Montana State University archaeologists excavated a mammoth near Lindsay, located in eastern Montana between Glendive and Circle, that yielded radiocarbon dates of around twelve thousand years ago, well before any Clovis people were known to inhabit North America. The question of whether humans killed the mammoth remains controversial, and many experts disagree about whether the Lindsay Mammoth site qualifies as an archaeological site or a paleontological site. The debate revolves around one question: Did people kill and/or butcher the mammoth at the site twelve thousand years ago or did the animal die of natural causes with no human predation? University of Montana archaeologist Douglas H. MacDonald explores this question in an excerpt in the recent Winter 2024 magazine based on his new book, “Land of Beginnings: The Archaeology of Montana’s First Peoples.” Need the book or the magazine? Contact the Montana Historical Society - Museum Store at 406 444-2890.

01/03/2025

Are you a graduate student, early career faculty member, or independent scholar? There is still time to enter Montana The Magazine of Western History's Emerging Scholar Article Contest! Deadline is January 5, 2025.
Details: https://mhspublications.submittable.com/submit?fbclid=IwY2xjawHk_uJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHacgfv2ANxq8jDqM2EkZtWygmJCIN9nhd9-z9tR37qdzMxuKu3Hg4tj9jQ_aem_A6vLWBFaRHHMQlhhjc7WwA

01/02/2025

Followers of The Magazine of Western History, it is time for a changing of the guard. After decades of service to this magazine and having run our social media accounts, our long-time business manager, Tammy Ryan, is headed for her well-deserved retirement. Tammy has long been the person behind the scenes of our page writing posts, finding photographs, and corresponding with our followers. We’ll miss her steady hand on the social-media tiller, and we wish her the best. We’ll keep bringing you great content and highlighting stimulating material from our magazine.
The cover of the Autumn 1988 issue was her first as business manager.

12/31/2024

We're bringing back an old one...Happy New Year 2025!

12/31/2024

Wishing you a Happy New Year and hoping that health rides herd! Western artist Charlie Russell penned this New Year’s greeting in 1916 for his friend Eli V. Rubottom who operated a painting and wallpaper hanging service in Great Falls. [MTHS Museum Collection X1980.08.01]

12/30/2024

The due date is near! If you are a graduate student, early career faculty member, or independent scholar, you may want to enter Montana The Magazine of Western History's Emerging Scholar Article Contest. The deadline is January 5, 2025 and the details are here: https://bit.ly/3xHD3qW

12/27/2024

Cody Dodge Ewert is an associate editor for Montana The Magazine of Western History and the Montana Historical Society Press. Originally from Power, Montana, he received BA and MA degrees from the University of Montana before earning a PhD from New York University, all in history. He has published several articles and a book on American educational history. His most recent research focuses on music and popular culture in Montana. Cody is pictured here holding the Winter 2024 magazine containing his article “The Party’s Over: Campus Culture and Missoula’s 1979 Kegger Controversy” where he depicts the campus culture of the era—and the end of the Aber Day Kegger. Want to read the article? You can find it at many libraries, purchase the magazine by calling the Montana Historical Society - Museum Store (406) 444-2890, or find it Rockin Rudy's Attic or at Fact and Fiction Books in .

12/25/2024

Holiday Greetings from us to you!
[MTHS Postcard Collection, PC 001.Greetings-Christmas-Bells, International Art Publishing Co. photographer, between 1907-1915]

12/23/2024

Just before Christmas 1903, Charles M. Russell appeared at the North Side Fire Station, which was located on the same block as his Great Falls home and studio, carrying a small plaque with two wax-modeled horse heads in the likeness of the two fire horses at the station and the greeting “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 1903.’ Russell liked the horses and visited them frequently. For many years, the plaque remained at the station before being turned over to the fire chief, Harry Trodick. In 1970, Trodick copyrighted the original model and negotiated a limited-edition casting agreement with the Montana Historical Society. As part of the agreement, the Society retained this bronze for its collection. [Nig and Coalie, bronze, 4-1/4” H x 8” W x 3-1/4” D. The original wax sculpture was modeled by Russell in 1903. This bronze is number 30 of 30 cast by the Avnet-Shaw Foundry in 1971. Gift of Harry Trodick to the MTHS Museum Collection, X1977.04.01]

Source: https://app.mt.gov/shop/mhsstore/search?q=Montana%27s+Charlie

12/19/2024

You might enjoy a stroll to the Montana Historical Society - Museum Store. It is at its temporary location in downtown Helena.

We are located in Downtown Helena on The Walking Mall.
Find us in the historic Securities Building, 101 N Last Chance Gulch.
Right next to the Bullwhacker Statue.
You may also shop online https://app.mt.gov/shop/mhsstore

12/18/2024

How well do you know Montana? Can you guess where this picture was taken and what event was happening? (The answer is in the comments.)

12/17/2024

Whitefish, Montana, takes its name, so the story goes, from area trappers in the mid-1850s who found plentiful native whitefish in nearby Whitefish Lake. During the late 1880s, lumbermen began harvesting timber around the lake, to be processed in Kalispell’s mills. The logs were transported to the mills via Whitefish Lake, the Whitefish River, and the Flathead River. Although a community began to develop between 1890 and 1892, the town was not platted until 1903, when the Great Northern Railway decided to reroute its main line from Columbia Falls to Rexford, bypassing Kalispell. The new town of Whitefish became a division point. Clearing the wooded townsite left a number of stumps, prompting the nickname “Stump Town.” Whitefish incorporated in 1905. Timber and farming were Whitefish’s primary industries for its first half century. Today the nearby Whitefish Mountain Resort, formerly called Big Mountain Ski Resort, begun in 1947, is a mainstay of the area’s economy. Elevation: 3,029 ft. Location: Flathead County Latitude 48.41110992 Longitude -114.33666992
[Winter carnival parade, Central Avenue, Whitefish, c. 1965, Lacy Studios, photographer, MTHS 951-732]
Source: https://app.mt.gov/shop/mhsstore/montana-place-names-from-alzada-to-zortman-10

12/13/2024

Happy National Day of the Horse! Evelyn Cameron captured this photograph of Al Wright posing with an imported Shire stallion, owned by Alfred Wright, John Mothershead, and the Undem brothers, circa 1905. (PAc 90-87.G009-004, MTHS )
Source: https://app.mt.gov/shop/mhsstore/evelyn-camerons-montana-postcards-from-the-montana-historical-society-7

12/12/2024

Charles M. Russell often included horses in his art. “Lone Warrior” (Plate 144) is formed out of wax, wood, metal, string, and paint. He sculpted a number of pieces featuring a single Native American male astride a horse. He often used such models to aid in his painting—to help with the placement of figure in the compositions and to find the appropriate lighting and shadows. In 1955, the Montana Historical Society arranged to have Sculpture House Foundry of New York produce a limited edition of twenty bronze casts of “Lone Warrier.” The Society retained number 17 for its collection (Plate 145), and the remainder were sold to the public. Number 16 (Plate 146) came to the Society in 2006 as part of the Ed Craney Collection donated by the Greater Montana Foundation.

Plate 144: “Lone Warrior”
Wax, before 1900, 4-3/4” H x 5-1/2" W x 2-1/2” D
Gift of Spencer R. McCullock, X1954.04.01

Plate 145: “Lone Warrior”
Bronze, 6-1/2” H x 6-1/2 W x 5-1/4” D
This bronze is number 17 of 20.
MTHS Museum Collection, X1955.02.01

Plate 146: “Lone Warrior”
Bronze, 6-1/2” H x 6-1/2 W x 5-1/4” D
This bronze number 16 came to the MTHS Museum Collection as part of the Ed Craney Collection, gift of the Greater Montana Foundation, 2006.38.27.

Source of information: https://app.mt.gov/shop/mhsstore/search?q=Montana%27s+charlie

12/10/2024

You may want to check out the Montana Historical Society - Museum Store, located at its temporary location at 101 N. Last Chance Gulch, in Helena. They are also online here: https://app.mt.gov/shop/mhsstore/

Come see our amazing selection in beautiful downtown Helena. Located at 101 North Last Chance Gulch on the Walking Mall.

12/10/2024

Centennial celebrations often inspire quiltmakers to create beautiful projects including this commemorative quilt that celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the Montana Wool Growers. To read more, you can find this quilt and the history of many others in “Border to Border: Historical Quilts and Quiltmakers of Montana” written by Annie Hanshew. It can be ordered here and would make a great gift for that quilter in your life! https://app.mt.gov/shop/mhsstore/search?q=border+to+border
[Montana Woolgrowers Women, 1983, 1984.59.01, 80” x 80” wool]

12/07/2024

As waves of Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the 8th Territorial Governor of Hawaii, Joseph Poindexter who had previously served in several public offices in Montana, telephoned President Roosevelt to confirm the news. Poindexter went on to place the territory under martial law. Hawaiians later dealt with a rogue “vigilance committee” which monitored civilian actions. By the end of the war, over 15,000 Montana men and women were casualties of the war. Here's a link to enlistment cards https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/12945 You might recognize some names!
[Portrait of Joseph Poindexter, unidentified photographer, no date, MHS ]