Montana History Museums

Fort Yellowstone Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District

Historic Fort Yellowstone Online Tour

Yellowstone National Park  [Photo Gallery]  [History]

Beaverhead County Museum

Housed inside a log building complex, the museum is devoted to the preservation and display of the local history of Beaverhead County, Montana.  Featuring an authentic homesteader cabin, mining equipment, a one room schoolhouse, and historical artifacts of local historic interest, the museum is located at 15 S. Montana Street in Dillon, MT.

BHC Museum

The Big Horn County Museum is an historic complex of buildings featuring historical artifacts, and exhibits related to the history of the county.  The complex becomes a living history museum during special events and buildings include a 1906 railroad depot, a 1930s gas station, a stage coach station, and others.  Located on Third Street in Hardin, MT.

Chief Plenty Coups Museum State Park

The site offers an electronic field trip which explores the life of Chief Plenty Coups, great leader of the Crow Indian tribe who left his home as a museum.  [Chief Plenty Coups State Park Site]

Custer Battlefield Museum   [Exhibits] 

Located on the site of "The Battle of the LIttle Bighorn", the museum featuring exhibits of Indian and Cavalry artifacts related to the Battle of Little Bighorn, Plains Indian culture and frontier life is located in Garryowen, Montana.  Visitors to the site will be able to view the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Peace Monument.

Fort Benton Restoration Project   [History]

Daniels County Museum and Pioneer Town

[History]  [Photo Gallery]

Over 35 historical buildings situated on 20 acres, make up the pioneer town of the early 1900s.  Devoted to the history of Daniels County, the museum features historical artifacts, antique cars, farm machinery, and an archives.  Located at 7 W. County Road in Scobey, MT.

1880's Ranch

Conrad Mansion Museum

Completed in 1895, the mansion features 26 rooms in over 13,000 square feet.  The mansion has been restored and holds original furnishings.  Open seasonally for guided tours.  Located on Woodland Avenue between 3rd and 4th streets in the East Side Historic District of Kalispell, MT.

Glacier National Park

Hockaday Museum of Art

Focused on the art and culture of Montana and Glacier National Park.  Located at 302 Second Avenue East in Kalispell, MT.

Museum at Central School

The Northwest Montana Historical Society operates the museum which is housed inside the old 1894 Central School building.  The museum offers local history of Northwest Montana through exhibits and displays including Native American culture, Montana pioneers, the timber industry, early Kalispell and early Demersville.  124 2nd Avenue East in Kalispell, MT.

The museum is inside the old county jail built in 1911.  Housing the Gallatin Historical Society, the museum offers exhibits depicting the history of the Gallatin Valley along with a Genealogy Library.  Located at 317 Main Street in Bozeman, MT.

Garfield County Museum

Focused on the history of Garfield County, Montana, the museum features historical artifacts donated by the people of Garfield County.  Located at the corner of 7th & Columbia in Pomeroy, MT.

Musselshell Valley Historical Museum   [Exhibits]

The museum offers a place to glimpse the past of Golden Valley County, Montana where cowboys roamed the old west.  Exhibits include a replica of a mine shaft, a country school, general store, blacksmith shop and log cabin among others.  Located at 524 First Street West in Roundup MT.

Grand Lodge Ancient Free & Accepted Masons Museum

Montana's Museum   [Research at the Archives]

Montana State Capitol 

Constructed in 1902, the lovely capitol building, featuring many public artworks, may be toured at 1301 E. Sixth Avenue in Helena, MT.

Focus is on the history of Libby, Lincoln County and surrounding region.  Located on US Highway 2 at the southern of Libby, MT.

Take a step back into the days of the old west when there were cowboys and cattle drives.  Featuring over 7000 square feet of exhibits and artifacts, visitors can tour an original log cabin, a one room country school, a general store and more.  The latest exhibit is the Aviation Exhibit complete with a 1932 Pietenpol airplane.  Located at 524 First Street West in Roundup, MT.

Focused on the historical, natural, and cultural heritage of Phillips County, the Phillips County Museum offers fascinating exhibits on dinosaurs, outlaws, homesteaders, cowboys and Indians. Next door to the Museum you can visit the beautifully restored H. G. Robinson House and Gardens, a historic kit house built in 1903.  Located at 431 US Hwy 2 E. in Malta, MT.

Housed inside the 1900 Ravalli County Courthouse, which served the county until 1979, the museum features a fine collection of Native American artifacts, the Rocky Mountain Laboratory exhibit, historical artifacts, early household items, antiques and memorabilia related to the history of Ravalli County, Montana.  Located at 205 Bedford Street in Hamilton, MT.

Historic Sites

The MonDak Heritage Center Museum & Art Gallery has two art galleries used for local and traveling art shows. Visitors can experience frontier life by walking down main street Sidney as it was at the turn of the century in the historical exhibits. The MonDak is located at 120 3rd Ave SE in Sidney, MT.

Butte Archives

The Butte Archives is housed in the old Quartz Street Fire Station erected in 1900.  The archives holds historical documents, photos and research materials for the genealogist or history buff.

Mai Wah Museum Exhibit

Relating the story of the Butte Chinese Experience.  Thousands of Asians came to Montana between 1860 and 1940.  The society is working to restore the Wah Chong Tai and Mai Wah buildings which are the only historical buildings remaining from one of the largest Chinatowns in America.  17 W. Mercury Street, Butte, MT.

Piccadilly Transportation Museum

The museum offers a collection of memorabilia representing the golden age of motoring.  Located at 20 West Broadway in Butte, MT.

World Museum of Mining 

Explore a recreation of an old mining town "Hell Roarin' Gulch", learn about the history of mining in Montana and visit an historic mine site.  155 Museum Way, Butte, MT.

Museum of the Beartooths

Operated by the Stillwater Historical Society, the museum brings the past alive through documents, artifacts and photographs.  Located at 440 E. 5th Avenue North in Columbus, MT.

Crazy Mountain Museum

The museum features displays of historical artifacts, historic documents, photographs and a research area for those seeking history and ancestors.  Located south of Big Timber on Cemetery Road.

Wibaux Museum

Housed in the old 1892 office building of Pierre Wibaux, the museum collection contains many antiques and historic artifacts from the pioneer days of Wibaux.  Located at 112 E. Orgain Avenue in Wibaux, MT.

Huntley Project Museum of Irrigated Agriculture

The museum located in Huntley, MT tells the story of homesteaders who transformed the valley from a prairie desert to lush farmlands.  The exhibits include an early homestead with barn and outbuildings and a museum center with interactive exhibits allowing the visitor to learn the history of homesteading and farm life in early Montana.  Two old homesteads are included:  The restored 1908 Dalzell house and the DeGraaff homestead.

Moss Mansion   [History & Genealogy of the Moss Family]

This historic house museum in Billings, Montana, was designed by Henry Janeway Harednbergh and built in 1903 of red sandstone.  Offered are a one hour guided tour exhibiting the early turn-of-the-century life of the Preston Boyd Moss family.

Western Heritage Center

Located in Billings, Montana, this history museum's goal is to tell the stories of the Yellowstone River Valley people.  Part of this program is the American Tribal Histories Project which focuses on preserving American Indian tribal history and culture.  Featured, are stories shared by the Crow and Northern Cheyenne American Indians.  The Western Heritage Center contains a collection of over 16,000 artifacts and over 1000 photos which depict the history of the Yellowstone River Valley residents.

Museum Index for Other States

Montana Census Records