August 2022
Angie Ripple
Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley have been known as the valley of the flowers since only native Americans roamed the area. In the early 1900’s over 17,000 acres of the valley were planted in edible peas harvested both for canning and seed. In…
August 2022
Lesley Gilmore
With its log walls, wood shingle roofing, wood floor, dusty chalkboard, tracked desks, and iron woodstove, the Little Bear Schoolhouse in Gallatin Gateway looks just as it did when the last teacher locked the door in 1950. The greatest change is that…
August 2022
Rachel Phillips
Connoisseurs of classic American film may recognize the young man pictured here on the right with the mischievous look. Though not a true Bozeman native, actor Gary Cooper was a Bozeman resident for two years and graduated from Gallatin County High…
July 2022
Lesley Gilmore
“Life of Montana” conjures something larger than life and bigger than Montana. Although the Life of Montana Insurance Company was not too big to fail, its signature building at the outskirts of Bozeman remains as testimony…
July 2022
Rachel Phillips
It was a typical summer Saturday evening in Manhattan, Montana. Some families gathered around the dinner table as other folks made their way to the dance at Legion Hall. In Three Forks, the McDonald clan welcomed Belgrade relatives for dinner to…
June 2022
Rick Gale
One of my most memorable seasons in Yellowstone was in 1988. The fires of ’88 burned 1.4 million acres in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and 36% (793,880 acres) of Yellowstone National Park. These fires were the result of environmental and…
June 2022
Bozeman women began visiting Yellowstone Park while the ink was still drying on President Grant’s signature on the bill that created it in 1872. By then many of the men who came to Montana for the gold rush had returned to the states to…
May 2022
Kelly Hartman
Last summer, the Gallatin History Museum debuted an exhibit showcasing 35 hand embroidered panels. Each panel gave a brief glimpse of the history that shaped Gallatin County, and each was completed by a current or former Gallatin County resident…
April 2022
Rachel Phillips
The art of writing poetry has a long history in Bozeman. Early local amateur poets created work inspired by people, events, and places in Gallatin County, or to amuse their friends and neighbors. The Gallatin History Museum archives contain several…
April 2022
Many people do not realize that Gallatin County has an amazing history museum in the old Gallatin County Jail, next door to the Courthouse on Main Street. Some wonderful pieces of history have been donated to the Museum by people whose families have…