May 2025
Kathleen Johns
In a season marked by cranes (building, not whooping), scaffolding, and quiet transformation, Downtown Bozeman is once again redefining itself. Along its ever-evolving Main Street, two of its most iconic architectural anchors are stepping into new…
May 2025
Rachel Phillips
In the spring of 1879, Flora Gardner traveled from Kansas to Bozeman with her family, via steamboat and wagon. Once settled in her new home, Flora sent a letter to friends in Kansas describing the trip’s adventures. This is the second of a…
April 2026
The Prettiest Place in the World
Rachel Phillips
In the spring of 1879, Flora Gardner traveled from Kansas to Bozeman with her family, via steamboat and wagon. Once settled in her new home, Flora sent a letter to friends in Kansas describing the trip’s adventures. This is the first of a…
April 2026
Steve McGann
Montana has an outstanding literary legacy. The names A B Guthrie, Norman MacLean, and Joseph Kinsey Howard come to mind. There are many more men on the list. A name not often mentioned is Dorothy M Johnson, most likely because she was a woman. Yet…
March 2026
Topher Sedlak
Three Forks, Montana 1974. Little Joe #77 works during the last week of electrification. Courtesy A. Burns at American Rails.
Behind a curtain of forest, at a spot called Ravenna, a lone building stares out in silence. Its red-brick body is a…
March 2026
Steve McGann
A quick study of the names used for places and features around our town—creeks, streets, mountain passes, businesses, a mountain range, and the city itself—would give the impression that persons named Bozeman and Bridger were the most…
March 2026
Rachel Phillips
With thousands of images in the Gallatin History Museum collection, it is easy to spot one that grabs your attention. Researching the story behind a photograph is a challenging but rewarding exercise that brings the image to life. One of the many…
March 2026
Lisa Vandenbos
Riding west on Interstate 90 one summer day in 2024 between Bozeman and Belgrade, I saw an extraordinary two-truck convoy of bridge girders. They were destined for a project going on in Yellowstone National Park. One of the many complicated aspects…
February 2026
Rachel Phillips
Walter and Mariam Skeels Cooper and their daughter, Mariam Cooper Bunker, were a fairly typical early Bozeman family. Like most, they experienced their shares of ups and downs. The letters, diaries, and photographs they left behind offer a glimpse…
January 2026
The Montana State College Ski Carnival
Rachel Phillips
In 1954, the Montana State College Ski Club introduced an event to celebrate the sport they loved, and to boost student morale. Held annually in January or February, the Ski Carnival was a welcome mid-season break for students. Activities and events…
