December 2022
You Are Cordially Invited to the Opening of Bozeman's New City Hotel
Crystal Alegria
If you walked down Bozeman’s Main Street on Christmas Day in 1866, you would witness the opening celebration of the City Hotel. The first formal hotel in Bozeman, it was owned and operated by George and Elmyra Frazier along with their business…
December 2022
Reprinted from the Montana Daily Record, Saturday, December 19, 1903 With additions by Rachel Phillips
Rachel Phillips
That Christmas of 1874, when the bachelors on Bozeman Creek were given the time of their lives, occupies a unique place among the annals of the Gallatin Valley. To begin with, it was the first Christmas celebration that part of the valley [south of…
November 2022
Crystal Alegria
Whenever the Thanksgiving holiday comes around, Julia Martin and her famous Thanksgiving dinners are brought to mind. One of Bozeman’s early matriarchs and community caretakers, Julia Martin holds an honored place in our historical memory as…
November 2022
Rachel Phillips
Food is one of the highlights of the holiday season. Many families have a favorite meal, dish, or dessert they look forward to each year. Today, it is a snap to hop in a car, drive to one of our many grocery stores, and find the ingredients needed…
October 2022
Rachel Phillips
You can find ghosts in some of the nooks and crannies in downtown Bozeman, if you know where to look. Ghost signs, that is. Wikipedia defines a “ghost sign” as “an old hand-painted advertising sign that has been preserved on a…
September 2022
The Gallatin County Clerk didn’t issue a single wedding license in July and August of 1935—and that wasn’t normal. In fact, there were 46 licenses issued in those months in 1934, and 52 in 1935. The reason was Montana’s new…
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
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…
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…
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…
