Bozeman Magazine

Atrocity Most Foul: An 1889 Murder Mystery

Rachel Phillips

On Sunday, March 3, 1889, a report of a most disturbing nature reached Bozeman authorities: a deceased woman was found at a homestead southwest of Bozeman. The Bozeman Courier reported on March 7, “... startling news was brought to the city…

Six Historically Significant Montana Pets

Liz Bischoff

This short list of historically significant pets in Montana gives us a glimpse of Montanans’ relationships with their pets over the history of this amazing state. There is a common theme of love and companionship, which concludes that all dogs…

Bozeman’s Best Friend: History Tails of Local Hounds

Rachel Phillips

Bozeman is, and was, a dog-loving community. For centuries before the town even existed, dogs were essential helpmates and companions to Native people living, hunting, and passing through the Gallatin Valley. More recently, when farms and ranches…

An Ultimate Road Trip

Steve McGann

“... And then the lights of Bozeman – the broad main street ablaze with power of brightness and abundant light...” The above quote comes from an odd little book; almost without sentences, it’s just daubs of phrases strung…

Bozeman Libraries Through the Years

Steve McGann

A well-known criminal was once asked why he robbed banks. He replied, “That’s where they keep the money.” My answer to why I spend so much time in libraries is similar; they are full of books. One of my best childhood memories is…

“I never intended to be a teacher.” Bessie Gee’s Story

Rachel Phillips

Occasionally, people embark on a rewarding, life-long career that was never part of their original plan. Educators like Margaret “Bessie” Gee fall into this category. Bessie was born in 1900 to Maude Morgan and Hugo John Gee on the family…

The Missouri River Breaks A Land of Visionary Enchantment

Ken Walcheck

To Meriwether Lewis, Esquire…. “The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principle streams of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregan (sic)…

In Search of Popcorn Johnnie

Rachel Phillips

The Gallatin History Museum research library contains thousands of family history files, photographs, records, newspapers, and books that pertain to the history of Gallatin County and southwest Montana. One of these books, Gallatin Century of…

MSU Bozeman Challenging Times

Lesley Gilmore

Our May 2023 article introduced the origins of Bozeman’s university now known as Montana State University (MSU), which will be referenced as such throughout this edition, which continues the story as MSU entered a period of immense growth after…

The Ground Squirrel Bounty Hunt of 1887

Rachel Phillips

“The following pages contain a list of all parties bringing squirrels to this office with the date, total number of squirrels and names of witnesses.” ~ Charles A. Carson, Probate Judge Among dozens of nineteenth and early twentieth…

Lewis and Clark’s Encounters With the “Turrible” White Bear

Ken Walcheck

The Missouri River, viewed by The Corps of Discovery as their flotilla entered Montana on April 27, 1805, was truly pristine and colorful, a great snag-toothed, twisting ribbon of water running free and wild as it surged through game-rich, verdant…

MSU Bozeman The Early Days

Lesley Gilmore

Montana State University is an integral part of Bozeman. Our largest employer, it’s our claim to fame (think NASA and robotics research), and a source of pride with regard to sports, academics, diversity, and alternative energy, among other…

Rosa Beall: A Founding Mother of Bozeman

Crystal Alegria

Rosa Beall is remembered as the first non-native woman to settle in the fledgling town of Bozeman, in 1864, but we would do Rosa a great disservice if we let her story end there. Contemporaries of Rosa’s urged her to write her life story…

An Emptiness No One Else Can Fill: The Stories Behind the Memorials

Rachel Phillips

May usually marks the changing of seasons and is a signal for us to begin summer activities and adventures after a long Montana winter. It is also a suitable time to stop and remember those we have lost as we celebrate Memorial Day. While cemeteries…

Barbed Wire’s Impact On The History Of The West

Ken Walcheck

It  was a crisp late October morning, many decades ago, as I followed a faint deer trail blanketed with smoky gold cottonwood leaves in a remote part of southeastern Montana bordering the Powder River. Further up the trail, I encountered a…

The Stories Buildings Tell: The Tilton

Crystal Alegria

A building holds many stories. Whether it’s a residence or a commercial building, people live their lives inside these places, giving life to the structure. That is certainly the case for the Tilton Building, a monumental commercial building…

A Brief History of Kirk Hill

Nature Trails For the Self-Instruction of Interested Persons

Rachel Phillips

Most Bozeman residents are familiar with the expression “Bozeman’s backyard,” which is used to describe the numerous national forest lands, trails, rivers, state parks, and other outdoor recreation opportunities within a short drive…

Women of Bozeman’s Historic Northside

Crystal Alegria

Bozeman’s north side has historically been the working-class side of town where the laborers and service workers lived, while the south side of Bozeman housed the capitalists, bankers, and business owners. The houses built on the north side…

The Tenacious Women of Bozeman’s Past

Marion Jackman

In downtown Bozeman, next to the courthouse stands the Gallatin History Museum, a lovely brick building that preserves the area’s past. In honor of Women’s History Month, I interviewed the amazing women who work there, and asked each of…

Sidney Edgerton: Father of Montana?

Steve McGann

Look at a map of the western United States. Almost all of the borders are straight lines. Some of the states are nearly square; Wyoming and Colorado definitely, North and South Dakota nearly, New Mexico and Utah, close. Rivers form some boundaries:…

A Brief History of Bozeman Movie Theaters

And that's the way we went to the movies

Rachel Phillips

Who doesn’t love the classic date night of dinner and a movie? For over a century, people of all ages have flocked to movie theaters for an entertaining evening out. In honor of the generations of Bozemanites who frequented our community movie…

Breaking Down Barriers: Lizzie Williams A Black Entrepreneur of Early Bozeman

Crystal Alegria

An early Bozeman resident who should have a place in our local historical narrative but does not is Lizzie Williams, a Black woman who lived in Bozeman from 1869 to 1875. Though tragic, her story tragic is at times heart-warming, and always…

Bozeman’s Legendary Ice Rinks & Sledding Hills

Leather Straps and Loose Runners

Rachel Phillips

Long before downhill meccas like Bridger Bowl and Big Sky broke onto the scene, local families flocked to popular skating rinks and sledding hills for easy, convenient outdoor winter recreation. Neighborhood parks and inexpensive or homemade…

Paper Trail: A New Look at Historical School Census Records

photographer, author by Seth Ward

The Montana Constitution mandates that the number of children in each school district be considered as a factor “in making adjustments to the funding formula” for public education. Going back 130 years, a census of all children living in…

Christmas Day 1866

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…

Bachelors’ Party on Bozeman Creek

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…

Julia Martin And Her Generosity of Spirit

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…

Favorite Holiday Fare from Bozeman Days Gone By

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…

Ghosts Walk in Virginia City

It’s October, which means the fall decorations have made an appearance, most of them dealing with the Halloween theme. Halloween now ranks second, just behind Christmas, for the amount of money spent on decorations and other paraphernalia for…

Architectural Apparitions: Downtown Bozeman Ghost Signs

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…

The Montana Gin Marriage Law In Gallatin County

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…

Bozeman | The Sweet Pea City

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…

Little Bear Schoolhouse: Journey into the Past

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…

Gary Cooper | Artist, Prankster, Horseman and Actor

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…

The Life of Montana Legacy

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…

A Slight Taste of Disaster: Gallatin County’s 1925 Earthquake

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…

Bozeman Women First in Yellowstone

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…

The Epic Yellowstone Fires of 1988

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…

Threads of History: The Gallatin County Tapestry Project

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…

Bozeman Actors USO Tour of Asia

Kevin Brustuen

The Montana College Players, part of the theatre program at what is today’s MSU, were selected by the USO (United Service Organization) to be part of its 1962 Tour of Asia. This was a special honor and testament to the high-quality theatre in…

Gallatin History Museum: An Amazing Place To Do Research

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…

We Sang Our Song: Early Bozeman Poets

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…

Edith Freeman and the Art of Woodblock Printing

Kelly Hartman

Early in my work at the Gallatin History Museum, I stumbled upon a print in our basement amongst many other paper works. This one stood out to me, because I too am a printmaker. I had never seen anything quite like it; the colors were…

Bozeman’s Historic African American Community

Crystal Alegria

At the time of Bozeman’s founding in 1864, the United States was in the throes of the Civil War. Due to the war and the discovery of gold, people were fleeing the States and looking for refuge and fortune in the Territories, including Montana…

‘Til Death Do Us Part: Stories of Romance in the Gallatin County

Kelly Hartman

Housed in the collection of the Gallatin History Museum is a box full of ornate vintage Valentine’s Day cards, many of them collected and donated by Mrs. Myrtle Hollier Cheever to the museum in the early days of its existence in 1986. This…

Beneath Our Feet: A Full History of the Bozeman Tunnel

Rachel Phillips

The first Northern Pacific passenger train steamed into Bozeman on March 21, 1883 to much celebration and fanfare. It represented Bozeman’s shift from an isolated frontier town to a city with great potential for growth, now connected to the…