Bozeman Magazine

Remarkable Bozeman Women

Standing Tall & Strong

Rachel Phillips

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements and contributions of all American women. Throughout history, countless local ladies have lent their expertise, talents, and time to make our region and community a better…

Popular Bozeman “Hangout” Restaurants of the 20th Century

Pizza, Tomato Soup and Peanut Butter Pie

Rachel Phillips

From sit-down restaurants to soda fountains, Bozeman has been home to a great variety of tasty hangouts over the past one hundred years. Nothing compares to greasy, finger-licking comfort food, sweet treats, and servers who know your name and your…

The Lasting Legacies of Walter Cooper

Prospector, Freighter, Entrepreneur, Inventor, Public Leader, Empire Builder

Cindy Shearer

Walter Cooper was born Independence Day, 1843, in Sterling, New York, the third of six sons to Andrew and Sarah Cooper. By 1845 they had moved to Shiawassee County, Michigan, where tragedy struck the family in 1851 when a boat carrying Andrew and a…

History of Theater in Gallatin County

Kevin Brustuen

In 1885, the Bozeman Weekly Chronicle reported that the Mountain Pink itinerant acting company gave it as their opinion that Bozeman was behind in its appreciation of theatrical talent, by reason of the lukewarm reception the company had received…

A Chambers-Fisher Company Christmas

Rachel Phillips

In November and December of 1955, the local newspapers were filled with large advertisements from Chambers-Fisher Company. Sometimes comprising an entire page, these ads featured illustrations of popular Christmas gifts and catchy phrases like:…

Sixteen Names on a Plaque

The Mortal Toll of the First World War at Montana State College

Just inside the main west entry of the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse is a plaque at the top of which is the text:  “THESE STUDENTS OF MONTANA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS GAVE THEIR LIVES IN DEFENSE OF HUMANITY IN THE GREAT…

Top 10 Montana’s Most Haunted

Sarah Cairoli

Bozeman Paranormal Society is a historical ghost investigation group composed of people who are very passionate about the paranormal. BPS investigates reports of paranormal activity using cameras and more technical equipment, like ghost boxes which…

Doing Their Bit: Bozeman Women and WWI

Rachel Phillips

This fall marks the one hundredth anniversary of the end of World War I. The Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, bringing hope to millions that the misery and heartbreak of the Great War was nearly over. Though the United States was only…

Symbolism in Bozeman’s Sunset Hills Cemetery

As the leaves begin to change, the days shorten, and fall approaches, it is a perfect time to pay a visit to Sunset Hills Cemetery located at the south side of Lindley Park. The historic section of the cemetery is a perfect place to take a stroll and…

Gallatin Agricultural History

Cindy Shearer

With increasing conversations about growth and development, we should not forget our agricultural heritage, and the sustaining benefits we continue to enjoy today, including our scenic views and open spaces.The earliest explorers remarked about the…

Historic Rural Schoolhouses At Risk

Montana is well known for its breathtaking mountain views, majestic lakes, and vast expanses of open prairie, but an ongoing study is honing in on a particular type of building often seen within those iconic landscapes – the country…

Wheeling & Dealing: Bozeman’s Car Dealerships of Yesterday

Rachel Phillips

At the turn of the twentieth century, automobiles began puttering around Gallatin Valley roadways, their drivers bouncing up and down over rut-filled, unpaved streets. In 1905, Sam Mendenhall (future Bozeman City Manager and son of pioneer John…

Hunter's Hot Springs

The Forgotten Opulence of a Bygone Era

Cindy Shearer

Long before any emigrants came to the Northwest, Native Americans would carry their sick to the place that would later become known as Hunter’s Hot Springs, 20 miles east of Livingston, to bathe in and drink the hot and healing waters. The hot…

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Letters, documents, and books; oh my! Special Collections and Archival Informatics at Montana State University Library recently acquired a trove of material about Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM), collected by…

Calamity Jane Dries Out in Bozeman

Rachel Phillips

Livingston News - “Calamity Jane is in town again. She entered a certain newspaper office in this city this morning and wanted to know where the dirty cur was who said she was in the poor house. She wanted it clearly understood that…she…

Exploring History on Bozeman’s Trails

Else Trygstad-Burke

I think about history quite a bit when I am running in Bozeman and on its surrounding trails. There is something very special about living in a place where the county’s history is visible everywhere you go. This article, intended for both…

More than 27 Dresses Wedding Attire from 1881-1992

Kelly Hartman

In a clothing collection that contains over 250 dresses, 16 percent, or about 40 pieces, are wedding attire. These outfits date from the late 1800s through the 1990s and show how fashion has changed over time.  The wonderful thing about the…

Drink to the Health of the Pioneers

The formation of the Gallatin County Pioneer Society and the Sons and Daughters of Gallatin County Pioneers

Kelly Hartman

We the undersigned citizens of Gallatin County and State of Montana, for the purpose of forming a closer union and a renewal of formal fraternal associations of the old Settlers, and to perpetuate memories and to do homage to the sturdy men and women…

Bozeman's History: A Love Story

Else Trygstad-Burke

In the later part of her life, Mrs. Sarah J. Tracy (the wife of William H. Tracy) stated that “My love of our town has grown with the years, and I think of it always by the name Davis Willson used to call it: ‘Bozeman the…

Multitudes of Enthusiasm Celebrating a Gallatin Valley Christmas

Kelly Hartman

As the daylight begins to dim, citizens of Gallatin Valley can be found flowing in and out of auditoriums with their jackets pulled up about their ears; long woolen ones, silken-soft puffy ones, those newly purchased and those that have seen many…

That’s Not What I Was There For: Ray Lau’s Story

Rachel Phillips

Since World War I, Montanans have been known for their military service. In honor of Veterans Day, I wanted to share some of Ray Lau’s experiences. Lau is a local Three Forks resident who grew up in Southwest Montana and served in the Pacific…

Montana History with a Modern Twist

Clubfoot George

Pat Hill

Clubfoot George met his fate at the end of a Vigilante Association’s hangman’s noose in Virginia City over 150 years ago, and last June, nearly 50 members of his family gathered in that old Montana mining town to remember their ancestor…

Life in Bear Canyon: Logs, Dancing & Steam Engines

Rachel Phillips

Today, Bear Canyon is generally quiet and peaceful. A dirt road gently winds up the canyon, passing homes, outbuildings, and barns. New World Gulch Trail begins where the road ends, leading adventurous hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers on a…

Bozemans Early Music Scene...and The Bands Played On

Cindy Shearer

From day one, music has been played in Bozeman. Local kids and ladies and cornet players entertained Bozeman residents in the city’s early years, and as Bozeman was changing from a frontier town to a civilized city, local music changed as…

Rainbow Land: A History of Bozeman Hot Springs

Rachel Phillips

It’s summer—time for locals and tourists alike to cool off in ponds, lakes, rivers, and city pools. Today, families flock to water recreation areas like Hyalite and the Madison River, or visit in-town options like the Bozeman Swim Center…

She's Wild: The Beginnings of the Bozeman Roundup

Rachel Phillips

It was the summer of 1919. The Elks Club was busy finalizing plans for their statewide convention—their first big meeting since gathering in Butte in 1916, just before World War I. The war had definitely put an end to large-scale entertainment…

Mysteries at the Madison Valley History Museum

Mary Biehl

This summer, when you’re feeling the urge to head out of town on a nice hot afternoon, maybe drive from Bozeman through Norris and head towards Ennis. On the way you may stop for a waterski jaunt around Ennis Lake, but if you head through Ennis…

Hyalite A Peak, A Reservoir, A Creek and Above All Else a True Gem

Cindy Shearer

A look back at the history of our special places gives us the opportunity to engage in new ways and deepen our appreciation of those areas. The Hyalite region is a great example of how our early settlers and citizens saw the area both for its…

Sedition in Gallatin County

Sugar, the Kaiser and Two Years Imprisonment

Kelly Hartman

On April 11, 1918 Frank McVey, a laborer from Illinois, stepped into a Logan restaurant, about 25 miles from Bozeman. His complaint about sugar and a comment in support of the Kaiser landed him in the local jail. He would spend the next three years…

Lewis and Clark Caverns Montana’s First State Park

From Private Tourism to National Monument to State Park

Cindy Shearer

We know that Native Americans did know of the caverns hundreds of years ago, as the stories of the steaming mountain are mentioned in their oral histories. Although the caverns are now named for Lewis and Clark, we also know that Lewis and Clark…

HE was a SHE Manhattan’s Sammy Williams

Rachel Phillips

Among the graves at Meadowview Cemetery, just south of Manhattan, Montana, sits a rather curious tombstone.  The inscription reads: “A female whose real name is unknown but who has been for many years known as Sammy Williams.  Died…

The Story of the Bozeman City Hall / Opera House in Three Acts

Cindy Shearer

If you can find a quiet time to sit in the little park on the southwest corner of Main and Rouse in Downtown Bozeman, and if you listen close enough, you might hear soft echoes from the past--jail cells clanging closed, fire bells ringing and quite…

Adolph Peterson: Jumping Skis, and the Development of Gallatin Valley Skiing

Rachel Phillips

Adolf Pedersen was born in Lillehammer, Norway on November 15, 1900. He and his family immigrated in 1915, joining his uncle who had immigrated in 1911. At Ellis Island, immigration officials wrote “Adolph Peterson,” after hearing his…

Bozeman’s Women’s Clubs-Advocacy since 1894

“In Numbers There is Strength”

Cindy Shearer

Advocacy, by definition is public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy. In today’s political climate it could be thought that the pressing issues of today, while important, are somehow new as well. If you consider 1894…

The Demon Douglass and the War Widow

Angie Ripple

In 1965, after years of AMC Sullivan Photo Company employees working around, and stumbling over, a bump in the basement floor of their business at 115 E Main St in Downtown Bozeman, they removed the protruding stone. When the stone was turned over…

Legendary Locals of Bozeman: Spooky Tales

Rachel Phillips

From its inception as a supply town during Montana’s gold rush in the 1860s, Bozeman has attracted visionaries, leaders, and pioneering thinkers. Now one of Montana’s fastest growing cities, Bozeman still retains elements of the past…

Historic Preservation in Bozeman?

Julia Strehlau-Jacobs

There are many fascinations with travelling abroad, including various languages, cultures, culinary food, and diverse architecture. Often times the architecture distinguishes a location through its old age. When thinking of Europe, the first…

Cover Artist: Augustus Koch

19th century cartographer

Augustus Koch was a 19th century cartographer who traveled the country for decades creating bird’s-eye views of towns and cities. He traveled to over twenty-three states producing fantastic aerial views of cities from Jacksonville, Florida, to…

Editors Note: Treasure Abounds

Angie Ripple

Thank you for picking up the September 2016 issue of Bozeman Magazine, our 112th issue! 9500 copies of this issue will be distributed to about 200 locations in the greater Bozeman area. We have included many articles in this issue highlighting the…

Gallatin Valley Female Seminary: Polite Education in the Early Gallatin Valley

Every fall for the last 150 years, school bells have been calling students back to their studies. None more so than down the valley to the Manhattan area settlements like Churchill and Amsterdam. However, the small settlement of Hamilton would even…

Bozeman - The Sweet Pea City

revised from August 2014 article

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…