John Mix Stanley sketch of Fort Benton, 1853, photo courtesy of distinctlymontana.com
A lone stranger walked into Fort Benton in 1856 carrying a sack of gold — then vanished. Who was John Silverthorne, where did he find it, and why did Montana’s pioneers spend decades arguing over his secret?
Web […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Sam Kitzenberg
The Legislator Who Crossed the Aisle: Sam Kitzenberg, a Glasgow, MT teacher-turned-Republican senator, served 14 years championing Hi-Line infrastructure, education, and the Fort Peck Fish Hatchery. In 2006 he switched parties, tipping Senate control to […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
John F. Kennedy Campaigns in Billings, September 25, 1963, less then 2 months before his assassination in Dallas, Texas.
17,000 Montanans packed the Yellowstone County Fairgrounds on Sept. 25, 1963, to hear President Kennedy speak on conservation and the newly ratified Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. It was his second Billings visit; the first came during his 1960 campaign. He was […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Two Moons (Credit: Northwestern University Library Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian, 2003, photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
Chief Two Moon (1847–1917), Northern Cheyenne war leader at Little Bighorn, surrendered to the U.S. Army in 1877, helped establish the Tongue River Reservation, and spent decades as a diplomat advocating for his people. See link below for full article.
Web […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
From Oklahoma exile to sovereign Montana homeland: the Northern Cheyenne refused removal, won back their land, fought corporate coal giants, and built a college to keep their language alive. Their story is one of the most powerful acts of persistence in […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Maurice Hilleman (1919–2005), circa 1958, as Chief of the Dept. of Virus Diseases. Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
From a Miles City farm to global medicine: Maurice Hilleman developed 40+ vaccines — including MMR and hepatitis B — saving an estimated 8 million lives annually. Montana’s greatest scientist remains one of history’s most impactful, least recognized figures […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
The Results are In... and the Winner is the Beer Car!
What a day! This past Tuesday, the Western Heritage Center officially held its Grand Re-opening, and the turnout was incredible despite the "breezy" Montana weather.
Web:
https://jdmotorforge.com/f/winner-winner-steak-dinner
#WorldHistory […]
Bannack was founded in 1862 when John White discovered gold on Grasshopper Creek. Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
In 1862, a Colorado prospector named John White found gold in a Montana creek, and the town of Bannack was born. Montana's first territorial capital, home to a controversial sheriff, vigilante justice, and over 60 preserved buildings, Bannack remains one of […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Nathaniel P. Langford abt. 1870. Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
Langford shaped Montana’s territorial era as gold-rush entrepreneur, tax collector, vigilante, and Yellowstone’s first superintendent – a man driven equally by public vision and private ambition, whose legacy remains as complex as the frontier he helped define […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Stone cold wonder: A petrified man pulled from Montana’s Missouri River in 1897 was marketed as murdered Civil War governor Thomas Meagher. The exhibit toured nationally before fading into obscurity – and the figure has never been found.
Web […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Thomas Cruse, photo courtesy of mtmemory.org.
From County Cavan to Montana millionaire, Thomas Cruse struck gold at the Drumlummon Mine, built a bank that survived the 1893 Panic, funded Helena’s Cathedral, and left a city transformed by immigrant grit and extraordinary generosity. For further reading see […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital, Glasgow, MT. Photo courtesy of KPAX TV via facebook.
The January 17, 2009 Glasgow, MT hospital parking lot shooting killed one woman and wounded two others. A six-hour manhunt ended with the gunman’s death. 106 responders were honored; eight officers received a White House Top Cops Award. For further reading see […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
A photo of Coates provided to Falcon Publishing for the biography, Honey Wine & Hunger Root, written in 1985 by Lee Rostad. Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org.
From a Kansas wheat farm to the Montana frontier, Grace Stone Coates wrote poetry and fiction that captured the raw beauty and isolation of the West -- and earned a spot in John Updike's Best American Short Stories of the Century. Discover her remarkable […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
I guess fire season is now officially underway. Photos of the Panama Fire along the interstate near Cardwell today.
#WorldHistory
#USHistory
#MTHistory
#Montana
#History
#BSTS
#Fourosix
#MontanaToday
#histodons
http://www.crow-nsn.gov/
"Sovereign Ground" traces the Apsaalooke (Crow) people of Montana from their origins through treaty-era land loss, federal policy battles, and cultural endurance, highlighting key leaders and the tribe's ongoing sovereignty. See link below for further reading […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Yellowstone’s Acidic Echinus Geyser Is Erupting Again For the First Time in Years
The eruptions began in early February. It’s unknown whether the eruptions will continue into the busy summer tourism season, but it’s a reminder that Yellowstone is an ever-changing, dynamic landscape.
Web […]
Powell 'Pike' Landusky grave in Phillips County MT. Photo courtesy of findagrave.com
Pike Landusky, a Missouri-born frontiersman, prospected gold in Montana’s Little Rockies, founding the town bearing his name. Killed in 1894 by outlaw Kid Curry, his discoveries shaped the region’s mining history and Indigenous land disputes for generations […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Copper Village Museum and Arts Center, photo courtesy of cvmac.org.
The Copper Village Museum in Anaconda, MT occupies an 1895 Victorian City Hall saved from demolition. Founded in 1971 by Sister Joeann Daley to heal post-strike community divisions, it now preserves the region’s copper industry history and fosters local arts […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
First grizzly of 2026 spring season spotted March 9 in Yellowstone’s northern backcountry, scavenging a bison carcass. Males emerge in early March; females with cubs in April–May. Visitors warned to carry bear spray and stay 100 yards away.
Web […]
C.W. "Shorty" Young, photo courtesy of MSU-Northern.
Shorty Young, a 5’2”, arrived penniless in Havre, MT in 1895 and built a frontier empire spanning saloons, gambling halls, brothels, underground tunnels, and a bootlegging operation along the Canadian border. He outmaneuvered law enforcement for decades […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Aaron Hedges, photo courtesy of montanarightnow.com.
Lost in the Crazies:
The Disappearance and Death of Aaron Joseph Hedges in the Crazy Mountains of Montana
INTRODUCTION
The Crazy Mountains of south-central Montana occupy a singular place in the landscape of the American West. Rising more than 7,000 feet […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Simon Pepin, photo courtesy of findagrave.com
Simon Pepin and the Making of Northern Montana:
Contractor, Cattleman, and Civic Architect
INTRODUCTION
The development of northern Montana during the latter half of the nineteenth century was the work of a relatively small number of individuals who arrived […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
FRANCOIS FINLAY (BENETSEE):
THE METIS TRAPPER WHO SET MONTANA'S GOLD ERA IN MOTION
INTRODUCTION
Among the many individuals who shaped the early history of what is now the state of Montana, few occupy a position more historically significant -- or more persistently overlooked -- than Francois […]
Camp Keewaydin, bull rakes and beaverslide stacking hay. Photo courtesy of mtmemory.org.
THE BEAVERSLIDE HAY STACKER: INVENTION, DIFFUSION, AND ENDURANCE IN MONTANA RANCHING HISTORY
INTRODUCTION
Few agricultural implements reflect the particular pressures of Montana's ranching environment as distinctly as the beaverslide hay stacker. Emerging […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Louis Riel, after a carte de visite from 1884. Photo courtesy wikipedia.org
Louis Riel and His Place in Montana History
INTRODUCTION
Louis Riel (1844-1885) occupies an unusual position in North American history. Revered in Canada as a founding father of Manitoba and a defender of Metis rights, he is simultaneously a figure whose […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
https://blackfeetnation.com/
THE BLACKFEET INDIAN RESERVATION:
HOMELAND, HISTORY, AND CONTINUITY IN NORTHWESTERN MONTANA
INTRODUCTION
In the far northwestern corner of Montana, where the Rocky Mountain Front surrenders its jagged ridgelines to the rolling, wind-scoured plains of the high […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
As filings close, Republican Steve Daines withdraws from U.S. Senate race
Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme is the only remaining Republican on the ballot. Tester lambasted exclusionary timing.
Web:
montanafreepress.org/2026/03/04/republican-u-... […]
Portrait of Brig. Gen. John Gibbon, officer of the Federal Army (Maj. Gen. from June 7, 1864) photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
Colonel John Gibbon and the Making of Montana:
Soldier, Commander, and Reluctant Witness to the Indian Wars
Introduction
The history of Montana Territory in the 1870s cannot be examined fully without confronting the figure of Colonel John Gibbon. From his […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
A rock formation in Makoshika State Park, Montana. photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
MAKOSHIKA STATE PARK:
DEEP TIME, DEEP HISTORY, AND THE PRESERVATION OF MONTANA’S BADLANDS
Situated on the southeastern edge of Glendive in Dawson County, Montana, Makoshika State Park occupies a singular place in both the natural and institutional history of […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Portrait of George Bird Grinnell from Nathaniel Pitt Langford's Diary of the Washburn Expedition to the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers in 1870 (1905), photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
George Bird Grinnell and the Making of Montana’s Conservation Legacy
Introduction
Among the figures who shaped the natural and cultural history of the American West, George Bird Grinnell occupies a position of remarkable consequence. Born in Brooklyn, New […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
