Montana

Discover through historic postcards how Butte, Montana went from a small placer gold mining camp to and on to become “The Richest Hill on Earth.”

Butte, Montana, began in 1864 as a small placer gold mining camp. By 1870, the placer deposits were depleted, and most miners left. A few remaining miners found significant silver ore in the nearby quartz lodes, but by the late 1870s, copper was the major ore in the district, and Butte became “The Richest Hill on Earth.” Thousands of immigrants came to Butte from throughout Europe to operate the underground mines, and the city grew to an unofficial estimate of about 90,000 residents in 1917–1918. The population of Butte slowly declined to about 35,000 residents when fewer miners were necessary after open-pit mining began in 1955. Today, Butte remains a city of great character and cultural diversity. The postcards in this book illustrate some of its history.

A history of racing under the Big Sky

For centuries, on prairie grasslands, dusty streets and racing ovals, everyday Montanans participated in the sport of kings. More than a century after horses arrived in the region, Lewis and Clark’s Nez Perce guides staged horse races at Traveler’s Rest in 1806. In response to hazardous street races, the Montana legislature granted communities authority to ban “immoderate riding or driving.” Helena led the way to respectable racing, with Madam Coady’s fashion course hosting the first territorial fair in 1868. Soon, leading citizens like Marcus Daly built oval tracks and glitzy grandstands. By 1890, a horse named Bob Wade set a world record for a quarter mile in Butte, a mark that stood until 1958.

Horsewoman and historian Brenda Wahler highlights the Big Sky’s patrons of the turf and courageous equine champions, including Kentucky Derby winner Spokane.

With a ghostly twist on history, historian and award-winning author Ellen Baumler captures Montana’s cultural heritage and brings the state’s supernatural past to life.

Montana’s past embodies the rough, unforgiving and often vicious nature of the old Wild West. Unscrupulous gold camps and railroad expansion attracted the good, bad and ugly from all across the Union and as far as China. Many a soul shed blood under the Big Sky, leaving restless spirits to linger.

Discover the famous cowboy artist who refuses to leave his Missoula home. Exhume the truth behind Stormit Butte, investigate the mystery at Brush Lake and become enraptured with the firsthand account of a Browning rancher’s attempts at reconciliation with the ghost of a murdered Chinese rail laborer.

“Ellen Baumler explores hauntings across the state with the suspenseful voice of a campfire storyteller.” —Missoula Independent

Pondera County, located in north central Montana, was Blackfeet territory prior to the arrival of fur traders beginning in 1848.

The Blackfeet Indian Reservation was established in 1851 and forms the westernmost portion of present-day Pondera County. The Montana Territory was established in 1864, with the area originally being included in the vast Choteau County with Fort Benton as its county seat. The 1880s brought cattlemen and sheepherders, with Montana becoming a state in 1889. The Carey Land Act of 1894, subsequent amendments to the act in 1909 and 1912, and newly built railroads brought homesteaders and businesses to what would become Pondera County in 1919. Pondera County has a rich history of Blackfeet Indians, fur traders, trading posts, the Whoop-Up Trail and Riplinger Trail to Alberta, stagecoaches, mule trains, cattlemen, sheepherders, homesteaders, the Great Falls–Canada Railroad, and the Great Northern Railroad. Communities and towns established in Pondera County have included Fort Conrad, Robare, Willow Rounds, Pondera, Dupuyer, Conrad, Valier, Heart Butte, Williams, Manson, Fowler, Sollid, Brady, Ledger, Lytle, and Lucille. Most communities are still in existence.

Uncovering Uniquely Montanan Stories

More than steamboats and famous explorers, Great Falls’s history is colored with compelling episodes nearly lost to the ages. Glacial Lake Great Falls changed the course of the Missouri River while carving fascinating geological features like Lost Lake, the Big Sag, and Lewis and Clark’s Slaughter River. Copper from Butte mines, Anaconda smelters, and Great Falls refineries wired the world and helped win the World Wars. Landless Indigenous peoples sought refuge on a hill called 57. A local crusading editor became “Montana’s Conscience” and authored the revered Montana: High, Wide, and Handsome. A Civil War monument was raised to honor both the Blue and the Gray—the first in the nation to do so. Pathbreaking preservationists Charley and Sue Bovey saved acclaimed gold rush–era Virginia City before historic preservation was cool.

Award-winning historian Ken Robison brings to life little-known accounts from a storied past.

Author Patty Molinaro has paired rare historic images with contemporary views to display the intriguing history of Red Lodge, Montana. As intriguing and inviting as its name, Red Lodge, has retained its charm and historic character much the same as when first revered by early Native tribes and frontiersmen.

Once Crow domain, the settlement of Red Lodge was established along a mail route in 1884, slowly evolving as home to coal miners, immigrants, cattlemen, homesteaders, recreationists, and a tourist industry.

Ghost stories from Southwest Montana have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery! 

Welcome to the spooky streets of Southwest Montana!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.

Did you know that restless spirits roam the halls of the Old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge? Or that at Gunslinger Gulch, Montana's most haunted ranch, a grumpy ghost loves to give visitors a fright? Can you believe the lights flickering in the night sky above the Anaconda Smelter Stack might just be . . . an alien spaceship?

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Southwest Montana forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!

Park County, so named due to its proximity to Yellowstone Park, was established in 1887. Placer gold was discovered in the Gulch in 1864, and with this discovery came miners and prospectors from all over the country, ultimately resulting in the development of Yellowstone City and other communities. While open hostilities with the native Crow Indians in the region would eventually dissuade continual mining in the region, many stayed to populate the area. Pictured here are the miners, residents, businesses, street scenes, and social activities that made Park County what it is today.

The Gallatin Way to Yellowstone follows a picturesque route heading south through the canyon to the west gate of the National Park.

The iconic road boasts a history covering more than a century of exploration, homesteading and development. Early pioneers and adventurers endured a rugged and unforgiving terrain where today's travelers speed along a modern highway. One might expect to see dramatic shifts, yet little change is evident in some areas, while others teem with contemporary luxuries.

Pairing historic and modern photography of the same locations, Duncan T. Patten retraces the marvel of this iconic thoroughfare.

Marvel at the mettle of Montanans in World War I.

World War I continued with fury in the spring of 1918 as American Yanks endeavored to play the key role in stemming the German tide. Montana’s Marines suffered the bloodiest day in their history as they became “Devil Dogs,” charging through hell on earth at Belleau Wood. Locals in the Wild West Division stormed “over the top” into the Argonne Forest, while nurses, “hello girls,” Navy Yeomanettes and YMCA workers blazed new gender roles. And young Seaman Mike Mansfield, future legendary senator, served on convoy duty against lurking German U-boats.

Award-winning historian Ken Robison illuminates the story of young and vibrant Montanans of all ethnicities as they fought for elusive democracy, at home and abroad, in this world war to end all wars.