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The sixth volume in the Montana Mainstreet series, A Guide to Historic Missoula points readers to the buildings, historic sites, and parks that act as monuments to Missoula's--and Montana's--history.
Founded in 1890 against the backdrop of the lush Bitterroot Valley, the town of Hamilton's history revolves around timber, the railroad, and agriculture. Hamilton owes its early history to copper baron Marcus Daly, whose Anaconda Company sawmill and private Bitter Root Stock Farm dominated the community through the late nineteenth century. The drama of the twentieth-century apple boom and the saga of the battle to cure Rocky Mountain tick fever enrich the town's more recent past. Drawing the reader into the historical mosaic that is Hamilton, Montana, with architectural and historical information on town and valley history, buildings and historic sites, this guide is a treat for all those who would explore "the jewel of the Bitterroot."
Bozeman has been home to many pasts. Founded in the 1860s, the town has grown from a frontier farming settlement to a bustling city and center of academic excellence. This guide tells the stories of the places and people that built Bozeman and the efforts to preserve the town's colorful history.
During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. Montana, one of the Great Plains states, is finely portrayed in its WPA guide. Originally published in 1939, the spirit of the Wild West shines throughout this guide to the Treasure State. During this time period, the population of Montana was rural and cities small, with most of the economy tied to the land, mining, or cattle. With 10 hiking trails outlined for Glacier National Park alone and 18 driving tours throughout the state, this book is an excellent resource for history and nature buffs alike.
Among Montana’s most enduring legacies are the names assigned to its geographic features and places found on the state map. As long as humans have inhabited Montana they have named places. While the past two centuries have changed the way people live in Montana, the names given to some rivers, mountain ranges, cities, and towns have persisted, while others have changed with time. Naming Montana explores the origins of more than 1,000 Montana place names, drawing upon the knowledge of Montana Historical Society historians and the expertise of local historians from across the state. This new publication includes both geographic features, selected historic sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, historic photographs, and maps. The authors’ extensive research illuminates the stories behind the names of places that we call home.
Founded in 1891 as a railroad town for the transcontinental Great Northern Railway, Kalispell, Montana, faced bitter disappointment when the railroad relocated its route to the north in 1904. Most towns suffering similar fates fell into decline - but not Kalispell, which had become Flathead County seat in 1894. Situated in the majestic Northern Rockies, the town thrived as the region's trade center and later became a gateway to Glacier National Park. As Kalispell grew and prospered, its streetscapes matured, and the town's historic center remains a vibrant part of the community. Discover Kalipsell's rich history and architectural heritage through this lively guide. (6 x 9, 84 pages, b&w photos, illustrations, maps)
In the Geographic Center of Montana sits Lewsitown, whose rich history is still reflected in today's streets. A testament to the homesteading boom at the turn of the century, Lewistown grew with the surrounding communities. A service center, rail stop, and county seat, its population tripled between 1900 and 1910, then doubled again by 1920. It was not to last. Drought and agricultural depression drove thousands of homesteaders from the land in the 1920s and 1930s; Lewistown's boom had ended. But preserved from that heady period of expansion are the exceptionally crafted business blocks, homes, churches, often built of 'Lewistown red' brick or local sandstone. This architectural heritage awaits your discovery, on the streets of Lewistown and through this lively guide.
'A modern society has grown out of what it was yesterday. So understanding history is essential to understanding ourselves. Helena: An Illustrated History is a priceless historical collection of faces and stories about our special state's capital and the lives and events that have shaped it-and us.' --Mark Racicot, Governor, State of Montana
Distinguished by statesmen and magnates, Helena's history is colored with many other compelling characters and episodes nearly lost to time. Before achieving eminence in Deadwood, Sheriff Seth Bullock oversaw Montana Territory's first two legal hangings. The Seven Mile House was an oasis of vice for the parched, weary travelers entering the valley on the Benton Road, despite a tumultuous succession of ownership. The heritage of the Sieban Ranch and the saga of "King Kong" Clayton, "the Joe Louis of the Mat," faded from public memory. From unraveling the myths of Chinatown to detailing the lives of red-light businesswomen and the Canyon Ferry flying saucer hoax, revered local historians Ellen Baumler and Jon Axline team up to preserve a compendium of Helena's yesteryear.
