The Big Hole National Battlefield near Wisdom is the site of the tragic engagement between the non-treaty bands of the Nez Perce and the U.S. Infantry led by Col. John Gibbon on August 9 and 10, 1877. Courtesy of Travel Montana/Donnie Sexton
Montana Today
Montana’s history is a young, accessible, "hands-on" history. It won't be found on dry parchment under glass. Rather, it lives at the National Bison Range, the Crow Indian Fair, the two-story outhouse at Nevada City, the Charles M. Russell Art Auction, the Little Bighorn Battlefield and Helena's Last Chance Gulch, or at any number of annual festivals and celebrations bearing names such as the Wild Horse Stampede, the Northeast Montana Threshing Bee and Antique Show, the Vigilante Parade, the Western Rendezvous of Art and the Festival of Nations.
If museums are a celebration of an area’s heritage, Montana has cause to revel every day. With a multitude of unique stories and cultures, from Native Americans to Lewis and Clark, and early settlers to copper miners Montana is filled with wonderful museums
And it isn’t just history that you will find. Montana has thriving communities of artists. Their work can be viewed at a wide variety of galleries around the state.
A small sampling of Montana’s museums and galleries include:
American Computer Museum (Bozeman)
Over 4,000 years of history of computing and computers are on display including mechanical calculators, slide rules, typewriters and office appliances, room-sized mainframe computers, an original Apollo Spacecraft Guidance Computer and much more.
Archie Bray Foundation (Helena)
Over 50 years ago, Archie Bray, Sr. founded what is known as "The Pottery" on the grounds of his brickyard, the Western Clay Manufacturing Company. Dedicated to the enrichment of the ceramic arts and providing an atmosphere of creative excellence since 1951, ceramic artists from around the world travel to Helena to work and study as they enrich their creative and artistic talents. Through a self-guided tour, visitors can discover traditional and contemporary pottery, ceramics and sculpture.
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center (Great Falls)
The nation’s premier Lewis and Clark interpretive site focuses on relations between the Corps of Discovery and the many Indian tribes it encountered, as well as the month-long portage around the five falls on the Missouri River near Great Falls. The center offers living history demonstrations, guided walks, a film by Ken Burns and 6,000 square feet of exhibits.
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