Northern Rockies Heritage Center

09/03/2026

Do we have any paleo-enthusiasts in the crowd today? I definitely am and the postcards this week piqued my interest!

Did you know, Montana was a seafloor until around 79 million years ago, eventually giving way to a floodplain around 75 million years ago to then evolve into a swampy lowland around 65 million years ago (AKA: mid to late Cretaceous), becoming the home of some massive creatures.

These postcards come from the Carter County Museum (CCM) in Ekalaka, Montana. CCM was the first county museum established as well as the first to display fossils in Montana. Their goal is to education, inspire, and preserve the natural history that comes with discoveries such as dinosaurs and in doing that, they have started what they call the dinosaur shindig. This event gets the public involved in paleontology with educational talks from paleontologists the first day to then taking a crew and letting folks help with an active dig site located at the Hell Creek formation.

The Hell Creek Formation, located near Jordan, Montana, was home to some of the largest dinosaurs. T-rex, Triceratops, Ankylosaurs, Pachycephalosaurs, and more were living in our neck of the woods only 65 million years ago. Not only that, but paleontologists have also discovered that the formation contains high levels of Iridium, a rare metal ore, which could have aided in the extinction of dinosaurs. Paleontologists have also discovered two small foot bones that resemble the feet of today's birds of prey, leading to the discovery of Avisaurus darini and Magnusavus ekalkaenis, what paleontologists are calling the earliest known predatory birds.

In total, 75 dinosaur fossils have been found in Montana so far and I can only think of how many more are out there, waiting to share their history with us.

If you are as into dinosaurs as I am, an item on my bucket list is to participate in the Montana Dinosaur trail. There are 15 museums on the map from the Dinosaur Center in Bynum all the way to Carter County Museum in Ekalaka and boy are they calling your name!

https://mtdinotrail.org/
https://cartercountymuseum.org/

08/25/2026

Montana's claim to fame has been more than just beautiful scenery and vast outdoor activities. When settlers first came to the region, there was an uproar of abundance when it came to raw ores and minerals, starting near Bannack at a place called Grasshopper Creek around 1863. As word spread about the wealth that lay under the earth, mining towns quickly popped up in places like Virginia City, Helena, Butte, Phillipsburg, Garnet, Comet, and more.

In 1864, Montana was federally recognized as a territory and with this, the discussion of a state seal was put into place. "El Dorado" or "the place of gold" was discussed but soon turned down due to the abundance of other ores in the region. After more contemplation, "Oro y Plata" or "Gold and Silver" was eventually settled on and has stuck since 1865 when the seal was created.

Between the early 1860's and early 1900's, Montana's mining culture flourished. Gold and silver were in high demand at the start of its history. Places such as Bannack, Garnet, Comet, Virginia City, and more were heavy producers of Montana's gold and silver. Towards 1880, the focus turned just slightly from gold and silver to copper and Butte was ready to deliver. With the industrialization and the development of electrical wires, Butte became a very important town. Around the same time, coal started to become popular as well and for roughly 20 years, Montana was producing nearly 40% of the national U.S. production of coal. Sadly, by the late 1950's, the need for coal depleted with the fading use of steam locomotives.

If you are wanting to immerse yourself in mining history, the World Museum of Mining is located on the Orphan Girl site, which was a major silver, zinc, and lead producer. Not only does this museum have tours for both under and above ground, but it also has a replica of what mining towns would look like. It is open for tours Monday - Sunday with the purchase of tickets ahead of time and its waiting for you to take in its history!

https://miningmuseum.org/

08/18/2026

Montana's state flower, the bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva), while beautiful, is also important to many tribes such as the Salish, Nez Perce, Flathead, Pend d'Oreille, Kalispell, and the Shoshone. Though the root gained national attention in the early 1800's because of Meriwether Lewis' discovery and writings on the plant, Native American tribes used it for trade and food long before Western settlement, most of the time planning migrations with the bloom of the plant.

Not only was it used as a food source and used to trade, but the plant was also used for many medicinal purposes. It was believed to increase the flow of breast milk, relieve the pain of a sore throat, help neutralize poison ivy rashes, and would even suppress symptoms of diabetes. It has become less common to use the plant for medicinal purposes, but it is still valued by many.

If you are curious to hear of traditions with the bitterroot, the link below provides a firsthand story from Aspen Decker, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.

https://www.montananaturalist.org/blog-post/stories-of-the-bitterroot/

08/06/2026

Step right up and take a gamble!

The shell game, which is also known as Thimble Rig, was a well-known sophisticated gambling game that originated in Europe during the 15th century but became popular in the United States in the 19th century.

Eventually, the game was pulling in thousands of dollars, but not to the public, to the hosts. The game worked like this: three shells were placed on a board or table with one pea being hidden under one of the shells. While the shells were moved around, a player had to keep an eye on the shell that hid the pea. First showing the player how the game worked, the host would hide the pea under a shell and make it easy to follow. Then, they would have the player make a bet. To win, the host would cheat by placing the pea between his fingers and placing it under a different shell than originally shown.

With its popularity hitting a peak in the United States, it was being played at places that folks chose to enjoy themselves at such as fairs, horseracing tracks, and travelling shows. Though, due to its illegal tendencies, money between the hosts and the management of said spaces would be traded so they could set up shop. Eventually, it became such a big deal that the hosts would hire people to act interested and draw people in. These people would also get a cut of the money won.

After a day of chancing their luck, folks would go home with nothing while the hosts, management, and helpers would get their cut, heading home wealthier than they were hours before.

08/04/2026

07/30/2026

While the past several winters makes it hard to believe how devastating Montana winters can be, in 1886 one stormed rolled in and wiped out 362,000 cattle. During this era of Montana, European's invested heavily in what was known as an open-range system. Cattle were given the freedom to roam freely across unfenced grasslands. This worked for a while but eventually showed hardship. The Summer is 1886 was the beginning with one rancher writing about the intense heat, depletion in grass, as well as his cattle becoming extremely thin. Once November rolled around, the first blizzard hit and immediately started its attack on the cattle. Temperatures were reaching as low as 60 degrees below zero, cattle had no water sources, no supplemental feed, and no shelter. Cattle would drift alongside of the storms, seeking shelter as they could find it but eventually, they froze where they stood. With such a devastating lost, it didn't just effect ranchers agriculturally, but also financially. In the end, this incident changed how ranch work was conducted in the American West.

One ranchers' life that was changed fundamentally was the artist of these post cards, Charles M. Russell. At age 16, Russell came to Montana near the Judith Basin to try his hand at ranching and soon fell in love with it. It gave him the opportunity to observe, draw, and document the day-to-day life of ranchers. Russell was under the wing of Stadler and Kaufman during the Winter of 1886. They were worried about the cattle under his control at the time and when Russell received the letter, he wrote back with the image below. Because of that, this drawing has become one of the more famous pieces from the incident.

If you are curious about this event, the Range Riders Museum in Miles City has an exhibit on ranching which includes information on this winter.

https://www.rangeridersmuseum.com/
https://cmrussell.org/

07/29/2026

Join our Fort Missoula neighbors, Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History, in welcoming the MVPA 2026 Lewis & Clark Westward Convoy August 5th!

07/21/2026

Strap on your boots, grab your hat, and make your way down to the fairgrounds for a rootin' tootin' good ol' time. The Western Montana Fair takes place on July 31st - August 8th featuring not only the mechanical side with car and bike shows and dirt bike riding, but also the muscle side with rodeo action, livestock and more.

Now, cowboys weren't used for entertainment this whole time. They were and still are a vital part in the agricultural development for the plains during the 1700's and early 1800's. When Spanish Conquistadors brought cattle and horses, Mexican vaqueros, or cowboys learned roping, riding, and herding skills. Eventually, these traditions made their way up to Texas and Anglo settlers picked the practices up. While rodeos are used for entertainment for the non-roping folks, they are also used to hone and test cowboys' skills in friendly competition.

07/21/2026

Join us tonight for Logan Nickels' guest lecture. Free and open to the public! See you tonight!

Join us on Tuesday, July 21st at 6 PM! University of Montana student Logan Nickel's will be talking about Animism and its religious importance.

Animism is the belief that everything - places, rocks, objects, etc. - have a spirit inside it. Its belief is what helps connect practicing people to the natural and spiritual worlds around them. While it has been practiced since ancient times, animism was only coined in the late 1800's by Sir Edward Burnett Tylor in his book "Primitive Cultures". With its long line of history, animism is still seen in many religions today such as the Shinto in Japan, Hindu in India, as well as many indigenous traditions.

07/14/2026

Has anyone heard of a Normal College? Normal Colleges were established in Paris in 1794 and were first established to help shape the education system by training elementary school teachers in the basics of education for public schooling. Due to many teachers being untrained scholars or clergy, education lacked quality, so establishing Normal Colleges helped form standardized methods, curricula, and classroom practices which in turn helped create a consistent and high-quality environment for students to succeed. Eventually, Normal Colleges integrated into universities as departments or even schools of education like we see today.

Montana's first Normal College began construction in 1896 and was completed in 1897, just in time for its first classes. Since it was first established, the school has undergone several name changes: State Normal School (1897-1903), State Normal College (1903-1949), Western Montana College of Education (1949-1965), Western Montana College (1965-1988), Western Montana College of the University of Montana (1988-2001), and is presently known as the University of Montana-Western.