November 2010

In 1909 the Labor Temple was completed in Red Lodge on the corner of 8th and Billings Ave (now Broadway).

The first floor was occupied by the Kaleva Co-Operative Mercantile from 1909-1912. The second floor was devoted to union offices, a public library with writing and reading room, plus the "Workers Club," which encouraged all to join. The third floor housed lodging rooms and showers as well as the finest dance hall in Carbon County. It wasn't until Labor Day on September 8, 1910 that the Labor Temple was dedicated with great flare and honor to all the area miners. The Labor Temple served the Carbon County miners until the mid 1920's.

Situated within the Crow Reservation in south-central Montana, 40 minutes south of Billings, this park was the home of Plenty Coups, last chief of the Crow. Plan at least an hour to walk the grounds and browse through the small visitor center that traces the story of Chief Plenty Coups' life, and of the chief's efforts to lead his people in adopting the lifestyle of the white man.

The People's Center is the place to experience the rich cultural heritage of the Salish, Pend d'Oreille and Kootenai tribes. The traditions and culture of these tribes have been passed orally from generation to generation since time began. As lifestyles change with time and technology, the tribes continue to preserve and protect their heritage, history and culture. They invite visitors to explore the artifacts and exhibits, and to hear the stories of our people in their own voices. They also invite visitors to participate in cultural activities, celebrations known as pow-wows, and other events reflecting the Tribes.

The Peoples Center perpetuates this rich heritage, through our tradition of oral history, and by creating opportunities of exchange between tribal elders, youth and the public. Through education, they hope to dispel myths and stereotyping of Native Americans and create better understanding between all peoples.

From the time the Forest Reserves were set aside in 1891, our nation's forests and range lands have had a rich, colorful history. The future home of the museum will be Missoula, Montana, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains and home to the Forest Service Northern Region Headquarters. It is planned that the US Forest Service will provide most of the archives and artifacts that will make up the bulk of the collection. Financing for construction and operation of the museum will come from a mixture of private, local, state, and federal government sources. The museum will be both national class and national scope - comparable to the Smithsonian Institution. The entire rich, national history of the Forest Service, including Forestry Research, Cooperative Forestry, International Forestry, and the National Forest System will be presented.

It is located on 32 acres at the core of historic Fort Missoula (1877-1947), an area included on the National Register of Historic Places. The Museum has over 25,000 objects in its collection, including 13 historic structures.

The displays at the museum include antique firearms, steam and gas engines, automobiles, tools of all descriptions, logging and mining equipment and much more.

Tours are available on request. What better place to enjoy this history than inside a real working establishment. The Axmen is proud to host this collection at 7655 Highway 10 West in Missoula. That is just 1/4 mile south of I-90 from exit #96.



The Montana Museum of Work History was created to preserve and celebrate the stories of the hard working people who made Montana their home. Visitors will be given the opportunity to hear these stories and see the tools and technologies that were a part of the workers daily lives. The tools and technologies were generally bigger, heavier and almost always more dangerous than their modern replacements.



The everyday people of Montana had extraordinary tenacity and courage. The museum is here to celebrate and remember not the famous, not the infamous, but the ordinary Montanan who did extraordinary things.

The Judith River Dinosaur Institute. was established to aid in the work of the museum and studies of dinosaurs in the area. The museum collection represents the field program of the museum headed up by Nate Murphy, the Phillips County Museum’s Curator of Paleontology.

The museum also includes displays representing the Native Americans that have inhabited the area for thousands of years, and the pioneers and homesteaders that took up residence in the area in the last 150 years. Also notable in the local collection are the infamous outlaws that roamed the area, most notably, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the notorious Kid Curry and the Wild Bunch.

Its majestic colonnade and ornate architectural detail greeted travelers until 1979, when AMTRAK suspended passenger service to southern Montana. Burlington Northern, successor to the NP, briefly used it for offices until donating it to the City of Livingston in 1985.

Two years and $800,000 later, the restored depot opened as a museum operated by the Livingston Depot Foundation, a non-profit membership- based organization dedicated to preserving this monument to the Livingston area's past.

The Depot Center Museum operates from May to October, providing historic exhibits and cultural programs for the benefit of Park County residents and visitors from around the world. In the winter months, the Depot serves as a community cultural center, hosting such diverse events as concerts, banquets, holiday programs, and wedding receptions.

Along with establishing the Kalispell Townsite Company and eventually the Conrad National Bank, Charles E. Conrad had this Victorian home built for his family in 1895.

The Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, Montana sits proudly today on the edge of the original townsite, atop a bluff overlooking the valley and the Swan mountain range. When Charles E. Conrad, a founder of Kalispell, arrived in the Flathead Valley in 1891, this lovely town with its tree-lined streets was still but a dream. But Conrad had vision, and he felt that not only had he found a good investment opportunity, but also a permanent home for his descendants.

Charles Conrad's youngest daughter, Alicia Conrad Campbell, actually lived in the home until 1964. Then, in 1974, she made the decision to give the Conrad Mansion to the city of Kalispell in memory of her pioneering parents.

The Museum is housed in the historic Central School building, which first opened its doors in 1894. In nearly 100 years of serving the educational needs of the Flathead Valley, Central School had been a high school, a junior high school, a grade school, and housed classrooms for Flathead Valley Community College.

It is a sturdy brick and stone structure, one of the few remaining examples of classic Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, with most of it's original hardwood floors, wainscoting, and tin-plate ceilings still in place. The building was boarded-up and threatened with demolition in 1991, but the City of Kalispell renovated the structure at a cost of 2.4 million dollars, and since late 1999, has leased it to the Northwest Montana Historical Society for exhibits, performances, and community meetings.