Come and visit the MonDak Heritage Center where you will be presented with a premier museum and a fabulous art gallery.  The mission of the Center is to preserve the regions cultural heritage and to support its artistic development through traditional museums exhibits and art shows.  Here you will be able to take a walk back in time as you gaze upon the wide variety of exhibits to familiarize yourself with how life was in the earlier years. 

The Center is preserving the artifacts and heritage of the MonDak region (which is 7 counties in eastern Montana as well as part of North Dakota.  The Center began in 1967 and has continued to grow since that time.

Visit an early 20th century MonDak Pioneer Town in the basement of the center.  Here you can actually walk down the boardwalks, visit the first Post Office in Dore, ND and get some 23 cent gall at the station.  Be sure to check out the train schedule to see if you are leaving on time.  Although only a fraction of the collections are on display you will get the feel and idea of what it was like in the early 20th century.  When the MonDak Heritage Center was built in 1983, the Donald Baue homestead shack was moved from Sioux Pass and placed in the Center’s lower level prior to completion of the main level above. The shack, built in 1907,  is all original with a few exceptions…wooden flooring, new tar paper and interior paper….but even those items were put on as they would have been in 1907. The homestead’s dimensions are 12 feet by 14 feet the minimum allowed and the size which more than 90 percent built to “prove up their claim.” Under the original Homestead Act passed in 1862, any person 21 or older who was head of a family and a citizen could obtain title to 160 acres of public land if he/she lived on the land for five years and made improvements to it in that time.  The big influx of homesteaders to the MonDak area was from 1906 to 1910, with over 3,000 homesteads filed in Richland County, Montana. Visit the church while you are in the village too.  It is a display which incorporates items from many of the area churches.

Stop in at the bank and see the safe that is on display.  There are also receipts, bookkeeping ledgers, checkbooks, file boxes, coin dispensers and some old school warrant books. Go to the hospital display and see if you aren’t glad you live in this day and age with modern medical equipment vs. that which was available in those days.
The art center consists of several galleries which host upwards of 18 different shows every year.  You will always be able to see something new and exciting when you visit.  The Permanent art Collection shows native some and famed western artist J.K Ralston’s works.  There is also the Charlotte Rees Gabisch Art Library which is said to be the most complete art library in the region.  There are oils, watercolors and acrylics for your viewing pleasure.  There are also works done in pastels, pen and ink, charcoal and pencil along with wood engravings, weaving, silkscreen, scratchboard, aquatint, felt tip, lithograph and some crocheted needlework.  Each will give you a sense of the talent and the joy that the artists present to you.

If you are interested in historical paintings you will enjoy the work of Barbara Schaffner, a former local artist who comes to the Center periodically to conduct art classes for those that are interested.

Open: Tuesday – Friday 10 am to 4 pm (except for Thursdays when they close at 7 pm) and Saturday from 1 – 4 from February through December.  Closed for annual cleaning in the month of January.

The MDHC houses the MonDak Pioneer Town, Lillian Anderson Jensen History Library, Genealogy Library, Charlotte Rees Gabisch Art Library, a permanent art collection, large regional photo archive, an ever-growing collection of Heritage Cards for genealogical research, a dinosaur and fossil collection, and public meeting rooms.

Phone: (406)-433-3500

Email:  mdhc@richland.org

Location: 120 3red Ave. SE, Sidney, Montana 59270

The MonDak Heritage Center – Sindey, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

The Old Atlantic Cable Mine and Cable mine are in the same location where the world’s largest nugget was found.  It sold for $19,000 in the late 1800′s.  The ground was so rich that a cigar box of samples assayed at $1,000!

Cable has three cabins, a big barn with log sides and topped with a weather vane.  There is a boarding house up the hill that is still complete with furniture in the upstairs bedrooms, a kitchen with a range, sink, and a couple of chairs along with old, worn wallpaper.  The mill stands higher on the hill with firebricks, timbers, and an iron boiler inside.  There was an old big settling pond,, tool sheds, and iron balls from a ball mill outside.

The mine had quite a difficult time getting going since it was first found in 1867 by three prospectors first made camp there.  They found a large quartz pillar loaded with gold and named the mine the Atlantic Cable Lode which eventually became shortened to Cable.  Disagreements between the miners caused the operations to cease a decade later and the property was sold.

The new owners began operations in 1883, but that didn’t last long either and the mine was closed again in 1881.  Then in 1898, the Gold Coin Load was discovered producing over $200,000 in gold over the next decade.  It was in 1906 that the Gold Coin Mill was built.  The mine and mill operated sporadically until 1940 when it was closed and the town became a "ghost town."

Because of vandalism the mill and several area buildings, which are located on private property, is closed to visitors.  You can, however, see it from the highway along Montana Highway 1 between Drummond and Anaconda.

Location: 306 East Park Street
Anaconda, MT 59711

Phone: 406-563-2400
 

Cable Mine – Anaconda, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

One of the things that those who visit the town should see is the Pioneer’s Pride Museum. It has quite a few interesting items on display that you will want to see. The Pioneer’s Pride Museum features rooms furnished as they were in the days of the pioneers.

Some of the rooms that you will be able to see as you tour the old house include a bedroom, kitchen, and music room. All of the items in these rooms are those that would have been used back when the pioneers were making their living on the plains. In addition to the museum, you can also see and tour an old jail, as well as a fire truck from 1929 currently on the grounds.

Those who come to Bainville might like to stay at one of the most popular places to lodge in the area. The Montana River Ranch is a lovely place to stay, tucked away in the cottonwoods on the edge of beautiful farmland. It is a working ranch, and you can take tours to see exactly what it takes to make a ranch like that work.

Besides being a gorgeous three-story cabin with plenty of rooms from which to choose, you will also be able to enjoy hunting, fishing, cowboy songs, poetry, and a whole lot more. You can also find some great trails and even golf on this 8,000 acre ranch. This is a great place to stay and it gives people a real sense of rural and ranch life.

The ranch is located close to everything you would want to do around Bainville, including historical sites and the Pioneer’s Pride Museum, which makes it the perfect place to stay no matter where you are going.

If you want to head into town to grab a drink, the best place to stop is Smoky’s Beer Depot. It is a great pub with reasonable prices.

The museum is free to the public and is open during the summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The hours of operation are Tuesday through Sunday from 1:30PM to 4:30PM. You will be able to find the museum on Main Street.

6013 Road 1011
Bainville, MT 59212
406-769-2596

Pioneer’s Pride Museum – Bainville, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

A few of the places you might want to eat or grab a drink at while in town include the Belt Creek Brew Pub, and the Harvest Moon Saloon and the Harvest Moon Brewery.

The place that people will certainly want to stop by for dinner is the Belt Dinner Theater. Not only does the place offer up some tasty food, but they also put on some of the best shows in the whole state. Each season, the Vigilante Theater Company puts on a brand new show for guests to the theater.

Currently, the troupe is getting ready for their 2009 season. The theater is performing Lost Chance at Last Gulch. The dinner show is about a fictitious old television show called History Museum Train. The play takes place in the early days of television, back in the era of Howdy Doody. When the television show gets into trouble, it is up to a couple of crazy characters to bring up the ratings and save it from cancellation.

The dinner show is a fun and hilarious way to spend the evening. If you are in Belt, you are in for a real treat when you come to the theater.

While you are in town, perhaps before heading over to the Belt Dinner Theater, you might want to visit the Belt Museum. You will find the museum located in an old jail building that stands next to the Belt Creek. The building was built in 1895 and has a number of great exhibits. Some of the things that you will be able to see include photographs, an authentic jail cell from the late 1800s, and artwork created by talented locals.

The museum is within walking distance from the theater as well, so you can head there after you take in everything the museum has to offer. The pair makes for a fun day in Belt, and if you are in the area, you should visit both.

The friendly little town of Belt, with great shows and museums, is the perfect place to visit on your Montana vacation.

Belt Theater Building
Belt, MT 59412
406-781-4489

Dinner Theater in Belt – Belt, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

Visitors can find the center in the Anaconda City Hall Cultural Center. The City Hall is a beautiful piece of work in its own right. The structure at one time was in danger of being torn down. Instead, the building was renovated and it today on the National Register of Historic Places.

Those who come into the art center are in for a real treat. You will be able to see a wide variety of different kinds of art and artistic styles. From historical pieces to Western art and photos, there is something for everyone to love in the impressive art gallery. You will even be able to see some of the local folk art, as well as a variety of arts and crafts.

Besides the Copper Village Museum and Arts Center, you will also find the Marcus Daly Historical Museum located in the City Hall Cultural Center. Guests will be able to see a number of interesting cultural artifacts at the museum. If you visit the arts center, you should certainly make this a stop on your trip as well. It is well worth your time.

Before leaving the City Hall, make sure you stop by the gift shop and pick up some souvenirs for those who weren’t fortunate enough to make it out to the Copper Village Museum and Arts Center with you. You are sure to find something great at the gift shop.

Located nearby is the Anaconda Smelter Stacks State Park. People who enjoy the outdoors can take a walk around the park and see the old Anaconda Company Smelter Stack. It is one of the tallest free standing brick structures in the world and is even taller than the Washington Monument. Keep in mind that the stack can only be seen and photographed from a distance. This means you should bring a good camera and maybe some binoculars to get a good look.

The Copper Village Museum and Arts Center is a free museum that is open year round.  The museum is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 10AM to 4PM.

City Hall Cultural Center
Anaconda, MT 59711
406-563-2422

Copper Village Museum and Arts Center – Anaconda, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

At the Pioneer Memorial Gallery, you will be able to see displays of people and families who arrived in the area prior to 1889. You can find family information, as well as artifacts and historical photos. In addition, you can visit the Archives Room where people can do research on the county as well as the people who lived there.

The museum often adds to its permanent collection of items and artifacts, so you have a good chance of seeing something new when you come back for another visit to the Crazy Mountain Museum. It is a fun place that offers a great insight into the past of the area. History buffs will love the museum.

Besides the museum, there are other things to see in Big Timber. You will find a lot of great fishing in the area and some great fishing outfitters located right in town. Stop by Sweet Cast Angler or Montana Maritime Fly Fishing Outfitter for all of your fishing needs.

If you and the family find yourself getting hungry, you will find some great places to eat while you are in Big Timber. You can satisfy just about every kind of craving with all of the different eateries in town.

If you are in the mood for pizza, you should check out Hot Stuff Pizza or Prospector Pizza Inc. Those with a taste for good old fashioned country food will want to stop by the Country Skillet Restaurant. Don’t forget desert. You can stop by Jonathans for some frozen yogurt or ice cream.

Crazy Mountain Museum is open from late May to early September. Open Tuesday through Sunday the hours of operation are 1PM to 4:30PM. If you are in the Big Timber area, you should certainly stop by the museum and check out all of the wonderful exhibits. You won’t regret your time spent there. You can also find great hotel accommodations for your stay in Big Timber on HotelsCombined.com.

Frontage Road
Big Timber, MT 59011
406-932-5126

Crazy Mountain Museum – Big Timber, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

The museum is located on the grounds of the Saint Labre School, a school for Native children began in 1884 and still going strong. The original school was a three room cabin. Today you can see a replica of that cabin that stands at the site of the original mission. The school is currently responsible for the education and welfare of close to 700 children from Native descent.

One of the structures sure to catch your attention is the Saint Labre Indian Chapel. The architecture of the building was inspired by the teepee, which the Plains Indians, such as the Cheyenne, used as homes. The building is beautiful and holds mass on Thursday at 4:30PM and on Sunday at 10AM.

The museum holds a wide variety of interesting pieces of art and artifacts. Visitors will be able to see clothing and textiles used by the Native people as well as a variety of weapon types, from tomahawks to arrowheads. You can even see some old rifles decorated in the Native style with beautiful beadwork.

Toys, miniatures, and dioramas (some life size) are also on display at the museum. You will also be able to see an entire section of various pieces of art. Many of the paintings on display are in various styles and from a wide array of artists.

When you finish your visit to the museum, you will come away with a great appreciation and a better understanding of one of the most interesting cultures in the world. The museum is a great place to visit, and don’t forget to help support them by picking up a souvenir from the gift shop.

Tours of the museum are available from 8AM to 4:30PM with extended hours from Memorial Day through Labor Day. You can find a lot of great information and interesting things to see at the museum and school. If you are in the area around Ashland, you should certainly make it a part of your trip. You will be glad that you did.

If you’re looking for hotel accommodations near Ashland, visit HotelsCombined.com for the best rates online.

St Labre Indian School

Tongue River Road

Ashland, MT 59003

406-784-4516
 

Cheyenne Indian Museum – Ashland, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

Havre, Montana is one of those towns that came into being as the result of The Great Northern Railway’s founding of the sites ideal location – midway between Seattle and St. Paul – as a key railroad service center.

A curious tourist attraction, “Havre Beneath the Streets” was originally a series of buildings constructed to house railroad employees. The flimsy wooden shacks were eventually destroyed by fire, and the occupants had little choice but to use the steam tunnels built beneath the buildings as temporary shelters More tunnels were dug to connect the basement abodes to one another, creating a warren of underground housing.

Eventually the shacks were rebuilt, but the railroad decided to keep its Chinese track layers housed in the underground “city.” Now a small tourist attraction, one can visit the site and view the remnants of what once served as a sort of Chinese Laundromat, a brothel with several small rusting iron beds, and three opium dens.

“Havre Beneath the Streets is located at 120 Third Avenue on the west side of town, on the corner of First Street (US 2) and Third Avenue. The attraction – a fine example of early Montana history – is open daily, seven days a week, but closed on Sundays during the wintertime. Summer hours are 9am to 5pm. Winter hours are noon to 5pm. Tel: 406-265-8888. Admission is $6/adults – $5/seniors – $4/children 6-12. Special tours arranged at $4/per person. School groups and 4-H Clubs, $3/per person. Entrance fees include admission to the Railroad Museum as well, which is in the same location.

The Railroad Museum offers a fascinating look at more than a century of railroad history, including artifacts such as an 19th century conductors uniform, an impressive H.O. Scale railroad system and hundreds of other railroad related items. A visit to the railroad museum without the underground city tour is free. Donations are welcome.

Located just behind the Holiday Village shopping mall in Le Havre is the Wahkpa Chu’gn buffalo jump, offering a well-preserved glimpse of a bluff used by the region’s Native American hunters to trap and kill buffalo by driving the herds over the sheer cliffs, where they were killed and then stripped for their meat and hides.

The thousands of years old area is an archeological site, and a fun place to search for small fossil remnants scattered among the limestone sediment at the bottom of the bluff, such as the sea shells that originated in ancient seas, and petrified wood possibly dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. All-in-all, Havre, Montana offers a unique glimpse into the near and distant past. 

120 3rd Avenue
Havre, MT 59501
Phone: 406-265-8888

Havre Beneath the Streets – Havre, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

Glacier National Park is a vast pristine ecosystem encompassing two mountain ranges. Take an unforgettable drive on Going-to-the-Sun Road (the main parkway traversing the park) and treat yourself to some of the most spectacular mountain scenery you will ever have the privilege to view.

The park has 131 named lakes, and 700 smaller ones, with Lake McDonald and St. Mary lakes being the largest. Towering mountain ranges, numerous waterfalls, thousands of plant species, and abundant wildlife, (among other species, the park is the home of bears, wolves, deer, squirrels, big horn sheep and mountain goats,) all combining to make Glacier National Park an unforgettable scenic paradise.

Although the park was named for the once more than 150 glaciers that covered vast areas of the park as recently as a century ago, less than 30 remain today. Glacier National Park borders the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Colombia and is located to the north of Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta and the Flathead Provincial Forest and Akamina –Kishinena Provencial Park in British Colombia. The north fork of the Flathead River forms the park’s western boundary. To the park’s south is the one million acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, one of the most remote and primitive forested areas in the continental United States, and the home of some of the largest populations of Grizzly bears in the country.

Athough the park is a campers and hikers paradise, with over 700 miles of hiking trails, as well as a region of great opportunity for fishing, canoeing, picture-taking and wild life observation, the weather can be fickle, and even dangerous to visitors at times, despite the fact that visitation is primarily during spring and summer months. Exceptionally heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures make winter visits impractical, but summer weather, although much more hospitable, and even refreshing – temperatures average in the 50’s and 60’s and occasionally much higher during the day, dependent upon elevation, and can drop into the low 40s or less during the evenings, again dependent upon elevation – can suddenly turn threatening, with thunderstorms accompanied by substantial downpours and even hail, not an unusual occurrence.

Visitors to the park who prefer a lodge or motor inn to a campsite will find numerous accommodations throughout the area, but park officials advise making reservations prior to arriving as these accommodations fill up fast during the summer.

Glacier National Park visitor information, including campground availability data, can be obtained by contacting:

Glacier National Park
PO Box 128
West Glacier, Montana 59936
Tel: 406-888-7800

Admission: $25/per vehicle – annual pass $35

Glacier National Park – West Glacier, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism

The area was first designated as a national cemetery in 1879 to protect graves of the Seventh Cavalry soldiers buried there.  In 1946, it was then renamed Custer Battlefield National Monument and finally in 1991, redesignated as Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. This last name change also included approval for a memorial to be built for the Native Americans who were killed in this battle. This is a memorial to one of the final armed efforts of Indians of the Northern Plains to maintain their way of life.

It is here that Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer – along with twelve United States Army companies of the Seventh Cavalry -planned a surprise attack on a Sioux village.  The three battalions were led individually by Capt. Frederick Benteen, Major Marcus Reno and Captain McDougall.

The Campaign of 1876 was an effort by the United States Government to force the Sioux tribes to live on their reservations.  The success of the American Indians in their defeat of the finest cavalry unit in the U.S. Army surprised and shocked the government as this was totally unexpected.  

The Native Americans who wiped out Custer’s army were bands of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors led by Chief Crazy Horse, Chief Lame White Man and Chief Gall.  Chief Sitting Bull, who was too old to fight, was a consultant to the Indian warriors.  

There are many opinions about how this battle was fought from the point of view of Army survivors, Native Americans and historians.  A number of books have been written in an attempt to analyze what really occurred in this historic encounter and visitors from around the world come to see this popular site.  There are also a number of films portraying a fictionalized version of this event.  It is unlikely that the truth will ever be known and conjecture continues. 

Location of site of battle ground and national monument:
By car: Interstate 90, Exit 510 at Jct 212.
Public transportation:  
Bus service available at Billings, MT, Sheridan, WY with travel to Crow Agency, Montana, 1.5 miles NW of the Little Bighorn Monument.
Hours of operation:
Closed:  Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day
Open:
•    Memorial Day to July 31 – 8 am to 9 pm
•    August 1 to Labor Day – 8 am to 8 pm
•    September and October (ends on Daylight Savings Time) 8 am to 6 pm
•    November thru March – 8 am to 4:30 pm
•    April and May – 8 am to 6 pm

Admission fees:
•    $10 per private vehicle
•    $5 per pedestrian

For commercial and non-commercial group fee schedule, contact visitor information at 406-638-3204.

PO Box 39
Crow Agency, MT 59022
Phone: 406-638-2621
Fax: 406-638-2623

Directions:

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument lies within the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana. US 87 (I-90) passes 1-mile to the west; US 212 connects the monument with the Black Hills and Yellowstone National Park. The Crow Agency is 3 miles north, and Hardin, Montana, is 15 miles north. The nearest cities are Billings, Montana, 65 miles northwest and Sheridan, Wyoming, 70 miles south.
 

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument – Crow Agency, Montana is a post from: Montana Tourism