Montana State Prison Riot

On April 16, 1959 prisoner Jerry Myles and his accomplices, Lee Smart and George Alton, took control of Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge. The riot was started when the prisoners seized rifles [...]

Echoes of the Golden Age

Senator Taft speaking to a crowd on Main Street in Lewistown, 1952 By L. Abigail Jones In the United States, those of us born after 1980 are part of the first generation who does not know our own [...]

Air Force in the 1950s

Havre In 1951 a radar station was built at Simpson, forty miles northwest of Havre. Prompted by the start of the Korean War, the station was intended to function as a ground control intercept and [...]

The Huntley- Brinkley Report

Named after its anchors, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, The Huntley-Brinkley Report was first aired on NBC in 1956. The fifteen minute news program was initially ill-received by audiences who [...]

Hebgen Lake Earthquake

Many Montanans in 1959 had lived through the Helena earthquake of 1935. Even if they weren’t in the capital city at the time, they could remember news of the destruction – more than $4 million in [...]

The Mariana UFO Incident

One of the first UFO sightings to be captured on film was recorded right here in the Treasure State. For roughly twelve seconds, the Mariana UFO footage depicts two bright, silvery objects moving [...]

The 1950s in Montana

By Brad Reynolds Special Thanks to the Cascade County Historical Society Mirroring the attitudes and actions of the country as a whole, Montana saw some big changes in the 1950s. Populations [...]