Tales of Montana

The Winterless Winter Compared to harsh seasons passed, the winter of 1926 was laughably mild by Montana standards. That year, Great Falls celebrated in mockery of the weather with a Straw Hat [...]

Infamous Disasters

Explosion at the Smith Mine The worst mining disaster in state history occurred on February 27, 1943 at the Smith Mine in southcentral Montana. It occurred just after 9:30am when an explosion [...]

Wonderful Wildlife

Bison The American bison is North America’s largest land mammal, weighing up to 2,000 pounds. It has a hump composed of muscle (supported by long vertebrae), allowing it to plow through snow in [...]

Dinosaur Discoveries

MT. Rex Montana is home to some of the most important T. rex discoveries (and fossil discoveries in general). For example, a rancher came upon a partially complete Tyrannosaurus skeleton on the [...]

Famous Folks in Montana

Country singer Charley Pride was discovered in Helena in 1963. At the time, he was a smelting plant worker and semi-pro baseball player, but when he sang “Lovesick Blues” for Red Foley and Red [...]

Born Under the Big Sky

Stephen Reeves was born in Glasgow in 1926. He was bestowed the title of Mr. America in 1947 and Mr. Universe in 1950, and he starred in several motion pictures. Stan Lynde is famous for his [...]

First in the State

The Montana Post was the state’s first newspaper, started in Virginia City on July 17, 1864. It was started by Thomas Josiah Dimsdale, who ran the newspaper until August, 1866, when he died of [...]

Capital & Capitol

From Boom to Bust When gold was discovered at Bannack in 1862, miners and businessmen swarmed the remote area. At its peak, the town had approximately 10,000 residents. So, when Montana became a [...]