Photos and story by Suzanne Waring
Years ago, a library would safeguard its precious books with a process called “watering the books” by setting bowls of water in the stacks to maintain humidity thus keeping pages of historical tomes from becoming brittle. This is one example that whenever precious objects and books have been saved for historical purposes over the years, the people protecting them use whatever means available to preserve them.
The staff at the Cascade County Historical Society located at the Great Falls History Museum and Research Center, no longer have to be apprehensive about temperature fluctuations at the center. The items stored there are now protected by climate control. The updating of the center occurred during this past summer, and a celebration for visitors to see the new reading room and visible vault was held in September with speakers and tours.
The Cascade County Historical Society (CCHS) has grown slowly. It was massaged into existence in Clara Heffern’s living room in 1972. She, Connie McKay, Katherine Titus, and the Bovey family officially set the wheels in motion in 1976—the year of the bicentennial and a time of national pride—by chartering the Cascade County Historical Society. A year later the organization moved into two rooms at Paris Gibson Square—one for exhibits and one for archival research. For items that were too large to store there, such as wagons and carriages, space was found elsewhere in people’s garages and at the fairgrounds. Storage was also secured at the Columbus Center. During this period, the CCHS staff began establishing professional standards for the care of its collections.
In 1993 the organization temporarily moved the archival portion of the collection to the third floor of the library, and space for the large pieces at the fairgrounds was expanded. The exhibits remained at Paris Gibson Square.
The Society bought the International Harvester Building in 1997 (after International Harvester moved from the building, Northern School Supply rented it during the interim). The Society raised a half million dollars to refurbish the space. The move was made during the summer of 2000. With 47,000 square feet, the archives holds oral histories, maps, blueprints, city and county documents, yearbooks, directories, phone books, thousands of photographs, and the list goes on. A separate collections area contains many square feet of shelving that holds collectible items.
On the first floor, visitors find exhibits depicting early-day Great Falls. Admission remains free courtesy of city historians, Gayle and Owen Robinson. The Ozark Club, named after the original club by that name, which had an open-door policy to all ethnic groups, provides space for special events, especially entertainment, art shows, and Second Saturday events. The first floor also includes a gift and book shop that features items for sale that denote Montana or are made by Montana artists.
A unique feature as the result of the facility being built as an agricultural implement dealership is a freight elevator large enough to lift items, such as historical wagons, to the third floor.
“Lately our emphasis has been the archives and collections on the second floor,” said Kristi Scott, who has been Executive Director for five years. “We raised enough money for insulation, climate control, shelving, the visible vault, window replacement, and the remodel of the reading room. An improved utility facility allows for the cleaning and repairing of textiles, including uniforms. The research center is so novel that other centers will be looking at our visible vault as a beacon for preservation, access, and engagement with a history museum’s collection.”
The money enabling the rehabilitation was a combination of gifts from membership, a Montana Historical Preservation Grant, Cascade County ARPA (America Rescue Plan Act from COVID) funds, and special gifts from citizens, including John Stephenson-Love and Owen and Gayle Robinson. The Research Center is being named for the Robinsons, who gave $500,00 to round out the funding for the rehab project.
In the future, the Gayle and Owen Robinson Research Center will be seen as a receptacle for monumental historical records. The Ursuline Order, functioning as representatives of the Catholic Church, served those who lived in the Cascade County area during the settlement years. Their records have been given to the Center for safekeeping. The Great Falls Tribune records have also been recently received.
“This has become the people’s museum of north central Montana” Scott said.
Hours for the History Museum and Research Center are 10am – 5pm Tuesday-Friday and on the Second Saturday of each month from 12pm – 5pm. At no cost, the staff will help those coming to the research center to find information. A modest fee is charged when staff provides the research and digitizing. For more information, stop in at 422 2nd Street S. in Great Falls.