Built in 1936, still in use and still in excellent condition, the Gallatin County Courthouse, if not as exuberant as earlier Renaissance style courthouses, is an excellent example of Art Deco architecture.
Like many who visit Bozeman, we dropped by the courthouse too late in the afternoon to actually tour the courthouse. It turns out that this was even more unfortunate what we realized, as there is a museum within, in the second floor lobby. Who knew? It turns out that the museum was created when the courthouse was built, in 1936.
Had we not been perusing the pages of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle we might never have known of the museum's existence. But, thanks to the Chronicle, we may now know a bit about the museum. Read on.
July 22, 1948: Objects reflecting Bozeman’s early days are contained in museum on second floor of County Courthouse
Jul 21, 2011
Montana owes its present state of progression and development to a certain category of men to whom were dedicated the above lines. They are men like the Frenchman Verendrye who in 1743 ventured from Canada into wilds he called the ‘Land of the Shining Mountains;’ men like Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who in 1804 began their expedition up the Missouri River.
It was the pioneering spirit of these men and others like them who helped settle this primitive area and organize it into a territory in 1864 and into a state in 1889. With crude implements they accomplished feats and acted upon ideas that later blossomed into a colorful destiny. Tools, crudely whittled, were made to serve an immediate purpose - survival. It is those relics and records that make concrete ties between Bozeman’s first settlers and the present day legends of their accomplishments.
For that reason, interested Gallatin County residents in 1936 opened a museum on the second floor lobby of the Gallatin County Courthouse. Now five glass cases are filled with objects that tell the stories of Bozeman’s pioneers, the first schools, churches, businesses, administration and everyday life.
A black walnut oxen yoke found on the bottom of the Missouri river near Clarkston and an old freighting chain, both donated by Jesse Green of Bozeman, and a battered anvil, that was the property of the Lewis and Clark expedition force, are on display.
Pick and Plow, the first newspaper published in Gallatin County, can be seen in the same case. Published first on Dec. 31, 1869, its editors were H.N. McQuire and Joseph Wright.
In a second case are early papers on everything from marriage licenses to the 1886 records of the Speith and Krug Bozeman brewery - and laws of the Gallatin Farmers’ Club in 1864.
Still another case contains two United States flags - well worn and steeped in the history of the Civil and Spanish American wars. Historic pictures include a view of Bozeman’s Main Street in 1865, one of the Ladies Imperial Band and one of Jip, the dog owned by the late John W. Tillton. Early pioneers Ed Sawyer, Archie McDonald, Randolf Brooks, James Gallup, Hiran Cleveland and John Silverthorne are pictured in another case.
Also on exhibit is the first grade school certificate issued in the territory of Montana. Date of issuance is May 6, 1881, and recipient was Miss Cassie Wiswell, now Mrs. C.D. Newman of 210 N. Church Ave.
On the north wall of the museum is the famed picture of John Bozeman, whose namesakes include a pass, a creek and a city. Vying with Mr. Bozeman for domination of the lobby are two massive buffalo heads mounted above glass cases that include a powder horn, Springfield rifle and a model of a gunboat made by soldier Dan Star at old Fort Ellis in 1871-1872.
In the other wall case are the clay models of early Montana personalities donated to the museum by Sallie Marston Bragg only a couple of weeks before she died in Bozeman in 1938. Mrs. Bragg was a Montana sculptress, painter, teacher and writer. Other relics that are makings for a real Fourth-of-July celebration are cannon balls, cap and ball pistol and sword and scabbard.
From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle