In the museum are several rooms devoted to different aspects of the history of Livingston and area - the Native Cultures Room, the Pioneers Room, the Transportation Room and the Expeditions Room. It is in the Expeditions Room, which follows the path of the Corps of Discovery as it passed through what became Park County in July, 1806. The Corps of Discovery is probably better known to many as the
Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was on their return journey back to the east that Captain William Clark and Sacagawea passed through Livingston, or at least the outskirts of it, camping nearby on or about July 15, 1806.
This relief is intended to recreate the artist's vision of the scene upon Clark's arrival in the environs of Livingston. Done in "Alto-relievo", the work appears to be of a stone similar to soapstone, It is quite thin and seems to be riveted to a background and frame. The sculptor's name is, as yet, unknown.
In the sculpture, a member of the party peers into the distance while Sacagawea points the way. Clark is standing to her left (our right), while the rest of the party brings up the rear. On Sacagawea's back, in a papoose, is her son, Jean Baptiste, born just before the start of the expedition. The identity of the dog in the relief is unknown. Lewis had a dog named Seaman but it was Clark who passed through this area. Lewis and Clark reunited later, at the Missouri River.
Built in 1907 of concrete block simulating rusticated stone, the four room Northside School replaced several smaller wood framed schools scattered about Livingston's north side. Serving as an elementary school until 1971, the building was purchased by the Park County Museum Association in 1976, the Park County Museum opening in the building the next year. Today it is known as the
Yellowstone Gateway Museum.
Today made easy to find with a dingy red wooden Northern Pacific caboose on the front lawn, the building is filled with artefacts relating to the early days of Livingston. Behind the building is a fenced yard and another building in which are displayed fire trucks, agricultural equipment, wagons, various machines and other large historic items. One will even find another school at this school, the former Urbach School. A small log building constructed between 1898 and 1904, it was moved to the museum in 2000. Accompanying the school is a Blacksmith Shop, donated
and moved to the museum in July, 1997.
The museum is open year round, with reduced hours in the winter months.
Yellowstone Gateway Museum
Discover the history of Park County and its connection to Yellowstone!
As a crossroads of culture, Park County, Montana has served as temporary or permanent home for many: native peoples from as long as 11,000 years ago, fur trappers and explorers, homesteaders, and today's residents. Livingston became a major entrance to Yellowstone National Park in 1883 when the Burlington Northern Railway arrived and established a spur line south toward the park.
The museum is housed in a three-story 1906 schoolhouse that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Four large exhibit rooms: Native Cultures, Expeditions, Pioneer, and Transportation, and courtyard also interpret archaeology, modern-day flint knapping, Lewis and Clark, Yellowstone National Park (including historic vehicles), railroad, veterans' history, women, and more. Museum Explorer's Journal guides families through the museum; new children's exhibits.
From Visit Montana