Livingston is the county seat of Park County and is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park.
The community was first named Clark City in honor of Herman Clark, a well known contractor and builder for the Northern Pacific Railroad.
The town plat was filed later that year under the name Livingston in recognition of Johnston Livingston, a director and major stockholder of the railroad.
The railroad provided a means of transporting coal, wool, and cattle to market. It also enabled Livingston to serve as the original gateway to Yellowstone, the nation’s first national park. Mining and agriculture were additional economic factors in the town’s development.
Today, Livingston is the 11th largest city in Montana. Rail transportation continues to be a mainstay of the area’s economy, along with tourism, recreation, agriculture, and mining.
Park County Museum was founded in 1977. Community members and Park County purchased the historic North Side School, built in 1907, to house the museum, now known as the Yellowstone Gateway Museum of Park County.
The Cole Manufacturing Company, Chicago produced wood burning stoves and heaters in the early 1900s.This stove is small and compact and most likely was used in a small household or perhaps a workman or miner's shack.
There are four burner plates, an upper oven and below a small compartment for wood or perhaps coal. The Cole emblem is prominently displayed and is still in good condition.