View XML QR Code

Montana Historical Society, Director's Office records, 1951-2003

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana Historical Society
Title
Montana Historical Society, Director's Office records
Dates
1951-2003 (inclusive)
Quantity
54 linear ft
Collection Number
RS 499 (Formerly MHS 2)
Summary
This collection is a subgroup (Program) of the Montana Historical Society records, RS 499. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Historical Society records. The Director is the administrative head of the Montana Historical Society. This collection consists of materials from various past Directors of MTHS, and includes correspondence, subject files, financial records, legal documents, organizational records, press releases, printed material, reports, miscellany, clippings and more.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Return to Top

Historical Note

On December 21, 1864 Francis M. Thompson introduced into the Territorial legislature, Council Bill 15 to incorporate the Historical Society of Montana, as a private organization. The purpose of the Society was “…to collect and arrange facts in regard to the early history of this Territory…." The bill was signed into law on February 2, 1865. The Society held its first organizational meeting later that month. Among the incorporators were Granville Stuart, H. L. Hosmer, C. P. Higgins, John Owens, and W. F. Sanders. The Society membership was limited to a few prominent Montana pioneers, who had to be elected by unanimous election by the members.

The Society began collecting reminiscences and other memorabilia of the early pioneers. Tragically, these collections burned in the disastrous 1874 fire in downtown Helena. Immediately after the fire, the Society contacted many of the original pioneers and obtained replacement reminiscences, diaries, and letters. They also began the intensive collection of the territory’s newspapers, publications of government expeditions, artifacts, and other items of interest. The collections were housed in the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse from 1886 until the completion of the new Capitol building in 1902.

The early history of the Society was one of a gradual increase in government involvement. In 1873 the legislature appropriated $150 to buy additional manuscripts and books. By 1887 the Territory was paying rent for housing the library and the salary of the librarian. In 1891 the collections were officially transferred to State control. And two years later the Governor was given the authority to appoint the Board of Trustees. In 1895 the legislature changed the name to “The Historical and Miscellaneous Library”. This name was retained until the 1923 legislature restored the original name. Finally in 1963 the name was changed to its present Montana Historical Society.

A separate building for the Society was planned as early as the mid 1920s, but the Depression, World War II, and other factors delayed the building until 1953 when the Veterans and Pioneers Building was completed. In 1951, K. Ross Toole was hired as the first professional director. His major task was to plan for the new building, and the varied programs which it would enable. Among these programs were a formal museum, art galleries, the library, and a magazine.

Until 1951 the Society had no director. The Librarian and assistant functioned as director and staff. In 1951, K. Ross Toole was hired as the first official director. The role of Society expanded to include publication of a magazine, management of a museum, development of art galleries, and merchandising of artwork, as well as the original Library. In addition to the Director, Administration came to include a business manager, accountants, and other functions central to the Society as a whole. The Director’s responsibility is the overall administration of the Society, under the general guidance of the Board of Trustees.

Directors succeeding Toole (1951-1958), were Michael Kennedy (1958-1966), Sam Gilluly (1966-1974), Ken Korte (1974-1979), Robert Archibald (1979-1989), Larry Sommer (1989-1992), Brian Cockhill (1992-1998), Arnold Olsen (1999-2006), and Richard Sims (2006- ). In addition, there have been several interim directors serving for varying periods of time.

Return to Top

Content Description

Records of the Director's office include a subgroup for the directors prior to 1975, and subgroups for each of the director's thereafter. Records include combined correspondence/subject files, financial records, legal documents, organizational records, press releases, printed material, reports, miscellany, and clippings. This is an on-going project.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Library & Archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Library & Archives before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Name of Collection. Collection Number. Box and folder number. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. Helena, Montana.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by subgroup and series.

Location of Collection

55:3-4

Processing Note

In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Historical Society were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 499, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.

Collections from Montana Historical Society's Programs/Board that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 499. Rather than reprocessing over 90 linear feet of Historical Society materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links through the central finding aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding aids at manageable sizes. Please read the scope and content note carefully to determine if this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.

Additional Processing Note

This collection represents the record keeping of the Montana Historical Society Director's Office over a period of many years and many Directors. Filing systems changed over time. Therefore, files on certain types of topics may be filed differently during different time periods. The attempt was made to keep the filing as close to the original filing systems as reasonably possible. For example, files on bronzes may be filed under "Bronzes" or may be filed under the artist or under the owner. The processing archivist attempted to include the key word(s) in the folder title, so that relevant material can be located whichever way it was filed.

This is an on-going project. Records will be added periodically as they are retired from the Director's Office.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request.

Separated Materials

Printed material and photographs have been separated to the Library and Photo Archives respectively.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Historical societies, etc.-- Montana.
  • Museums--Montana.

Geographical Names

  • Montana--History.

Finding aid prepared by Ellie Arguimbau; Updated by Lindsey Mick
2006; 2024

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...