On December 21, 1864, Francis M. Thompson introduced Council Bill 15 to the Territorial Legislature, which incorporated 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 a unanimous vote.

The Society began collecting reminiscences and other memorabilia of the early pioneers. These collections later 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.

In 1873, the Montana 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 and, in 1891, the collections were officially transferred to State control. 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. In 1963, the name was changed to the Montana Historical Society, which remains the current name, as of 2024.

In 1898, the Society hired its first professional librarian, Laura E. Howey, a graduate of Beaver College in Pennsylvania and president of Montana’s Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Howey was responsible for the creation of an accessioning system, the card catalog, and newspaper binding as well as establishing the library as the first federal document repository in Montana. However, during the reappointment of the position in 1907, Howey was forced to withdraw her name from consideration due to a clause in the state constitution that stated only eligible voters (which excluded women) were allowed to hold state offices.

Later, in 1924, Anne McDonnell was hired as an assistant librarian. She implemented the Dewey Decimal System, a library classification system first published in 1876. Additionally, she inventoried artifacts and gathered reminiscences of prominent Montanans. She worked as assistant librarian until her retirement in 1953.

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 at the age of thirty-one. Toole was a fourth generation Montanan with a PhD in western history from University of California-Los Angeles. His major task was to plan for the new building, and the varied programs which it would enable, including a formal museum, art galleries, library and magazine program.

Starting the in 1950s, the Society began to transition into a “museum model,” including the creation of interpretive exhibits and art displays. Among the more prominent donations included Malcolm Mackay’s donation in 1952 of a forty-four-piece collection of Charles Russell works, purchased by the Society for 50,000 dollars. In 1964, Everton G. Poindexter donated his eighty-two-piece collection of abstract art, including works from artists like Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning.

Other programs began to emerge during this time. In 1951, the Board of Trustees met to discuss the creation of a quarterly magazine, and in 1951 the first issue of The Montana Magazine of History was published. The name was later changed in 1955 to Montana The Magazine of Western History. In 1957, Toole met with the Parks Division of the State Highway Commission to discuss historic sites around the state. A framework for the protection of historic sites emerged following the passage of the federal Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the state Antiquities Act of 1973. In 1977, Governor Tom Judge transferred the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) from the Department of Fish and Game to the Montana Historical Society. As of 2024, SHPO remains one of the programs operating within MTHS. Finally, in 1969, the Montana Legislature designated the Historical Society as the location for the official state archives.

As of 2025, the Montana Historical Society has six programs: Director’s Office, Library & Archives (formerly named Research Center), Museum, Outreach and Education (formerly Outreach and Interpretation), Publications, and the State Historic Preservation Office. To see a current list of programs and staff, visit the Montana Historical Society directory.

Sources

Shovers, Brian. “Saving Montana's Past: The Creation and Evolution of the Montana Historical Society and Montana The Magazine of Western History.” Montana The Magazine of Western History 52, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 48-59. Accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4520395.