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Caroline McGill papers, 1909-1958

Overview of the Collection

Creator
McGill, Caroline, 1879-1959
Title
Caroline McGill papers
Dates
1909-1958 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.6 linear feet, (4 boxes)
Collection Number
0945, Collection 945, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
Caroline McGill was a Butte, Montana, physician and collector of historical memorabilia. Her papers consist of autobiographical materials, including a transcription of travel notes originally kept by McGill on the back of postcards during her 1909-1910 European tour, her reminiscences of Gallatin Canyon prior to her purchase of the 320 Ranch in 1936, and notes on the establishment of the Museum of the Rockies; an original manuscript history of Gallatin Canyon prepared by McGill from various interviews, letters, and research readings supplemented by an index prepared by Harriet Cushman and members of the Montana Institute for the Arts; subject files pertaining mostly to personalities associated with the history of Gallatin Canyon; tourist information brochures and pamphlets; general personal and research correspondence.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Additional Reference Guides

Also available as a digital collection.

Languages
Collection materials are in English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
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Biographical Note

Caroline McGill (1879-1959) was a Butte, Montana physician and collector of historical memorabilia. Born in Mansfield, Ohio on May 18, 1879, McGill moved to Lebanon, Missouri with her family at the age of five. She attended normal school at nearby Springfield and eventually Missouri State University at Columbia where she earned a doctorate in anatomy in 1908. In 1909 she left for Europe to study medicine. In 1911 McGill began her work at the Murray Hospital in Butte, Montana, but shortly thereafter left to earn her MD at Johns Hopkins University. She returned to Butte in 1913 and continued to practice medicine until her retirement in 1956. She purchased the 320 Ranch in Gallatin Canyon, near Bozeman, Montana, in 1936 and took a keen interest in the area's history. Collecting antiques complemented her research on Gallatin Canyon's past and she stored much of her growing collection of objects and memorabilia at the ranch as well as her apartment in Butte. She eventually moved the collection to the Montana State University campus where it formed the core of the Museum of the Rockies' collections. Caroline McGill died on February 4, 1959.

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Content Description

The papers in this collection consist of autobiographical materials, including a transcription of travel notes originally kept by McGill on the back of postcards during her 1909-1910 European tour, her reminiscences of Gallatin Canyon prior to her purchase of the 320 Ranch in 1936, and notes on the establishment of the Museum of the Rockies; an original manuscript history of Gallatin Canyon prepared by McGill from various interviews, letters, and research readings supplemented by an index prepared by Harriet Cushman and members of the Montana Institute for the Arts; subject files pertaining mostly to personalities associated with the history of Gallatin Canyon; tourist information brochures and pamphlets; general personal and research correspondence. Persons mentioned include: Andrew Levinski, Bert Stillman, Charles Franklin High, Cunningham and Behring, Dr. L.E. Safely, Henry Sapplington, Lew Bartholomew, Pete Karst, Plenty Coups, Ralph Oliver, Richard A. Harlow, Sam Wilson, Stanley Davis, Story Ranch, Thomas Michener, Vick Smith, Walter Cooper, and Zachariah Sales.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Series 1 Autobiographical materials, 1909-1956

Series 2 Gallatin Canyon History manuscript

Series 3 Subject files

Series 4 Tourist ephemera collection, circa 1930-1950

Series 5 Correspondence, 1931-1958

Acquisition Information

Original and photocopied personal papers, literary manuscripts, and printed ephemera pertaining to Dr. Caroline McGill were added to Special Collections by: Mrs. James Goodrich of Gallatin Canyon in 1965 (accession number ACC-0025); Dr. Merrill G. Burlingame of Bozeman in 1971 and 1972 (accession numbers ACC-0945 and ACC-0990); estate of Harriet Cushman (accession number ACC-1245); Helen M. Johnson of Missoula in 1984 (accession number ACC-1403); Museum of the Rockies in 1973 and 1985 (accession numbers ACC-0945 and ACC-1418); Dorothy Vick of Bozeman in 1992; Marian Stephens of Bozeman in 1994 (accession number ACC-2296).

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 February 27

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Personal Names

Geographical Names

Form or Genre Terms

Kim Allen Scott, 2009; Updated by Jodi Allison-Bunnell
2024

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