Museum of the Northern Great Plains

Museum of the Northern Great Plains

The Museum of the Northern Great Plains documents the last one hundred years of life on the vast Montana plains.

The fur traders, wilderness animals and open land had made way to the cowboy and herds of cattle, now families began to move onto the land. It was not gold or silver that brought people to these plains, but dreams for a better life. Thousands of families came by train and wagon to settle on the vast short-grass prairie; families who became known as the homesteaders.

The homesteaders endured the extreme conditions of the high plains. Living in the most primitive conditions; alone and often without enough water. They braved weather that showed its extreme more often than its average.

The story of the homesteaders is told….their way of life on the Northern Great Plains is yours to explore.

Displays throughout the museum allow you to explore the hardships as well as the triumphs of three generations of families living on these Northern Great Plains.