Museum of the
Northern Great Plains
|
|
1205 20th Street
Fort Benton, Montana
|
|
The Museum of the Northern Great Plains
documents the last one hundred years of life on the 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. |
In hail, blizzards and dust storms, and temperatures from
-50 to +115, they persevered in tarpapers shacks, surviving from year to year by only the
narrowest of margins.
|
|
The human story of people is
told. Their way of life on the Northern Great Plains is
yours to explore. |
|
The events that led to current farming
practices, national and state history, and technological advancements that affected the
families of the plains are an integral part of the story told in the museum. |
|
|
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. |
| The Museum is part of a
large complex occupying two city blocks, which also contains the Homestead Village, the
Montana Agricultural Center, The Hornaday Smithsonian Bison Display, the
Overholser Historical Research Center and the Schwinden Library
and Archives.
|
|
OPEN DATES & HOURS OF OPERATION
|
|
May 23rd
through
September 28, 2008
Monday - Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
|
The museum can be opened by appointment during the off season.
Admission fees are
charged. Special rates available for school and tour groups.
Payment of the admission fee entitles you
to the guided tour of Historic Old Fort Benton, and entry at the Museum
of the Northern Great Plains, the Museum of the Upper Missouri and the
Upper Missouri River Breaks Interpretive Center.
|
For Further
Information Contact
The River and Plains Society
P.O. Box 262
Fort Benton, Montana 59442
406-622-5316
|
|
Photographs
and artwork within this website may not be copied or reproduced
without written permission of the River & Plains Society.
Copyright and reproduction rights apply.
|
|
