History with personality!

The History Museum

422 Second Street South

Great Falls, Montana 59405

(406) 452-3462

 

Hours: Tuesday-Friday

10:00am-5:00pm

 

Admission is FREE.

 

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ARCHIVAL RESEARCH CENTER

 

Policies for Use

 

Archival material use is restricted to the Reading Room and is non-circulating.  These materials require special handling and security.

Patrons will be asked to sign in and leave belongings in a locker.

Records may be fragile and must not be marked, folded, written on top of, or leaned upon.

Please preserve any existing arrangement of materials.  If they appear out of order, call this to the attention of the staff.

Food and beverages are not permitted in the reading room.

There is no charge for on-site users to conduct research.

 

 

Resources Available

 

Building and Site Research: Survey of original town site of Great Falls, surveys and nominations of Lower North Side Historic District, Railroad Historic District and Fairground Historic District, plus renovation information.

 

City of Great Falls and Cascade County Records:  Include Civil and Criminal Court Records; Voter Registration; Land and Tax Records; Business Licenses; City scrapbooks; others.

 

Directories:  City and business directories from 1887 to present for Great Falls and some smaller towns in Cascade County.  Some missing.

 

Homestead Records:  Over 7,000 original land patent holders recorded alphabetically by name and legal description.  Mapped by location.

 

Library:  Local histories for Cascade County communities and surrounding areas.  Regional historical fiction and nonfiction, period reference books and textbooks.

 

Manuscript Collections:  Letters, diaries and other unpublished materials from individuals, businesses, and organizations preserved for research purposes.  Finding aids available for most collections.

 

Maps:  City, county, state, plat maps, blueprints, architectural drawings, mining and power lines.  Sanborn Insurance maps for 1890, 1900 (with updates), 1929 (with updates) and 1956.

 

Naturalization Records:  Declaration of Intention, Petition, and Citizenship papers for Cascade County residents from 1887 to 1966.

 

Newspapers:  Bound copies of the Great Falls Tribune (1893-1953), the Great Falls Leader (1888-1961), and Belt Valley Times (1893-1977), some missing).  Various other local newspapers also available.  *Bound newspapers will not be photocopied.

 

Oral Histories: Audio cassettes indexed by speaker name and subject.

 

Photographs: Approximately 35,000 photographic images dating from the 1860s to the present are cataloged and organized by subject.  Subject strengths include the Anaconda Mining Company refinery, the WWII era Seventh Ferrying group, and agriculture.

 

Vertical Files:  Extensive clippings, pamphlets, brochures, and ephemera organized by subject and name for Great Falls, Cascade County, and Montana.

 

 

Reproductions

 

All photocopying of archival materials must be performed by archives staff.  Some materials are too fragile to copy.

Please see Order Form, Fee List and Permission to Use (*Links still under construction*) forms (PDF files). Use of reproductions for publication and/or commercial use may include a use fee.

A completed, pre-paid, signed, order form must accompany each request for reproductions.  Allow at least three (3) weeks for delivery of reproductions.

Permission will be granted for one-time use only.  Any subsequent use of reproductions requires written permission of the History Museum.  All other rights, including those of further publication, are reserved in full by The History Museum.

Photographic reproductions are provided in digital format only.

The researcher assumes full responsibility for compliance with laws governing copyright, libel, and literary property rights.

Credit for use of images must read as follows [number of photo] The History Museum, Great Falls, MT.  For manuscript collections use [name of document, i.e. letter from John Smith to Mary Jones, 25 May 1944], [name of collection, i.e. 7^th Ferrying Group Records], The History Museum, Great Falls, MT.

Duplication of large format material, architectural drawings, and maps is performed by outside sources; their fees apply in addition to those of The History Museum.

 

Research/Information Requests

 

If you are unable to visit The History Museum Archives we can conduct limited research for a fee.

Research questions must be submitted in writing via FAX, e-mail, or surface mail. Please provide us with as much information as possible including names, precise locations, and dates.

Research by external request is on a pre-pay basis with a $20 minimum charge.  This fee includes up to one hour of research time, up to 10 photocopies and postage.  Additional photocopies are .25 per page and research is $20 per hour.  Due to limited staff, major research projects over 2 hours will not be undertaken.  For more in-depth requests we will provide names of local researchers that are available for hire.  There is no guarantee that information will be found.

 

 

As part of The History Museum, the mission of the Archival Research Center is to preserve historical documents and records considered important to the heritage of the central Montana area and to utilize those resources in providing educational and research opportunities to the public.

 

Location and Hours

 

The Archival Research Center is located on the second floor of The History Museum at 422 2^nd Street South, Great Falls, Montana.  Open hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 am to 5 pm.  Closed on holidays.  Patrons wishing to visit the archives are urged to contact The History Museum prior to their visit.

Public Reading Room