Exhibits
Life in the Valley
Objects, clothing, and displays drawn from the daily lives of the people who settled and worked in the Upper Musselshell.
Take a break in our theater and enjoy a movie about the people and the history of Montana.
This sled hearse used by the Masons came from Castle Town. It is still home to our ghoulish resident.
The Homesteader's Cabin, donated to the Upper Musselshell Historic Society by Dan and Sandra DeBuff from the Hedgesville area, reconstructed on the Main Floor in the Museum.
The 50s apartment, original to the Marshall Building, is decked out in 50s artifacts. Display was done by Lynn Graves with the assistance of Sharla Hatveldt.
This 1900s buggy - an artifact representative of early 1900s travel in the Valley.
Even the Restrooms are worth a tour in our Museum! Lyn Graves has put together numerous collages of the accoutrements of beauty and personal hygiene from past days which adorn the walls. The Agony and the Ecstasy of Beauty!
The Heritage Rooms
Rooms donated and arranged by Valley families, each preserving the belongings and stories of those who built this community.
Betty Deering Fraley has put together a lovely room in memory of the Paden–Deering family.
One of two Heritage Rooms owned by Irwin Allen, long time Snowy Mountain rancher, contains a collection of tools used by his family.
Items from the Allen Ranch of yesteryears decorate the second of Irwin Allen's Heritage Rooms.
Loretta Swanson's extensive doll collection is enjoyed by young and old.
Diane Martin Morse and Kay Martin have combined the clothing and artifacts of the Martin Family, long time ranchers on Big Elk, in a display.
Baby clothing and photographs owned by the Martins have been arranged, along with family documents and other articles, by Kay Martin.
The Arthurs, the Cosgriffes, and the Moores are represented in this room. Harry and Peg Cosgriffe's Room.
Memories of family are presented in Margie Ewing's Room. A period dressing set reminds us of a more formal past.
Stan and Enid Kalberg's Heritage Room displays rodeo memorabilia along with impressive sculptures and 'Sis' Hicks' 100 year-old doll.
This small corner room contains an eclectic group of artifacts ranging from gold pans to glass marbles to shirtwaists. Dick and Nancy Stoltz Heritage Room.
Tucked away behind the windows of the August and Effie Winsky Heritage Room are the memories of a railroader/rancher and schoolteacher.
Schools
Schoolroom on the Ledge
Wheatland County had numerous rural schoolhouses through the years, some of the oldest established in the 1890s. The Schoolroom on the Ledge recreates what that era looked like.
Military
Honoring Local Heroes
From the Spanish American War all the way up to present day, the Military Display — put together by Lyn Graves — honors local heroes who served for our country.
Medical
Doctors, Nurses & Their Tools
The medical display shares the history of some of the area's local doctors and nurses, as well as artifacts used in the medical field across the decades.
Railroad
Milwaukee Road Collection
The John & Ida Belle Pedersen Collection — the largest set of HO scale Milwaukee Road models in the United States — tells the story of railroads in Central Montana, including the Montana Railroad (the Jawbone), the Milwaukee Road, the White Sulphur Springs & Yellowstone Park Railroad, the BNSF, and Montana Rail Link.
More about the Pedersen Collection →Native American
The Harlan Lucas Collection
The Native American display features the Harlan Lucas Collection and contains artifacts found in numerous bison kill sites and campsites around the Upper Musselshell Valley, as well as other parts of the state.
Business & Industry
On the museum’s top level, step inside a restored sheep wagon and get a feel for life on the range. Herders spent whole summers in wagons like this one, watching over a band of sheep in remote grazing country. Their only company was usually a dog and maybe a horse. Come in and see how much living fit into such a small space.
The cattle industry has played a vital part in the development of the Upper Musselshell Valley and continues to play a major part.
On the ground floor, the North Wall is lined with vintage photographs of the businesses that existed in early Harlowton. Take a few minutes to look over the faces, signs and storefronts of the era.
The office display, done by Sharla Hatveldt, includes numerous typewriters and adding machines, as well as office supplies.
Our general store display shows off a collection of various goods from several different decades.
Several banks existed in the Valley during the 1900s. Even though only one survived, you can still see checks and other artifacts of the banks in the teller cage.
Meet Ava
Avaceratops Lammersi
Discovered north of Shawmut, "Ava" is the first of her kind — a species new to science at the time of her discovery. She joins other fine specimens of the geological history of the Upper Musselshell Valley.
The Upper Musselshell Museum is one of fifteen stops on the official Montana Dinosaur Trail.
Montana Dinosaur Trail →