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When a new jail was completed in 1982, the county granted this facility to the historical society. 

Galleries retell the story of Southwest Montana from Native American tribes to early settlers and the establishment of Bozeman. 

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Established in 1977, the Gallatin Historical Society operate this local history museum and research library in a former jail that was built in 1911. The museum includes permanent exhibits on Native American history, the Lewis and Clark expedition, western expansion, and early Bozeman history, as well as a room dedicated to the history of the former jail. The museum also includes a model replica of Fort Ellis, a cavalry fort established in 1867. The library boasts a photo archive with more than 18,000 historic images as well as resources for genealogists. 

Gallatin History Museum

This short walk through Bozeman starts at the Gallatin History Museum and the county courthouse. The tour includes several historic downtown buildings such as the Baxter Hotel and the former city library. 

The courthouse features a symmetrical design, a limestone facade, decorative bronze panels, and stone light bases on each side of the courthouse steps. The courthouse replaced the previous one that was 55-years old. Apparently, a group of local businessmen convinced the city to condemn that courthouse so it could be torn down. Wanting to promote the city, the men believed that building a new courthouse was a way to achieve this goal and attract federal funds. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It has been well preserved and remains an important landmark in Bozeman.

Designed by local architecture Fred Willson, the Gallatin County Courthouse in Bozeman is historically significant as a fine example of Art Deco architecture. It is also notable for its association with Works Progress Administration (WPA), which helped build the courthouse. The WPA was one of the federal agencies established in the 1930s to provide jobs during the Great Depression. The courthouse has served as the seat of county government since its construction in 1936. 

Gallatin County Courthouse

The idea for the hotel originated from a group of prominent businessmen and professionals who formed an organization called The Bozeman Community Hotel, Inc. They sold stock to the public, hoping to raise $200,000 for the project. Robert Baxter gave $50,000 (he and his family lived on the top floor of the hotel for a number of years). In addition to operating as a hotel, the Baxter was an important social gathering place for the community. It also was able to survive the Great Depression, maintaining high occupancy levels. The Baxter was converted into a condominium in the early 1980s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The current owners acquired it in 2004.

Baxter Hotel was built in 1929 and has remained an important Bozeman landmark ever since. It gets its name from wealthy county rancher Robert Baxter, who provided most of the funding for the building. Prominent Montana architect Fred F. Willson designed it in the Art Deco style. Notable features include a light-buff colored brick exterior, terra-cotta trimmed arched windows over the main entrance doors, and six windows on the top floor with iron balconies and terra cotta arches forming an arcade. A large neon light "Hotel Baxter" sign is located on the roof. The Baxter no longer operates as a hotel but is now a residential building and a wedding and event venue. It also home to three restaurants including the Bacchus Pub, which has been here since 1929 (it was originally called the Baxter Coffee House). 

Baxter Hotel

First Presbyterian was one of several Presbyterian congregations established in Montana in 1872 (the others were founded in Hamilton, Virginia City, Gallatin City, Deer Lodge, Helena, and Missoula). The congregation met in other churches until 1880 when they built a small wood-frame church opposite where the current building stands now. The congregation started making plans to build a second church in 1893 but unfortunately an economic depression (known as the Panic of 1893) shelved those plans. The economy improved and Bozeman started to prosper in the early 1900s, allowing the congregation to finally erect the current church building. Construction began in 1908 and lasted around two years. First Presbyterian was dedicated on February 20, 1910. The modern addition attached to the church was built in 1954.

Bozeman's First Presbyterian Church holds the distinction of being home to the oldest Presbyterian congregation in Montana. The congregation formed in 1872 and the church building itself was erected in 1910. The church is an excellent example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture and features a square bell tower with a Gothic arched entryway, arched stained glass windows, and large lancet windows also with stained glass. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

First Presbyterian Church

The museum was founded in 2001 by Bozeman residents Penny Murray and Nicki Young. They began to increase awareness of the need for a children's museum by displaying interactive exhibits at parades, farmers markets, and community events. Eventually, the museum has grown to what it is today.&nbsp;

The Children's Museum of Bozeman, housed in its current building in 2008, provides hands-on interactive exhibits and educational programs to help foster children's imagination, curiosity, and self-confidence. It is a 4,600 square foot facility that has classroom in addition to the the exhibit space. Programming includes summer camps, after school programs, and educational programs. 

Children's Museum of Bozeman

The church's origins date to June 30, 1868 when the newly appointed Bishop of Montana, The Rt. Rev. Daniel Silvester Tuttle, came to Bozeman. A few days later on July 5th, Tuttle held the first Episcopal service in the Gallatin Valley in a wood-frame church building that was located at the intersection of Main Street and Tracy Avenue. Though only six attended the service, it signaled the beginning of the congregation. Tuttle bought land for a mission church in 1869 but it was not built until 1876. By 1879, the congregation grew to 19 members and the church rectory was later built in 1883. The present church building was, as noted above, erected in 1890. In 1930, the rectory was remodeled to the Colonial Revival style and the parish hall was added in 1940.

Designed by architect George Hancock, St. James Episcopal Church was built in 1890 and is an excellent example of Gothic architecture (the rectory was erected in 1883). Constructed using stone, notable features of the church include a bell tower on the southeast corner with arched openings and a steeply pitched roof, Gothic windows with stained glass, stone buttresses, and a Gothic arched main entrance. The congregation formed around 1868, making it one of the first to do so in Bozeman. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. 

St. James Episcopal Church

Samuel Lewis was born on May 19, 1835 in the West Indies. When he was a young child, he and his parents immigrated to America and settled in Newark, New Jersey. His mother died sometime before 1844 and his father married a Chippewa woman, with whom he had Edmonia. Sadly, Lewis' father died around 1847 and it was at this point that Lewis became a barber, which enabled him to pay for Edmonia's education. He left for California in 1852 and remained there for the next ten years where he continued to work as a barber and got into mining as well. Apparently, he did very well for himself since he traveled to Europe, West Indies, and around America between 1862-1864 before settling in Idaho City, Idaho. There, he opened barbershop and built two properties that unfortunately burned down.Lewis finally arrived in Bozeman in 1868, just four years after it was founded, and once again opened a barbershop and built homes that he rented. Over the coming years, Lewis, who was only one of ten Black residents in Bozeman at the time, gradually made a name for himself in the community as a prosperous barber and landlord. He married a widow with six children in 1884 and they had one son together, Samuel E. Lewis.Lewis transformed the house into the Queen Anne style, with some East Lake elements included, in 1890. It features stained glass windows, a red-brick exterior, decorative woodwork especially on the porch. Inside, there is a frescoed ceiling, elaborate woodwork, and tin ceiling in the kitchen.Lewis became ill and passed away in 1896 at the age of 63. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and remains a private residence today.

Originally built in 1883, this historic house is a significant landmark in Bozeman. It was the home of Samuel Lewis (1835-1896), who was a leading member of the local African American community in Bozeman between 1868 and 1896. Born in the West Indies, he became a successful barber and miner as adult, and eventually settled in Bozeman where he opened a barbershop and also built and rented four houses. When he died, his estate was worth $25,000; it is likely no other African American in Montana was that wealthy at the time. Lewis is also known for being the brother of Edmonia Lewis (1844-1907), who became a successful sculptor known around the world. The house is also significant for its Queen Anne architecture and reflects Bozeman's development as it evolved from a town with modest homes to more sophisticated ones (Lewis remodeled the house in 1890). 


Samuel Lewis House

The library was completed in 1904 but the city had several small libraries since 1872. That year, the Young Men's Library Association collected books and lent them out. When the association dissolved the books were moved to a couple of law firms which let people borrow the books. In 1885, the Young Men's Christian Association formed an institute and opened a library. That eventually closed and the another library opened in city hall in 1890. As the number of books increased, it became clear that a new library was needed. &nbsp;A local librarian, Bell Chrisman, asked the city to request funds from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who soon provided the money. The library was open until 1980 when a new one was built. The city then used it for office space. It wasn't until 1999 that the building was renovated by the current law firm.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Bozeman Carnegie Library, now owned by the law firm Cok Kinzler PLLP, is a historic building located in Bozeman, Montana. Designed by architect C.S. Haire in the Classical Revival style, it was built between 1903 and 1904. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Bozeman Carnegie Library

Jacob Spieg born in 1833 and immigrated to the United States in 1854. He farmed in the midwest before heading west in search of gold, first to Colorado and then to Montana. Charles Krug was born in 1840 and arrived in America in 1856. He also farmed for a while, in Missouri, until he went west to mine for gold in 1864. Three years later, he arrived in Bozeman, where he met Spieg. In 1892, after both men died, the brewery was sold to new owners—Henry Hellinger and Louis Hanson—who later sold it to Julius Lehrkind in 1895.The Maxey name comes from Daniel Maxy, who owned mines near Bozeman and, it appears, the former brewery building. He remodeled it and hosted social gatherings on the second floor. Over the next several decades up to now, various businesses have occupied the first floor. In 1956, the Bozeman Trades Union and Labor Council renovated the second floor and met there for a few years. Later, a restaurant occupied the second floor around the 1980s.

Also known as Maxey Block, the Spieth and Krug Brewery building has been a landmark on Main Street since its construction in 1883. It is named after its builders Jacob Spieg and Charles Krug, who immigrated to America from Germany in the mid-1850s. They met in Bozeman around 1867 and decided to establish the brewery—the town's first. The building, which replaced the original wood-frame brewery, is an excellent example of Italianate architecture, featuring arched windows, semi-circular doors, a cast-iron railing on the second floor, and an ornate metal cornice (the decorative part along the top of edge of a wall). In 1895, the another German immigrant, Julius Lehrkind, bought the brewery and moved it to the north part of the city and renamed it Bozeman Brewery (that site is now the Bozeman Brewery Historic District and a separate Clio entry). Today, the building is home to retail businesses. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. 


Downtown Bozeman Montana Walking Tour

Gallatin History Museum

Introduction

Images

Additional Information