Guide to MTHS Photo Collections
The over 1.25 million photographs held by the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives are divided into thousands of collections. Brief summaries of most of our larger collections are included below. More substantial descriptive information can be found in our catalog or in collection finding aids found on Archives West.
For more information about this guide or our Photograph Collection, contact Photo Archives at (406) 444-4739 or photoarchives@mt.gov.
Major Photographic Collections
Group of over 18,000 photographs collected prior to the formal creation of the Photograph Archives in the 1970s. Prominent people and places throughout Montana’s first 100 years of history compose this valuable collection, including extensive Native American photographs. [The 900s]
Approximately 40,000 photographic items, including almost 24,000 negatives (over 9,400 glass); photographs taken by F. Jay Haynes (1853-1921) and his son, Jack Ellis Haynes (1884-1962), of the construction and operation of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the historical places, events, and scenic beauty of Yellowstone National Park.
Almost 1,700 glass and film negatives by pioneering Miles City photographer Laton A. Huffman (1854-1931); documents cowboys and ranch life in eastern Montana, Crow and Cheyenne Indians, the slaughter of buffalo, and the Custer Trail Expedition in 1916. [The 981s]
1,791 glass and film negatives and about 3,000 photographic prints; reflects Cameron’s interests in the people, birds, and other wildlife of eastern Montana, 1895-1920, containing views of homesteading, ranching activities, social life, and scenery and wildlife in eastern Montana. [PAc 90-87]
Over 45,000 photographic prints, negatives, and slides capture images of railroad locomotives from every significant railroad line that operated in Montana, 1930s-1990s. [PAc 97-93]
This large collection is made up of over 75,000 photographs, mostly negatives with a small percentage of photographic prints, documenting Helena, Montana and surrounding areas, collected and created by long-time Helena photographer Leslie H. Jorud (1899-1977). This includes Jorud's historical collection of photographs from 1870s-1920s, some works by other Helena photography studios, and especially his own work from 1916-1969. Views include Helena businesses; Helena schools and classes; Helena events; churches and religious ceremonies and activities; activities in Helena; Carroll College; portraits of people (ie. Governors and Helena residents); portraits of social and cultural groups; weddings; Helena fire of 1928; Helena earthquake of 1935; Helena High School students, clubs, and activities. [Lot 037]
PAc 82-62 – Documents the Company’s operations in Anaconda from 1900-1923 in about 2,000 negatives and 265 prints;
PAc 81-34 – Covers the Great Falls operation from 1900-1970 with about 7,700 negatives and 300 prints.
The Montana Dept. of Transportation, Photo Section Unit photograph collection consists of more than 1,600 prints and 72,000 negatives and transparencies, mostly black and white, taken by Highway Dept. / MDT photographers from 1958 to 1998. The images capture highway construction and planning, traffic accidents, public events, Montana's Territorial Centennial celebration, Montana governors and their activities, Highway department personnel and workplaces, effects of natural disasters on highway systems, as well as equipment and other Highways related material and affairs. [PAc 86-15]
Over 20,000 photomechanical printed postcards (PC 001) and over 10,000 real photo postcards (Lot 048) documenting the natural landmarks and built environments of Montana’s cities and towns predominantly from 1905-1960s. Most postcards are organized by place and a small number of subject categories. This includes an extensive set of novelty “greeting” postcards documenting early 20th century American social life through cards sent for holidays and for romantic or humorous purposes. [PC 001 and Lot 048]
Lot Collections
Lot collections are typically larger, more substantial photograph collections containing hundreds or thousands of photos. They can be focused on a single topic, individual person, family, business, or organization. They are usually composed of a number of separate accessions of photographs over the years and are combined into an artificial collection as a lot. Most of these collections are processed with useful information and inventories available in online finding aids on Archives West.
This collection includes 187 photographs of the Kessler and Hewett families and the Kessler Brewery near Helena, Montana, 1870-1951. This includes images of Charles N. Kessler, Sr., his wife, Sarah Hewett Kessler, and their children (Charles N. Jr. and Marietta), relatives, and friends, photographs of the Kessler family's business and social activities, their Helena residence and their brewery. There are also views of the Hewett State Bank, and the Basin Hardware and Mercantile Company in Basin, Montana.
Collection includes photographs of Andrew Baird Cook and family, Cook's ranches; Gosnell and Pettingell family; champion Herefords; cattle herds; mines, including Columbine Tunnel, McKenzie Mine, Spring Hill Mine, and P. Burns coal mines; railroad construction; portraits of unidentified men, women and children. Collection contains 7 boxes: 641 photographic prints, 8 nitrate negatives, and 8 albums containing 1,775 photographic prints. [UNPROCESSED]
Collection covers 1870-1977, and includes photographs of Anton M. Holter, N.B. Holter and N.J. Holter families; Hoblitzell, Jefferis, Kennett, Loberg, Treacy, Hauser, and Lear families; Holter family residences; Holter Hardware Company; Holter Lumber Company; views of Helena, Montana; overviews of Rimini, Shelby, and Virginia City, Montana; Little Ben Mine and Crescent Mine; Hauser Dam, Hungry Horse Dam and Holter Dam; views of Canyon Ferry dam area, Gates of the Mountains, and other scenic views. Collection contains almost 2,600 photographic prints, over 1,000 film negatives, and other materials, including moving images. [UNPROCESSED]
The collection contains 118 photographs from 1909-1958 of Burton K. Wheeler (1882-1975), his wife and children, and photographs taken during Wheeler's political career, mainly when he served as a U. S. Senator from Montana from 1923-1946. Of particular interest are photographs taken in 1928 when Wheeler was a member of a senate committee investigating a coal miners' strike in Pennsylvania. The collection also includes photographs of Wheeler with his senate colleagues, miners' union leaders, and other people with whom he was involved during his career.
The collection contains photographs ranging in date from circa 1890-1910 collected by the Tilton Family. Daniel Webster Tilton owned a general store with his father-in-law in Virginia City, Montana. The store was later moved to Butte, Montana in 1884. There are photographs of Tilton's family, stores, and family ranch near Sheridan, Montana. There is an interesting series of views of gold fields in Alaska and mines in Butte, Montana. Collection contains 7 boxes: 537 photographs, 2 tintypes, and 6 albums with 290 photos.
The collection covers a broad range of interests and activities of T. C. Power and his family, spanning the years 1872-1945, and represents not only some of the business investments and properties but also documents family, friends, and social life in Montana at the turn of the century. Subjects besides the Power family include Power connected business enterprises, ranches, and residences. General topics include animals, children, cities and towns, forts and fortifications, groups, houses, Indians of North America, landscapes, portraits of men, mining, monuments and memorials, recreation, transportation, U. S. Senators, universities and colleges, portraits of women, and Yellowstone National Park. Collection contains 13 boxes: 1,215 photographic prints, including one album of 200 prints; 6 engravings, 4 tintypes, and 35 nitrate film negatives.
Collection of over 3,700 photographs and 9 film reels related to Montana Governor J. Hugo Aronson, divided by family and subjects with dates covering 1905-1970. Collection includes views of Aronson and his family, his service during World War I, activities as governor, and as a member of the Montana Legislature. Other photographs include the following related families: Johanson, Lengagne, McClure, Skjold and Cathcart. The collection also includes views of Aronson family residences, businesses, and family farms. [UNPROCESSED]
This collection contains 134 photographic prints taken from 1908-1912 to illustrate a “Report of Investigation of Sanitary Conditions in Mines and of the Conditions Under Which the Miners Live in Silver Bow County.” The photos show sanitary conditions found by the inspectors in Butte’s underground mines, in a few of the dairies adjacent to Butte, around dwellings and boarding houses, and conditions found at the county poor farm. Photos of residences often include street addresses and show exterior views of yards and streets. The photographs were taken in Butte, Centerville, Meaderville, and Walkerville, Montana.
James Brownlee Rankin collected information concerning Montana artist Charles M. Russell in preparation for writing a Russell biography and an illustrated catalog of his work. The collection includes 140 photographs, with a few views of Rankin, but primarily consists of photographs of Charles M. Russell, Russell's studio and residences, the Russell family and their friends, and people who knew Russell or collected his work.
William J. Brings moved to Montana in 1908 and operated photographic studios in Hardin and Laurel. This small collection of photographs by Brings includes photos of the photographer and his family, his studios, and the towns in Montana where he lived. The majority of the images taken by Brings in this collection are photographs of Crow Indian people and St. Xavier Mission. He took many photographs on the Crow Indian Reservation during the period 1908-1910. There are also images of Hardin and Laurel and homestead life in eastern Montana during the early 20th century. The collection contains 32 photographic prints, 29 glass negatives, and 4 nitrate film negatives with dates ranging from 1906-1913.
Charles Francis Hawkes (1887-1951) was a Helena, Montana, businessman and partner in Nilan and Hawkes, an automotive parts supply firm. His wife, Helen Kukolsky, was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin and moved to Helena around 1901. This small collection of 73 photographs contains a variety of subjects that cover interests and activities of the Hawkes and Kukolsky families and others, spanning 1905-1913. This includes images of Hawkes with a Helena Business College group, wedding and first communion ceremonies, International Harvester Company displays and machinery, and Kessler Brewery workers.
Edward Charles (Teddy Blue) Abbott was a Giltedge, Montana, cattleman, Fergus County school trustee, and author. This small collection of 176 photographic prints and 8 negatives largely contains photographs of Abbott, his siblings, his wife, Mary Stuart, their children, and the Three Deuce Ranch. Other photographs include subjects such as the Giltedge community, coal mines, and stock inspectors. [UNPROCESSED]
Odin Romunstad traveled to Montana Territory in 1888 and worked in Armells for the Fergus Land and Livestock company, owned by James Fergus. In October 1904, Romundstad married Ellen (Nellie) Hamilton Fergus, the daughter of William and Ellen Fergus, who came to Montana in 1882, and the niece of James Fergus. The Romundstads had a sheep and cattle ranch near Fergus. They were founders of the Presbyterian Church there. This small collection of 127 photographic prints and 8 negatives includes views of the Romundstad family and their ranch; Fergus family; Hamilton family; Hilger family and their ranch; Rauch family; branding and herd of herefords, including horses and cowboys; cowboy convention in Great Falls, MT; and Landheim Mine. [UNPROCESSED]
This small collection of 90 photo prints documents the Cat Creek oil field of eastern Fergus County (future Petroleum County), Montana's first commercially successful oil strike. Collection includes views of Cat Creek Oil Field; wells; workers; automobiles; Frantz discovery well; Frantz Well No.2; cook houses; pipelines; oil reservoirs; oil tanks; warehouses; bunk houses; Frantz camp; Lewistown refinery; hard rock rigs; ice house; and power house. The photographs in this collection were taken by Herb Titter of the Coulter Studio in Lewistown, Montana, in 1920. [UNPROCESSED]
This small collection of 150 photographic prints taken from 1863-1935 includes individual and group portraits of members of the Grand Army of the Republic, including department commanders, officers, and other members; group and individual portraits of Woman's Relief Corps members, as well as group's activities; view of soldier's home in Columbia Falls, Montana; individual and group portraits of Montana Council of Defense members including High Privates of Phillips County. [UNPROCESSED].
William R. Allen was a mining entrepreneur, businessman, and politician from the Anaconda-Deer Lodge region of Montana, primarily active from the 1890s-1930s. This small collection of 66 photographic prints includes portraits of William R. Allen and his family; Allen with stockholders; view of Allen at the Boston and Montana Corporation dinner; reception by President Coolidge at the White House for the Republican Notification Committee; views of Coolidge and Dewey, Montana; portrait of Perry Goodwin; views of Elkhorn Mine and mill; hydraulic mining; Hall-Perry Machinery Company in Butte, Montana; Montana Southern Railroad; and rodeos in Wisdom, Montana. [UNPROCESSED]
Carston Conrad Kohrs and his half-brother, John N.W. Bielenberg, both German immigrants to the Deer Lodge Valley in Montana, became associated in ranching, mining, and real estate interests, eventually incorporated as the Kohrs and Bielenberg Land and Livestock Company in 1908. Bielenberg’s daughter, Clara, married Warren Eugene Evans who came to Montana with his parents when he was thirteen years old, settling in Helena. This small collection of about 150 photos focuses on members of the Kohrs, Bielenberg, and Evans families, including the extended families of Bryant and Train. The photographs cover a range of interests and activities in Montana at the turn of the century, spanning the years 1872-1919. Other topics include bison, children, Deer Lodge, Montana, county government, couples, the Elks (B.P.O.E.) of Anaconda, Montana, the Flathead Reservation, and wedding dresses. [UNPROCESSED]
The Holter Research Foundation, Inc. was established in Helena, Montana, in 1947 as a private, non-profit scientific research organization "in an effort to help further science in the State of Montana and to assist the community in civic matters which could utilize its scientific facilities." Founder of the organization was Norman J. Holter, a physicist and member of a prominent Montana pioneer family. This collection of about 600 photographic prints, 223 transparencies, 522 negatives, one film, and two videos includes views of: Holter Research Laboratory (Holter Research Foundation) and its interior; Radioelectrocardiograph; radiocardiogram; the Holter Monitor worn by Norman J. Holter, Bill Glasscock and others; electrocardiorecorder/arrhythmiagraph; Holter monitor equipment; Holter Research Laboratory workers; experiments and laboratory equipment; Operation Crossroads (“Bikini Island”) activities and tests; bomb tests in Eniwetok and Yucca Flat, Nevada; and Holter's metal sculptures shaped by explosions. Film “Operation Doorstep” is of bomb-testing. [UNPROCESSED]
This collection contains photographs used in the Copper Commando, a biweekly newspaper published in Montana by the Victory Labor Management Committees of Anaconda, Butte, and Great Falls during World War II from 1942-1945. The photographs in this collection (923 film negatives and 66 photographic prints) were taken by chief photographer Robert I. Nesmith and used in the publication from its first issue in 1942 through 1944. These images document the day-to-day operations of workers at mills, plants, smelters, and refineries owned by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company: the Anaconda smelter (252 images), Butte mines (371 images), Great Falls electrolytic zinc plant and copper refinery (229 images), Rocker lumber mill (30 images), East Helena slag treating plant (28 images), and American Brass Company in Connecticut (13 images). They illustrate the process of metal production from mining ore through concentrating, roasting, smelting, converting, and electrolytic refining.
This collection consists of 235 glass negatives and 8 photographic prints taken by Grace Bendon Marron Gilmore primarily of people and landscapes in the Glendive and Dawson County area of eastern Montana from circa 1880s-1910s. The collection includes views of: Bendon family; Gilmore family; Marron family; Badlands; bridges in Glendive, Montana; recreational activities such as camping, picnics, and trips ; cattle; unidentified snapshots of children and adults; sites in unidentified towns; commemoration parade with Indians in full regalia; views of farm life; flood damages; gardens; horses; houses; Indians; mines; schools; wagons and teams; wildlife such as deer and peacocks; and Yellowstone National Park. [UNPROCESSED]
This collection of 181 photographic prints documents the Intermountain Lumber Company, which was incorporated in western Montana. The collection includes photographs of important company executives and mainly depicts the development and expansion of the lumber company. It contains views of lumber mills, logging activities and daily sawmill operations. It shows interesting photographs of sawmill workers on strike and a campaign visit by Republican vice presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon to Missoula, Montana, September 24, 1952. The dates of the photographs range from 1947-1962.
David Harvey (D.H.) and Mary (Minnie) Shelton Churchill lived and ranched near Ulm, Montana from 1875-1893. When D.H. died, Mary and their four children struggled to maintain the ranch, but the Panic of 1893 foreclosed banks and limited the resources available to them. The family sold the ranch and eventually moved to Washington state, and finally to Portland, Oregon. This collection of over 700 photographic prints (some in an album) and 6 film negatives includes photos of Churchill friends and family members, their ranch near Ulm, Montana, other residences, including those in Washington and Oregon, cities and towns in Montana, Oregon, and Washington, harness racing and racing horses, navy boats, ships and sailors, women and children.
The collection consists of 101 original negatives and 50 vintage photographic prints (three oversized) mostly taken by Mabel (Lanphere) Van Duzen, an amateur photographer living in the Roundup, Montana area, from 1909-1940. Subjects consist largely of members of the Hagen, Lanphere, and Van Duzen families, their homes, livelihoods, communities, and surrounding areas. Other subjects include the towns of Ingomar, Forsyth, and Miles City, the Forsyth Bridge, the cave houses at Farralltown (near Roundup), a Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul train wreck, oil wells, sheep, wagons, and Yellowstone National Park.
Frank G. Meinhart operated a sign painting business out of Butte, Montana, in the 1910s and 1920s. This collection consists of 181 photographic prints with views of Frank Meinhart and his family (91 prints) both in Butte, Montana, and Hamilton, Montana, as well as images of the Meinhart sign painting shop and signs created by the shop and others in the 1910s and 1920s advertising local and national businesses (87 prints). Images of painted advertisements include those on roadside boards and on buildings in downtown Butte, Montana, and Helena, Montana.
This collection consists of images acquired from the Mai Wah Noodle Parlor and Wai Chong Tai Company buildings in Butte, Montana. Approximately half of the images in this collection (191 photographic prints) document the Chinese American presence in Butte, Montana, from the early 1900’s through the 1950’s. They include views of Huie Pock’s mercantile and other Chinese-owned businesses in Butte, portraits of Chinese families, and snapshots of other groups and individuals. The other half of the collection consists of 145 film negatives of the Rev. Martin D. Hudtloff family in Montana and Washington State, circa 1915-1925. These include portraits of the family, many views of a family visit to Yellowstone National Park (ca. 1925), Arthur at the University of Washington and his service in the Navy, Esther Hudtloff with friends, and the George Detloff family in Spokane, Washington.
This artificial collection consists of photographs related to Montana’s mining industry that were donated to the Montana Historical Society in the years prior to 1974 from many individual donors. It consists of views of Montana placer mining, hard rock mines and mills, coal mines, and kilns primarily between the years 1867-1920. Well-represented are early views of placer mining in Alder Gulch and in the Rimini mining district, larger-scale hard rock mining in the Marysville mining district, and mines and smelters in Butte. The collection also includes views of coal mining operations in Carbon, Fergus, Gallatin, Park, Powder River, and Sheridan counties. It contains 555 photographic prints, 20 vintage film negatives, and 69 film copy negatives.
Harriet Miller was the Superintendent of Public Instruction for Montana for three terms, from 1956-1968, and mayor of Santa Barbara, California from 1995-2001. Elizabeth Harrison worked for the Office of Public Instruction during Harriet’s tenure as Superintendent, and also as a photographer for the Montana Highway Commission Advertising department. The two women met in the 1940s while working for ARCO in Pennsylvania and remained companions for the next 43 years. This collection of 2,115 photographic prints (mostly in albums), 1,128 film negatives, and 84 color slides includes photographs of both women, their families, their careers, and personal photographs of their residences, friends, pets, and travel.
Over 1,300 film negatives and 3,100 photographic prints document road and bridge construction projects around the state from 1915-1959.
The collection contains material prepared by the Montana State Water Conservation Board in the mid-1930’s and depicts areas where the State of Montana later built (or was intending to build) water storage, dam, and irrigation projects. It contains 1,939 photographic prints and 18 film negatives. In most instances the photos and maps offer insight into what these areas looked like before they were dammed and flooded. Also included within the project files are photos of prominent town buildings and area ranches. See the catalog record or finding aid for lists of projects and areas covered.
This collection primarily contains photographs of employees of the Board of Health and Department of Health and Environmental Sciences. Also included among the collection’s 479 photographic prints and 101 film negatives are photographs documenting activities performed by the department and photos of state buildings and state officials. There are also 267 color slides documenting asbestos cleanup, mines near Butte, Montana, and Emergency Medical Services training activities.
The photographs in this collection depict all aspects of Metcalf’s life and service in public office, including images of his time in various Montana government offices, as a U.S. Congressman, and as a U.S. Senator. Images from Metcalf’s personal life are also included in the over 2,600 photographic prints and nearly 1,200 film negatives.
This artificial collection consists of photographs related to Montana's agricultural industry that were donated to the Montana Historical Society in the years prior to 1974. It includes views of gardens, grain crops, livestock, and orchards on Montana ranches, farms and homesteads. In addition, there are numerous photos of people working in the agriculture industry in the state using many types of equipment including tractors, plows, combines and threshers. There are also photographs of ranch, farm and homestead structures including houses, cabins, barns, outbuildings, windmills and silos. The collection contains 1,031 photographic prints, 25 vintage film negatives, and 43 film copy negatives.
This artificial collection consists of photographs related to Montana’s railroad industry that were donated to the Montana Historical Society in the years prior to 1974 from many individual donors. The images are arranged into four series: Series I. Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad; Series II. Great Northern Railroad; Series III: Northern Pacific Railroad; and Series IV: Smaller Montana Railroad Lines. The first three series are organized by subjects including Construction, Trains, Bridges, Tunnels, Wrecks, and Events, and then primarily by date. Some of these series include photographs of other railroad lines that were predecessors of the CM & St. P RR, the GNRR, and the NPRR. Series IV contains photographs of several smaller railroad lines and is organized by the name of the specific line. The collection contains 401 photographic prints, 67 vintage film negatives, and 27 film copy negatives.
Edmund Craney was a pioneer in Montana radio broadcasting. He was affiliated with Pacific Northwest Broadcasters, XL radio stations of Spokane and Ellensburg, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, and the Z Bar Network of Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, and Missoula, Montana. The photographs in this collection depict Craney’s early life in Swan Lake, Montana from 1914-1919 (including three photo albums containing 352 photographic prints) and the radio and television stations and organizations he either started or participated in. The bulk of the collection is focused on the operations of the stations under the Z Bar Network and Pacific Northwest Broadcasters Network. Other topics are the Greater Montana Foundation and images used in promotional magazines. The promotional photographs include views of businesses, towns, advertising themes, and the work of specific photographers. The collection consists of 1,189 photographic prints (besides those in the albums) and 20 vintage film negatives.
This photograph collection was brought together by Bud Lake and Randy Brewer over many years of collecting historic photos and includes over 1,000 vintage photographic prints that document the life, dress, work, and customs of people living on the Crow Reservation from the 1870s to the 1950s. Other tribes represented in the collection include Sioux, Cheyenne, Nez Perce, Gros Ventre, Blackfeet, Washoe, Ute, and Shoshone. Among the photographers well-represented in the collection are Alfred Baumgartner, Ralph R. Doubleday, O. S. Goff, Fred E. Miller, Kenneth F. Roahen, and Richard Throssel. [ENTIRE COLLECTION DIGITIZED]
The Richardson Brothers Ranch was among the earliest homesteads in what is now Sheridan County, Montana. This collection includes four photograph albums containing 743 photographic prints and 180 loose photographs with views of life on the ranch, family portraits, vacation snaps, a military service album, and many other photographs from various Richardson family members from the 1880s to the 1990s.
See entry under Major Collections above.
Charles W. Cook, a Montana stockman and rancher, and his wife Abigail Cook settled in White Sulphur Springs, Montana. Their daughter Josephine Cook married Oscar O. Mueller who was a Lewistown, Montana attorney and amateur historian. Josephine and Oscar Mueller’s son Glenn Mueller worked for the U.S. Forest Service and served two terms in the Montana House of Representatives. This collection includes photograph albums, loose photographic prints, negatives, tintypes, a cased image, framed images, glass plate negatives, and color slides of views of excursions with friends and family, early ranch life, family portraits, military service, and vacation snapshots from various members of the Cook and Mueller families in White Sulphur Springs and Lewistown, Montana from the 1860s to the 2010s.
The Rankin family photograph collection includes 210 photographic prints from the John and Olive Rankin family of Missoula, Montana, dating from 1865 to 1973. Views include candid photographs and formal portraits of the Rankin's seven children, Jeannette, Philena, Harriet, Wellington, Mary, Grace, and Edna, as well as their families and homes. Jeannette Rankin, the oldest of the Rankin children and the first woman elected to the United States Congress, is most prominently represented in the collection with photographs from early childhood, her time at the University of Montana, portraits for campaigns, views while in office, personal photographs, and views from travel later in her life.
This collection comprises over 525 loose photographic prints, 4 photo albums (that contain another 857 photo prints), and 1 daguerreotype (C2018-001). The photographs document three generations of the Swaney family and span from 1885-2015. Common themes include Blackfoot Indians, horses and horseback riding/racing, sports, military, foreign service, Montana, and family. The most common figures in the collection are Alexander Swaney, followed by his wife, Mildred Swaney, and then their parents, Andrew and Mary Swaney, and Ingvald and Tina Buckneberg, and finally Alexandra Swaney. Common places represented in the photos are Montana, Scotland, China, and Arizona.
This collection consists mainly of group and individual portraits, typically photographic prints, of members of the Montana Legislature from the territorial period to the 21st century.
Henry Syverud was an early settler and long-time farmer near Dagmar, Montana. This collection consists of photographs removed from four scrapbooks (1909-1965) created by Henry Syverud documenting residents’ lives and towns in northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana, including Dagmar, East Coalridge, Comertown, Westby, Plentywood, and Redstone. Topics include homesteading, agriculture, coal mining, church social activities, recreation, Farmers Union conventions, and the Sheridan County Pioneers Club.
135 glass plate negatives and over 700 vintage prints document the photographic work of Fred Miller, who lived and worked on the Crow Reservation from 1898-1912. This collection includes many portraits of Crow people, often outdoors, and photos of the Crow in various tribal and family activities.
Collection of 408 glass negatives, 712 film negatives, and 3 tintypes taken by Helena, Montana photographer Edward M. Reinig. Views of people, activities, and locations in Helena, Radersburg, Elliston, Lincoln, and Marysville, Montana. Images include communion classes, graduation classes, foliage, sports teams, gatherings of fraternal organizations, employees of local businesses, buildings, window displays, dances, portraits of individuals, residences, and members of the Montana House of Representatives. [UNPROCESSED].
This collection of over 10,000 real photo postcards documenting the people, landscapes, natural landmarks, and built environments of Montana’s cities, towns, and rural areas predominantly from the 1910s-1960s was collected by Tom Mulvaney over many years of collecting postcards.
This collection consists of 905 photographic prints and 111 film negatives of dams and irrigation projects in Montana covering 1905-1961 and includes images of the construction, workers, reconstruction, and equipment. Most of the photographs of dams document Fort Peck Dam construction, its failure, and reconstruction. Other dams include the Hauser Dam, Holter Dam, Madison County/River Dam, and Swift Dam, among others. Most of the irrigation related photos record the Valier (Conrad-Valier) irrigation project, while additional projects include the Flathead irrigation project, Sun River reclamation project, and others.
This collection of photographic images by Harold Hammersley, taken between 1907-1927, show flume, canal, and head gate construction on Tongue River Irrigation Project in Montana; US Reclamation Service facilities and operations at Ballantine, Montana and Huntley, Montana; US Allotting Service facilities and operations at Kilroy, Montana and Browning, Montana; as well as portraits and scenes of leisure activities of government workers, acquaintances, and friends. Other images include portraits of Native Americans - particularly the Northern Cheyenne; cowboys and cowgirls posed and at work; cattle roundups and dipping; Captain Brown’s Three Circle Ranch near Birney in Rosebud County, Montana. The collection also includes images of Oregon, Washington, and California with scenes of the Hammersley’s honeymoon and portraits of the Hammersley family. The collection contains 713 photographic prints, including one album of 495 prints, and 116 nitrate film negatives.
Small Photographic Collections
Small collections are generally composed of less than 150 photographs, though not always. About 2/3 of these collections are cataloged (described) and searchable in our online catalog. The other third is not cataloged and is not searchable except with the help of the archivists.
Small Collections of Interest
84 prints providing views of Louis 'Louie' and Ella Yellow Wolf, Blackfeet Indians, their friends, relatives, and activities on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and in the Cut Bank Creek and Browning, Montana areas, circa 1940s.
Stereograph Collections
Norman A. Forsyth (1869-1949) was a photographer who operated a studio in Butte, Montana, from 1904-1930, working for Underwood and Underwood and later Keystone View Company. This collection consists of over 560 stereographic views with Forsyth's imprint captured between circa 1901-1911. The subjects are of Butte, Montana (including street scenes, Columbia Gardens, and mining), Glacier National Park, the activities of the 1906-1908 Bison roundup with Charlie Russell, groups of Montana Indian tribes (including the Flathead, Cree, Crow, and Blackfeet), and Indian dances and ceremonies including the Sun Dance, Choosing Dance and Grass Dance of the Blackfeet tribe and the Crow Fair. Other subjects include Anaconda, Montana; farms and ranching; lumber; the 1908 Missoula, Montana, flood; Cromwell Dixon and the 1911 Montana State Fair; Morrison Cave (Lewis and Clark Caverns), and Yellowstone National Park. [ENTIRE COLLECTION DIGITIZED]
Henry Bird Calfee (1848-1912) and Nelson Catlin operated a photographic studio in Bozeman, Montana, from the early 1870s through the early 1880s and published hundreds of stereographic views of Yellowstone National Park. This collection consists of 101 stereographs attributed to H. B. Calfee and Calfee & Catlin and includes images of mountains, canyons, geysers, and waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park, Main Street, Bozeman, Montana, and of Indian people and camps. [ENTIRE COLLECTION DIGITIZED]
Stanley J. Morrow (1843-1921) was a prominent photographer in the Dakota and Montana territories who operated from 1868 through 1882. This collection of 125 stereographs contains scenes photographed by Morrow between 1868-1881, including views of the Little Bighorn Battlefield including the marking of graves (1879); Crow, Cheyenne, Sioux, and Gros Ventre villages and portraits of individuals; views of soldiers returned from General Crook’s expedition, including a soldier re-enacting shooting a horse for food and captured Sioux Indians (1876); the Morrow family, home and studio in Yankton, D.T., and steamboats (including the Helena) and an ice gorge from the Great Flood of 1881; officers quarters and troops at Ft. Keogh; the Gates of the Mountains, Prickly Pear Canyon, and other scenes in the vicinity of Helena, Montana. [ENTIRE COLLECTION DIGITIZED]
F. A. Rinehart (1861-1928) was a professional photographer in Omaha, Nebraska. This collection of 71 stereographs contains scenes photographed by Rinehart and his partner, Adolph Muhr, when they visited Indian reservations in the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming in 1899 and 1900. There are views of eight different Indian tribes including Arapaho, Blackfeet (Siksika), Cree, Crow, Flathead (Salish), Omaha, Pawnee, and Sioux (Dakota). The images document individual men and women, tipi camps, domestic activities, and cultural and ceremonial events. The tribe best represented in this collection is the Crow Indians.
This artificially created collection contains 115 stereographs taken of Plains Indians during the period 1882-1921. The images were produced by nine different photographers/publishers/ distributors and were received at MTHS from seven separate sources between 1992-2015. The tribes documented in the collection include the Blackfeet (Siksika, at Glacier National Park), Cheyenne, Crow, Nez Perce, Snake (Shoshoni), and Sioux (Dakota), and the images show scenes of Indian people and their way of life at the end of the nineteenth century in the Dakotas, Idaho, and Montana. Individuals in the photos include Bull Snake, Two Guns White Calf, Sitting Bull, One Bull, Eat Dog, Steps, Plenty Coups, Amos Red Owl, Stranger Horse, and Clement Whirlwind Soldier.
This small collection of 14 stereographs taken by William H. Illingworth (1842-1893) and his partner George Bill documents portions of the Fisk expedition from Minnesota to Montana through the Dakota Territory in 1866. [ENTIRE COLLECTION DIGITIZED]
We have 100s of other stereographs that are not processed into numbered ST collections. These are arranged by photographer or into subject groups when the photographer is unknown. Consult a photo archivists for help accessing these: photoarchives@mt.gov.
Unprocessed Collections
These collections are open to access but considered unprocessed and therefore more difficult to use for research. Unprocessed means minimal arrangement and description work has been undertaken by archivists. These collections may have a preliminary inventory available, but it may be minimal in its description of the materials.
State Government Photograph Collections
This large collection of prints, negatives, and contact sheets, mostly black and white, shows views of animals, scenery, sites, and activities undertaken by FWP personnel. These photos were taken from the 1920s to 1980s, most likely by FWP personnel.
This enormous collection of photographs taken to illustrate prospective film locations in Montana from 1985-2004 contains approximately 100,000 35mm color negatives and 30,000 corresponding photographic prints with images of over 320 locations across Montana, including scenic views and views of small towns and cities from Absarokee to Zurich, photographed by Bill Kuney, Sten Iversen, Lonie Stimac, and Garry Wunderwald. The photographic prints are pasted to folder pages as panoramas and some include maps marking the location of the shoots. Another 14 linear feet of photographs were added in 2017 (PAc 2017-39).
Significant photo collections exist for the following governors representing their time in office or their life:
Hugo Aronson, 1905-1970 [Lot 007, see Lots for description]
Thomas L. Judge, 1973-1980 [PAc 81-04]
Ted Schwinden, 1981-1988 [PAc 97-64]
Stan Stephens, 1989-1992 [PAc 97-65]
Marc Racicot, 1993-2000 [PAc 98-95]
Judy Martz, 2000-2004 [PAc 2005-57]
Brian Schweitzer, 2005-2012 [PAc 2014-66]
31,769 black and white film negatives (35 mm and 2 1/4"), some with contact sheets, created during architectural surveys of cities, towns, and bridges in the 1970s-1990s. Also includes photos from the “Historical Landscapes of Montana” project taken in 1984 by Carroll Van West, including 86 rolls of 35 mm b&w negatives with no contact sheets, and “Roadside Architecture, US 2 Survey,” taken by Joseph M. Ashley, Montana State University, 1992-1993; includes 15 rolls of 35 mm negatives and 15 contact prints.
PAc 78-57 – 3,465 film negatives with views of and relating to the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, including people, employees, prisoners, and many activities at the Prison.
PAc 85-91 – 1,000s of prints and negatives consisting of prisoner identification photographs, circa 1896-1960, organized by prisoner number.
Photographers Collections
Christian Barthelmess (1854-1906), an immigrant from Bavaria, joined the U.S. Army in the late 1870s serving throughout the American West and in the Philippines. He served in the Army band at Fort Keogh, Montana, and pursued photography during his military career. His photographs provide a glimpse of military life on the frontier, 1888 to 1906, in hundreds of photographs, including portraits of Native Americans, buildings, and soldiers at Fort Keogh, Montana, and around the West.
A local businessman and booster in Forsyth, Montana, Dean’s photography documented the variety of life in an eastern Montana railroad and farming center in the early part of the twentieth century. This collection is comprised of over 1,800 film negatives and hundreds of photographic prints.
These close-knit brothers produced a far-reaching photographic legacy, each taking thousands of photos (just shy of 4,000 film and glass negatives and over 7,700 photographic prints) around the West from Nebraska to Utah to Montana. Emil focused on documenting Oregon Trail historical sites while Ed’s interests were broader, including farming, coal mining, and scenery.
A former advertising executive who ran the photography department at Montgomery Wards, Mikkelsen’s photographs are mostly recreational, documenting his family and ranch life, community life in the Lewistown, Montana area, along with his travels around the country and his association with sculptor Bob Scriver.
This large collection of 3,687 glass plate negatives, mostly taken by Robert C. Morrison, documents the work of this eccentric photographer based in Miles City from 1885-1938.
Collection of over 400 glass negatives and 700 film negatives taken by Helena, Montana photographer Edward M. Reinig. Views of people, activities, and locations in Helena, Radersburg, Elliston, Lincoln, and Marysville. Images include communion classes, graduation classes, foliage, sports teams, gatherings of fraternal organizations, employees of local businesses, buildings, window displays, dances, portraits of individuals, residences, and members of the Montana House of Representatives.
Other Collections of Interest
This collection of over 4,200 glass plate and nitrate film negatives and about 100 photographic prints documents hydraulic power dam construction and power utility infrastructure in Montana from 1905-1920 by multiple companies that were eventually consolidated into the Montana Power Company. Photos include various dam sites, substations, transmission lines, floods, and birds-eye views of towns.
Catalog
Search our catalog to find records from our entire collection, including library materials, archival and manuscript collections, government records, and photograph collections.
Finding Aids
Search our Finding Aids to find detailed inventories of our archival and manuscript collections, government records, and photograph collections.
