Ellen Baumler's Blog, page 57
February 22, 2012
Sarah Bickford
In celebration of
Virginia City businesswoman Sarah Bickford was born into slavery. Her parents were sold when she was very young, and she never saw them again. After the Civil War, Sarah went to live with an aunt in Tennessee. She came west at age fifteen in the employ of the John L. Murphy family. Judge Murphy served briefly as associate justice in the territorial Supreme Court at Virginia City. Sarah took take care of the Murphys' ch...
Virginia City businesswoman Sarah Bickford was born into slavery. Her parents were sold when she was very young, and she never saw them again. After the Civil War, Sarah went to live with an aunt in Tennessee. She came west at age fifteen in the employ of the John L. Murphy family. Judge Murphy served briefly as associate justice in the territorial Supreme Court at Virginia City. Sarah took take care of the Murphys' ch...
February 20, 2012
Placer Hotel
In celebration of President's Day, here's a look back at a candidate's stay in Montana.
Artist C. M. Russell illustrated the program for the formal ball, held April 12, 1913, inaugurating the largest hotel between the Twin Cities and the Coast. Built almost entirely with donations as a public enterprise, Helena felt real pride of ownership, and the Placer Hotel quickly became the center of civic activity. Its name derives from the placer gold washed from the gravel during the excavation of its...
February 17, 2012
Friday Photo
In celebration of
Photo courtesy Montana Historical Society photograph archives, PAc96-25.2The first convenetion of the Montana Federation of Negro Women's Clubs was held in Butte on August 3, 1921. Photo by Zubick Art Studio.
Photo courtesy Montana Historical Society photograph archives, PAc96-25.2The first convenetion of the Montana Federation of Negro Women's Clubs was held in Butte on August 3, 1921. Photo by Zubick Art Studio.
February 15, 2012
Samuel Lewis
In celebration of
Samuel Lewis settled in Bozeman in 1868, joining a small population of African Americans who came to Montana after the Civil War. Lewis, a native of the West Indies, was a skilled barber, an expert sleight-of-hand performer, and a first-class musician. He established a thriving tonsorial parlor and bathhouse on Main Street. Lewis shared his success with his younger sister, Edmonia, financing her...
February 14, 2012
The "M"
Here's a special edition "Montana Moment" in celebration of Valentine's Day. Be sure to read to the end.
Ever wondered about letters on hillsides? Many Montana communities display these letters, often visible for miles on barren slopes. These familiar icons seem to be a product of the American West. According to the experts, the University of California Berkeley boasts the first hillside letter, a giant "C" displayed in 1905. Other colleges and universities soon followed suit. As land grant c...
Ever wondered about letters on hillsides? Many Montana communities display these letters, often visible for miles on barren slopes. These familiar icons seem to be a product of the American West. According to the experts, the University of California Berkeley boasts the first hillside letter, a giant "C" displayed in 1905. Other colleges and universities soon followed suit. As land grant c...
February 13, 2012
Brother Van's Love Story
How are you celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow? Today's post starts the celebration early with a love story to tug your heartstrings.
Montana's famous itinerant Methodist minister, William Wesley Van Orsdel, known to most as "Brother Van," never married. And this is the story of why that was. As Brother Van traveled across Montana territory in the 1870s, he stopped at the sheep ranch of Richard Reynolds in the Beaverhead valley. The family invited him to stay, and there he met Reynolds' step...
Montana's famous itinerant Methodist minister, William Wesley Van Orsdel, known to most as "Brother Van," never married. And this is the story of why that was. As Brother Van traveled across Montana territory in the 1870s, he stopped at the sheep ranch of Richard Reynolds in the Beaverhead valley. The family invited him to stay, and there he met Reynolds' step...
February 10, 2012
Friday Photo
In celebration of From Montana Views. Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, H-3614. Used by permission.A group of bicyclists stands on Minerva Terrace in Yellowstone National Park in Au...
February 6, 2012
Mingo Sanders
Good morning history buffs! What are you up to this week? I'll be giving a talk, "Vignettes of Valor," profiling some of the contributions of blacks in the military stationed in Montana or with Montana connections. It will be here at MHS on Saturday, 2:00 PM, in celebration of
African American buffalo soldiers of the Twenty-fifth Infantry arrived at Fort Missoula in May of 1888. Some of these me...
African American buffalo soldiers of the Twenty-fifth Infantry arrived at Fort Missoula in May of 1888. Some of these me...
February 3, 2012
Friday Photo
It's Super Bowl weekend, and that means big doin's for football fans. Here's a look back at a bit of Montana's own football history.
Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 948-415. Used by permission. The Havre girls' football team poses with their coach in 1924. Brainerd, photographer.
Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 948-415. Used by permission. The Havre girls' football team poses with their coach in 1924. Brainerd, photographer.
February 1, 2012
Children in the Mining Camps
Children who spent time in the mining camps of Montana faced numerous dangers. Typhoid and cholera plagued mining camps because miners quickly polluted the water source. But measles, whooping cough and diphtheria also invaded the communities. In 1889, diphtheria in the great silver camp of Elkhorn, for example, claimed almost all the children, including the Roberts sisters whose poignant tombstone tells the tragic tale.
During that same year, Harry Walton, 9, and Albin Nelson, 10, somehow esca...
During that same year, Harry Walton, 9, and Albin Nelson, 10, somehow esca...
