Phillips County News - One Nation, Under God

Museum Notes November 20th History tells us that our Thanksgiving celebrations started at the same time as the birth of our nation. Since that time Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving amid wars, famine, moon launches, demonstrations, football...

In a normal week (who has normal weeks anymore) how many bridges do you cross? On my way to town, I cross several bridges and my assumption is that they will not collapse. In 1964 Ingwald Solberg was crossing the Beaver Creek bridge with a truck...

The PC Museum archives constantly cough up unusual books and paper items. My find this week was a book on the military and trading posts/forts in Montana. The trading posts in Montana helped to open our area to exploration. Bakers Post sprouted up in...

Walking through our doors this week was a 1948 Malta High School Annual called “The Prairie Wind”. Inside the annual I found many of the student activities were similar to 2019 student activities. However, I did find a new club that was formed...

Dobson offers $100 for First Baby. History was made on December 14, 1951, at 6:21 a.m. in Malta. The first child was born in the Malta hospital which began operation on December 10th. As promised Pete Dobson presented the mother with a $100 prize...

Fifty years – what an accomplishment! Hats (cowboy hats of course) Off to the present Milk River Wagon participants and to all those that have participated in the last 50 years. When a group of Phillips County residents conceived the idea of a...

Let’s travel to southern Phillips County and visit about the intersection of U.S. 191 and Montana 66. Or as commonly known throughout Phillips County as the “DY”. Early Montana history tells the story of a trail that was used by the Metis. The...

A fun time was had by ALL. The Fort Peck Theatre hosted “Pinocchio” at the PC Museum this week. A wonderful turnout of over 175 adults and kids. A talented group of actors kept our audience spellbound with their dramatic clothes and actions. The...

It’s almost harvest time in Phillips County. Local farmers are busy cleaning granaries and preparing for this year’s crops. Historically, horses and small tractors did much of the work, now we have a large tractor and GPS units to help the...

Phillips County August 1921. Under the supervision of Miss Florence Richardson, PC Nurse, 16 children received medical attention in the basement of the Library! (Yes, I did mean library). Miss Richardson has endeavored for the past year to bring...

“Bagging It” describes our new display of purses through the decades. Did you know that when women first started carrying purses it was considered indecent? Fact. A very long time ago women carried their valuables in a pouch that hung from their...

This week I’ve been thinking about sheep wagons as once again the tourist season is in full swing and we daily open the sheep wagons for all to see. Sheep wagons were home to many men and even families during the summer months. A herder would keep...

The First State Banks Car Show this weekend brought to mind another “car” that I had read about. It was called the “Zone of Plenty Car”. It was a Great Northern Railroad car that carried grains, grasses, fruits, and vegetables from the...

Spring brings many joys and one that I appreciate is the chance to get outside and just wander. Keep your eyes to the ground and you never know what treasure or gruesome item you will find. In 1935 men fencing in the breaks of Frenchman Creek discove...

Spring has arrived in Phillips County! Planting seems to be on everyone’s mind be it flower bulbs or wheat acres. In the Little Rockies Miner Newspaper on April 16, 1908, a “first historic” planting was reported! R.C. Blassingame is today...

This week I have a mystery for you. What hangs on a wall? Is known as a wall weapon and is bright and colorful, and made of paper? If you guessed a poster you are half way there. During World War II the government used bright colored posters with...

Creepy crawlers, ghoulie ghosts, witches and pumpkins. Yes, its Halloween in Phillips County. The PC Museum has its own spooky tale to tell. In 1924 the Miller Blacksmith shop burned completely down under mysterious circumstances. Fast forward to...

UFO’s fact or fiction. In 1950 two spinning disks were seen by Great Falls locals. In the 1960’s missile sites across Montana were suddenly deactivated as UFO’s were seen overhead. And in Phillips County the year 1967 brought many UFO sightings...

Forks Community Hall. 1909 found the U.S. government surveying the north part of Phillips County for homestead plots. N.J. Brandt, the commissioner of the General Land Office, became interested in the area and settled in the Forks community. Brandt...

The Mountain Plains Museum Association held their annual conference in Billings, Mont., this week. I was pleased to represent the PC Museum in Billings. The theme for the conference was “Stronger Together”. Museums from the western part of the...

Summer has arrived with lots of heat! Keep your water bottle close and don’t forget to hydrate. In 2007 the Milk River Bird Sanctuary located behind the Phillips County Museum and H.G. Robinson House came into existence. Three wood duck nest boxes...

Summer is here, and the flowers are thriving. The herb garden at the H.G. Robinson House yard is healthy and beautiful. Thinking of plants brings me to the discussion of Lewista Redivia or as most of us call it our State Flower the Bitterroot. The...

Today, Phillips County is filled with uncrowded spaces, but that wasn’t necessarily the case when dinosaurs ruled the earth. In fact, Phillips County has yielded some of the world’s most significant dinosaur discoveries. The PC Museum invites...

Memorial Day is fast approaching. What does that mean to the people of Phillips County? Perhaps decorating loved one’s graves, flags waving on businesses and private dwellings, and a time to be with friends and family. Memorial Day was first known...

Prehistoric Molar Found Near Malta in 1941 – “A molar belonging either to Paul Bunyan or some pre-historic monster” reads the PCN story. WPA crews had been working at the gravel pit three miles northeast of Malta when an extraordinary...