The Extreme History Project

Heartfelt thanks to our community and family of supporters for helping make 2022 a red letter year for us — or should we say,  a red carpet year!

We hope to do it all again, and more in 2023 but we need your help to make that happen. Please consider The Extreme History Project during your end-of-year giving. A gift of $25, $50 or more would help us with our mission to Make History Relevant. Click here to donate.

To recap 2022, we launched our lecture series in January with an on-line presentation outlining the whys, wherefores, and impact of historic preservation.  Subsequent lectures, coupled with our Dirt on the Past podcasts, covered a wide spectrum of topical subjects, such as Indian Boarding schools, Genetic History of the Americas, and Montana Highway Tales.

Our book club kicked off in February with a timely and relevant book entitled Clara’s Journal and the Tale of Two Pandemics.  Revolving around the theme of women’s lives in the American west, our bimonthly book selections stimulated spirited discussions among participants. Throughout the year, we hosted authors Molly Rozum and Laura Arata for in-house book readings and signings, co-sponsored Michael Johnson’s talk and signing of his new book, A Black Women’s West, capping off with a virtual presentation featuring New York Times bestseller and award winning author Jane Kirkpatrick.

Partnering with several other organizations, including MSU’s Ivan Doig Center, we celebrated Women’s History month in March with a variety of pertinent presentations and book readings, such Birthing the West by Jennifer Hill, focusing on the impact of women’s efforts in fomenting change in their communities.

Our walking tour guides were back in full swing this summer entertaining residents and visitors with the engaging histories of the places and people who shaped Bozeman. Our new Galligator Trail walking tour, exploring the old railway line that once ran to Gallatin Gateway, proved to be a big hit. We offered a number of special tours as well. Authors of the book Where in Bozeman led a tour pointing out many unique and hidden features highlighted in their book. We cohosted tours for both the Lehrkind and Story family descendants.

August found us strutting our stuff at the Sweet Pea parade.  Dressed in period attire as notable Bozeman historic figures, we braved the soggy weather to stroll down Main Street tossing candy and meeting and greeting the spectators. 

And rolling out the red carpet, The Story of Us: The Women Who Shaped Montana, a documentary highlighting the accomplishments of four women who helped shape Montana, premiered in Helena with additional showings in Bozeman, Butte, Missoula and Virginia City.  Montana PBS also included this film, a collaboration between North by Northwest and The Extreme History Project, as part of their Thanksgiving day programming.  Plans for episodes 2 & 3 of the documentary are already in the works!

After a two year hiatus due to Covid, we raised the dead and, as our Halloween special, held our ever popular History After Dark event.  The “ghosts” of John Bozeman, Nelson and Ellen Story, madam Lizzie Woods and a myriad of other characters recounted their colorful and sometimes tragic lives.

Other projects included two workshops, Cemetery History and Symbolism and an instructional workshop put together for the Bozeman Preservation Advisory Board on how to document historical properties.  We have been providing research assistance to the city of Bozeman in an ongoing survey of historical homes and sites for several years.

All of this is in addition to maintaining our in house gift shop and used book shop and hosting special events like our puzzle exchanges and our annual Victorian Holiday Open House.

As you can see, we are a small non-profit with a big agenda and even bigger goals.  We have been able to accomplish our mission of bringing history to the community in large part because of your generous donations and support.  As they say, “it takes a village.”  Every dollar given is put into research and resources needed to create fresh, exciting, pertinent programming.  Thank you for being the fuel that drives us forward and inspires us to achieve more every year. Thank you in advance for your continued support. Click here to donate.