The Extreme History Project

Tea and Revolution Dialogue Series: Building Community through Historic Preservation
September 11-17th, 2016
Join us for a week-long series of events highlighting Historic Preservation in Bozeman! All events are free and open to the public!

September 11th – Online Book Club. A Guide to Historic Bozeman by Jim Jenks.

September 12th – “Building Community through Historic Preservation” Lecture with Janet Ore, 6 PM, Museum of the Rockies

Historic preservation arose as a movement to protect built environments that provided the tangible expressions of identity.  Americans realized that in times of rapid change, places invested with history, memory, and emotion gave them a sense of history that could be lost when the physical markers of the past were eradicated. For many today, their multicentered lives have impelled them to seek places where the symbols of a more rooted, seemingly less complex, past remain. Bozeman now stands at this juxtaposition.  The city’s historic neighborhoods and setting attract mobile Americans desiring the charm of an idyllic small-town past.  Yet the changes these new arrivals make threaten the historic environment that gives Bozeman and its residents their identity. Historic preservation provides a way to manage this tension.  Its job is to articulate the histories that define the place, to identify the historic buildings and landscapes that represent these histories, and to find ways to accommodate for change while keeping the city’s distinct character.  The goal must be to conserve what David Glassberg calls “a sense of history”—unique places where personal and public histories have interacted over the decades to produce communities rich in stories of change and belonging.

September 15th – Community Dialogue and Panel Discussion. Join us for a community dialogue surrounding historic preservation in Bozeman. Townsend’s Tea House, 402 E Main, 7 pm.

Septmeber 17th – “Historic Preservation for Dummies” Want to learn more about how to get involved with Historic Preservation in Bozeman? Join us for our workshop held at the Gallatin History Museum. 9am – 5pm. Registration is limited, please register below.