DONATE and support our work at The Extreme History Project by following this link! https://www.mightycause.com/organization/The-Extreme-History-Project
Listen Up!
LISTEN UP all you historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, IVORY TOWER ACADEMICS. We hereby confiscate the dusty detritus of your bookshelves, file cabinets and hard drives in order to BRING HISTORY TO THE PEOPLE!
Join us for a deep dive into cemetery history and headstone symbolism. We will start with early New England headstone symbolism and end with “pioneer” cemeteries found in the west. The first half of the day will be spent at The Extreme History Project headquarters and the second half of the day at Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman. Learn how gravestone symbols give us insight into the deceased’s life, beliefs and story.
When: June 18 – 9am to 4pm
Where: The Extreme History Project Headquarters located at 234 E. Mendenhall Street and historic Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman, MT.
Cost: $85 per person. All materials and lunch included.
To purchase tickets for a tour, click on the tour below or give us a call at 406-220-2678, or send us an email at info@extremehistoryproject.org. Tours are $15, $13 for seniors, members and students, kids 12 and under are free!
Your donation of any amount will help us provide you with high quality history programming like our lecture series, podcast, walking tours, workshops, book club, book-signing events, and so much more!
For GIVE BIG this year, donors that give $150 and above will receive two tickets to the debut of our newest historic walking tour “Along the Gallagator,” a tour featuring the history of the railway and now linear walking trail. We won’t only cover railway history but the history of south Tracy Street as well! This tour will take place on June 7, at 6pm.
And . . . you can double your donation because we have two matching gifts, one from an anonymous long-time supporter of Extreme History for $500 and another from The Extreme History Board of Directors for $1,950.
Your donation will help us continue this work in our community. Thanks in advance for your support, we GREATLY appreciate it! Click here to donate.
Thank you for Giving Big to The Extreme History Project, we appreciate your support.
Join the Extreme History Project and Montana State University’s Ivan Doig Center for the Study of the Lands & Peoples of the North American West for an evening with Mark Johnson at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, MT on May 17 at 6pm for this in-person event. Johnson will discuss his new book, “The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana.” Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
About “The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky”: From the earliest days of non-Native settlement of Montana, Chinese pioneers played a key role in the region’s development. Yet this population, so crucial to Montana’s development, remains underrepresented in historical accounts. The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky recovers the stories of Montana’s Chinese population in their own words and deepens understanding of Chinese experiences in Montana with a global lens. Mark Johnson has mined several large collections of primary documents left by Chinese pioneers, rendered in English here for the first time through a transnational translation project. These collections, spanning the 1880s-1950s, provide insight into the pressures the Chinese community faced—from family members back in China and from non-Chinese Montanans—as economic and cultural disturbances complicated acceptance of Chinese residents in the state. Through their own voices The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky reveals the agency of Chinese Montanans in the history of the American West and China.
Mark Johnson is an assistant professor with the University of Notre Dame whose research focuses on telling the history of Chinese communities in Montana in their own words and through a global lens.
March is Women’s History Month! At Extreme History, we highlight women’s history all year long – but it’s always nice to have a month dedicated to the ladies. This month we are partnering with many organizations to bring women’s history to you!
On March 14th at 6:30pm, our Director, Crystal Alegria, will present Activists and Advocates: A History of Bozeman Women Creating Change for the Bozeman Public Library virtually, click here for more information and the Zoom link.
On March 28, Extreme History is partnering with MSU’s Doig Center and American Studies Department to bring you Birthing The West: Mothers and Midwives in the Rockies and Plains, a book signing with Jennifer Hill. This in-person event will be held at Montana State University’s Leigh Lounge at 4pm. Reception to follow. We hope you can join us for one or all of these events that are all free and open to the public!
Our Extreme History Used Book Shop has a large section on women’s history so come in and pick up a book (or two, or three) to read during women’s history month.
We encourage you to learn about this history of women in your community and your own family, these histories are often significant and monumental. By weaving women’s history back into the historical narrative, we are making stories richer and more diverse.
We’ve decided to keep our lecture series virtual for the time-being so our January through May lectures will be online via Zoom.
January 20 – 6pm – Scott Carpenter and Lesley Gilmore – “Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘til it’s Gone: Historic Preservation in Bozeman”(with appreciation and apologies to Joni Mitchell). To watch this presentation click here.
This informal, but lively presentation will examine Bozeman’s unique historical context and irreplaceable collection of historic buildings. The discussion will present a brief summary of Bozeman’s history, along with the definitions, facts and benefits of historic preservation. We will also examine the many rumors and misperceptions that precede, or derail preservation efforts. We will look at the importance of historic preservation to maintaining higher property values, providing the best opportunities for green energy and conservation versus demolition and new construction, and celebrate the positive aspects of maintaining a meaningful aesthetic and neighborhood appeal. We will also present ideas for how individual property owners can investigate the history of their properties, plan for effective renovation projects, and support historic preservation efforts in Bozeman.
Scott Carpenter is an archaeologist, historian, and architectural historian. He owns InteResources Planning, Inc., and has a professional career extending over 40 years in the private sector and the National Park Service. Scott is a recognized expert on the National Historic Preservation Act and various state and local regulations, tax credit programs, and preservation planning.
Lesley Gilmore is a historic preservation architect who’s passion for historic preservation is professional and personal, evidenced by her dedicated involvement in the Association for Preservation Technology, the AIA Historic Resources Committee, Preserve Montana, and the Extreme History Project.
As we come into the last month of 2021, we are grateful for many things, the top of the list being our Extreme History community (that’s you!).
We are also grateful that we were able to launch our 2021 walking tours and even add some revamped and new tours to the mix. We were excited to take to the streets for Bozeman’s Sweet Pea parade. Our flowery float was peopled with some of Bozeman’s most colorful historic figures and included a special tribute to raise awareness for the Indian Boarding Schools story. Our The Dirt on the Past podcast in which team members discuss a wide range of topics with notable experts garnered over seven thousand listens (and counting) worldwide. Furthering our mission for educational outreach, we continued offering our lecture seriesvia Zoom. Our online book (and wine) club also proved to be a community favorite. In June, Montana author Tom Rust was on hand to discuss and sign his latest book and in November, local author Kelly Hartman read from and signed copies of her new book. We assisted in the creation of a documentary called, The Story of Us (watch for the debut in early 2022) In addition to the ever expanding inventory of unique goodies in our Mendenhall Street office gift shop, we opened our new Extreme History Book Shop featuring specially curated used history books, covering a large variety of historical subjects.
While we have had our successes, we also have had our challenges. Several of our planned in-house events and our big fundraising program, History After Dark, were cancelled out of concern for community health safety. As is the struggle of all non-profits, The Extreme History Project needs outside funding to underwrite our mission. Bringing history to the community requires many hours of research, resources and logistical support. We have big ideas, but a small budget. Your donations are the fuel we need to keep us moving forward with pertinent content and fresh, exciting programming. Every dollar you can give brings us closer to fulfilling our goals for this upcoming year.
Extreme History Puzzle Exchange: November 13 from 3pm to 5pm – The Great Puzzle Exchange! Do you love to put together puzzles during the holidays – we sure do! If you have puzzles you would like to exchange, come on in to Extreme History Headquarters (234 E. Mendenhall) and drop off your gently used puzzles and pick out a new one for free!
A Book Reading/Signing Event: November 16 at 6pm – Murder & Mayhem in Gallatin County: A Book Reading/Signing with Kelly Hartman. At Extreme History we like to say History Isn’t Pretty, and that sums up Kelly’s new book. Quiet fields broken by gunfire, the splash of a body dropping into the Madison River, cries for help cut off into silence and the grim last words spoken on the gallows all color the bloody history of Gallatin County. Cut-and-dried murder charges, unsolved cases and questionable accusations all paint the picture of law enforcement in and around early Bozeman. From the gruesome to the mysterious, sordid accounts of robbery, crimes of passion and fatal self-defense fill the annals of the historic county jail. Gallatin History Museum curator Kelly Suzanne Hartman chronicles each tale, allowing the reader to follow along the path of the investigations and the pursuit for justice. Join us at Extreme History Headquarters (234 E. Mendenhall) on November 16 at 6pm for a book reading/signing event with Kelly Hartman. Masks are encouraged.
Gift and Book Shop Events: November 27 from 12pm to 5pm – Extreme History Book Shop Sale – Start your holiday shopping early and join us for Small Business Saturday and enjoy a buy one, get one of equal or lesser value sale on our specially curated used history books. At Extreme History Headquarters (234 E. Mendenhall).
December 4 from 3pm to 6pm – Join us for our annual Victorian Holiday Market where you can shop early for all the history-lovers in your family. Join us at Extreme History Headquarters for this annual open house event, visit with our board members, have a cup of hot chocolate and browse the unique offerings in our gift shop, the book shop and exhibits.
With Halloween on a Sunday this year, we thought it would be a great opportunity to do a walking tour through Bozeman’s historic Sunset Hills Cemetery on October 31 at 4pm! Join us for a stroll through historic Sunset Hills Cemetery on All Hallows’ Eve with tour guide, Jessica Jones. Step back in time as you walk through this historic graveyard, learning about mysterious local legends, spooky folklore, and local history. Keep watch because you may catch a glimpse of a spirit or two, drifting through the headstones. Meet Jessica at the cemetery gates located at the south side of Lindley Park a few minutes before 4pm. Space is limited so secure tickets early. For tickets click here.
We’re excited to offer a few more historic walking tours of Sunset Hills Cemetery on October 10th, 17th, and 24th at 4pm. Set atop a peaceful overlook, Bozeman’s historic Sunset Hills Cemetery offers a panoramic view of downtown while each evening’s sunset reflects the nature of its quiet inhabitants. The early residents of Bozeman laid their love ones to rest in this sanctified ground overlooking the town that their toil and labor helped establish. Bozeman’s early movers and shakers rest here along with others whose stories make up the town’s historical narrative. Join us for a tour of Sunset Hills Cemetery and learn the fascinating history of early Bozeman. Click here to reserve tickets.
The Extreme History Project 