Are you ready to get outside and take a historic walking tour! We’re excited to kick off the 2018 walking tour season on Memorial Day weekend. Click here for our full schedule of tour dates and times and we look forward to seeing you on a walking tour!
Check out the short video below to give you a preview of our historic walking tours!
We are excited to announce our workshop series Making History Relevant. Extreme History is hosting three one-day workshops in 2018 that will give you the tools and experience to dive into your own history and uncover information about a historic house or building, your personal family tree, or guide you to research a specific subject. See workshop details below and we hope you are able to attend one, two, or all three of our workshops!
If These Walls Could Talk: Researching a Historic Building
Every building has a history and a story to tell. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to uncover the history of a house or a historic building. Experts will share their research techniques and we’ll introduce you to maps, historic photographs, city directories, and many other tools at the Gallatin History Museum that will help you in your research to uncover the history of a house or building. You’ll have the opportunity to receive hands-on direction in exploring the Gallatin History Museum archives. We will take a short walking tour of a historic neighborhood to better understand the architectural styles and character of historic Bozeman.
When: May 19, 2018 9am to 5pm
Where: Gallatin County Court House and Gallatin History Museum, Bozeman, MT
Registration: $45 for non-members, $41 for members or register for all three workshops for $120. Registration fee includes all materials, lunch and snacks. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE.
For more information or to register offline contact Crystal Alegria at crystal@extremehistoryproject.org or give us a call at 406-220-2678
Genealogy 101: Digging into Ancestral Research
Every family has a history. But beyond family stories, how can you discover more about yours? We’ll examine records that can help — how to find them and how to wring the last drop of information out of them. We’ll look at internet sources, free and subscription, to discover which can help us learn more. We’ll discuss the value of putting our ancestors in their historical and social context and how their friends, neighbors and associates can help us find our way around brick walls, and we’ll discuss the newest tool for connecting with cousins and learning more about our families: DNA.
When: August 25, 2018 9am to 5pm
Where: Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT
Registration: $45 for non-members, $41 for members or $120 for all three workshops.
Registration fee includes all materials, lunch and snacks. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE.
For more information or to register offline contact Crystal Alegria at crystal@extremehistoryproject.org or give us a call at 406-220-2678
Cooking in the Archives: How to Research a Specific Topic
Join historians and archivists as we lead you through the process of researching a historic topic in an archival and online setting. In this workshop we will give you hands-on experience researching in a variety of formats including historical online newspapers and in a Works Progress Administration (WPA) collection held in MSU’s Special Collections. You will be given tools, tips, and materials to guide you on your own research journey as we use exploring Montana’s food history to whet your appetite for historical research.
When: September 22, 2018. 10am to 5pm
Where: Montana State University Library
Registration: $45 for non-members, $41 for members or register for all three workshops for $120. Registration fee includes all materials, lunch, and snacks. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE.
For more information or to register offline contact Crystal Alegria at crystal@extremehistoryproject.org or give us a call at 406-220-2678
A big THANK YOU to our sponsors and partners on the Making History Relevant Workshop Series:
Humanities Montana
Gallatin History Museum
Montana State University Library
Montana State University Special Collections and Archives
MSU’s Center for Western Lands and Peoples
Museum of the Rockies
Gallatin County Genealogical Society
Generous support from a local anonymous donor
We’re excited to share our first ever Year in Review with you! 2017 was the five year anniversary of The Extreme History Project and we accomplished so much. Thank you to all of our supporters, we couldn’t do what we do with out you!
Click the link below the picture to download the entire document.
It seems that Bozeman’s beer scene has been growing exponentially lately, with eight breweries and counting! Many of these new breweries are located up and coming commercial hubs, including the Cannery District and Bozeman’s Northside. And while it seems that craft beer might be a new trend, beer has always been an important beverage in our city.
Some of the first residents of Bozeman, Jacob Speith and Charles Krug, opened
Speith and Krug two story frame brewery pre-1882
Bozeman’s first brewery at 240 East Main Street. Their two-story frame brewery, built in 1867, was successful, partially due to its location above Bozeman Creek, which flows right next to the building. Bozeman Creek provided a good source of water and refrigeration for their brewing operation. Unfortunately, their building burned down, and so in 1883, Speith and Krug decided to rebuild a brick building just to the east of their original saloon. A brick shortage slowed the construction, and the brewers had to settle for two different colors of brick for the top and bottom floors, resulting in the two-tone brick color still observable today at 242 East Main.
In 1895, a new brewer began making waves in Bozeman. An immigrant from Germany fleeing compulsory militia service, Julius Lehrkind came to the United States in 1860 and moved to Bozeman in 1895. Having already owned a brewery in Iowa for several years, he realized the potential of Bozeman’s clear water and the grain grown in the valley. Family legend says that the Lehrkind family boarded a train going west, and at every stop, Julius would get off the train to taste the water. In Bozeman, not only did the water taste great, barley was also being grown in nearby Manhattan.
Lehrkind Brewery circa 1902. Note the railroad tracks in the foreground.
Lehrkind bought out Speith and Krug and moved the Bozeman Brewery to North Wallace Ave. The brewery was immense in size and production, it produced some 40,000 barrels every year and was the largest building in Bozeman until the building of the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in 1957. Successful from the start, Genuine Lager Bozeman Brewery boasted four stories, thick 18 inch walls, three wells, and an attached malting house. With the advent of Prohibition in the 1920s, came the downfall of Bozeman Brewing. The passage of the law was said to have broken Julius Lehrkind’s heart and he passed in 1922.
Today, the Lehrkind family is still in the drink business – bottling and distributing soft drinks! The Bozeman Brewery was the cornerstone of the Northside neighborhood for years. Now home to several new breweries, bakeries, and art studios, the Northside is ready to reclaim its place in the Bozeman community.
Drinking beer at a Bozeman brewery is a great excuse to get out of the house, try something new, and support local businesses and non-profits. Don’t forget to join The Extreme History Project at Bozeman Brewery to Raise a Pint for History on Sunday January 21st from 2-8pm. Click here for the Facebook Event Page.
Want to learn more about historic brewing in Bozeman? Check out these resources:
https://www.museumoftherockies.org/education/adults/hops-history/
Photos courtesy of the Gallatin History Museum
Sources:
Bozeman Daily Chronicle 5/2/2011, Amanda Ricker
Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley: A History, Phyllis Smith
A Guide to Historic Bozeman, Jim Jenks
The Extreme History Project’s “History After Dark: Ghosts of Bozeman’s Past” self-guided walking tour brings Bozeman’s notorious past to life! On October 13 and 14, some of Bozeman’s most notorious citizens will return from the grave to share their stories with the public. The Extreme History Project’s “History After Dark” tour will bring Bozeman’s present face to face with Bozeman’s past. Tour participants will walk the dark streets and alleys of downtown Bozeman by lantern light, while hearing tales of horrific murders, gruesome hangings, salacious madams and mystic mediums from the mouths of the dead themselves who will appear at their various locations along the route. Hear the tale of Bozeman’s “Week of Horror,” meet Bozeman’s most scandalous Madam, Louisa Cosell and talk with Montana’s Mountain Medium, Mrs. Emma Mounts. Perhaps she will bring a message from the great beyond! The tour will cost $15 per person ($17 online) and is not appropriate for children under 12. Tickets are limited so purchase early! Click here to purchase tickets. The tours will kick off at 7pm from Townsend’s Tea House at 402 E. Main St. For more information send us an email at info@extremehistoryproject.org or give us a call at 406-220-2678.
We’re excited to announce the completion of our work at the Nevada City Cemetery in Montana. This 4 year project included GIS mapping, grave documentation and the creation of an online database (see link below). A plaque will soon be erected at the site honoring the 200 + unmarked graves, and we will be hosting a community day in Virginia City in September to share info about the cemetery and the work we did there. Big thanks to all who participated with special thanks to our team: Bekah Shields, John Olson, Tessa Swiltzer, Riley Auge, Nancy Mahoney, Elaine Hale, Leslie Crismond and Marsha Small. Also much thanks to Kory Sutherland for website develeopment, the Montana History Foundation for funding the project and to the Montana Heritage Commission for their support. Great work, everyone!!
Click on the image below to go to the Database
