The Extreme History Project

Extreme History is excited to partner with the Bozeman Public Library for their One Book One Bozeman program to offer a NEW walking tour that features Bozeman’s historic red-light district! Click here to secure a free ticket, only 15 spots per tour available!

One Book One Bozeman, is a community reading program and this year the book chosen is Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford.  Ford takes readers back to Seattle’s red-light district to meet three young inhabitants of a high-class brothel. The three characters include Ernest the houseboy, Maisie the madam’s precocious daughter, and a bold scullery maid named Fahn. These three characters wind their way through life in the district. For additional One Book One Bozeman Events, click here.

We are excited to showcase Bozeman’s own historic red-light district and speak to the similarities and differences with Seattle’s district. Join us for this one-hour walking tour that will take you back in time to the Bozeman of 1910. We’ll see where the ladies lived and worked, recounting the lives of the many women who made this district their home. You’ll hear stories of success, failure, independence, and tragedy. These women were not only residents of the tenderloin but they contributed financially to our community. The “restricted” district thrived from the 1870s until the early 20th century when the occupants of the red-light district were forced out and the houses were closed up for good.

We will offer two tours, one on February 16 at 1pm and the second on February February 24 at 1pm. Meet your tour guide in Soroptomist Park located on the corner of Rouse and Main streets. Tour is free and open to the public but you will need to register by clicking here to secure a ticket. There are only 15 spots per tour available so secure your ticket now!

Join us January 10, 6pm  at the Museum of the Rockies for our first Extreme History Lecture Series presentation of 2019. Free and open to the public. Arrive early to secure a seat! For the full schedule of presentations, click here.

Before Yellowstone: 11,000 Years of Native Americans in Yellowstone National Park

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Join us November 15, 6pm at the Museum of the Rockies for our last Extreme History Lecture Series presentation of 2018. Free and open to the public!

Superfunded: Recreating Nature in a Postindustrial West by Jennifer Dunn

The EPA Superfund program was established in 1980 and over 1,700 locations have been placed on the National Priorities List (NPL).  Superfund sites cover a vast array of environmental damages that contaminate the land and impact the health of citizens across the nation.  Superfund’s goal is to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated waste sites.  Former mining communities in the Intermountain West were built on a premise of wealth and power fortified by resource extraction.  Mining and smelting generated incredible wealth as well as incredible waste.  The Superfund solution to this waste reveal how governments, communities, and individual perceive and respond to the material consequences of our capitalist and industrial decisions.

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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 5 and 6, 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 of downtown Bozeman while hearing tales of horrific murders, gruesome hangings, and salacious madams from the mouths of the dead themselves who will appear at their various locations along the route. Meet Bozeman’s most scandalous Madam, Lizzie Woods and talk with our town founder, John Bozeman. The tour costs $18 per person online ($20 at the door) 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 and 7:30pm 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.

Get Tickets Here

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. 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

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