Blaine County Museum

Contact Information:
Address: South side of downtown Chinook
Phone: (406) 357-2590

Experience the West, from prehistoric to pioneer, through thought provoking exhibits, that tell the story of this land, its people, and its times. Native American artifacts and culture make up an important part of the museum’s collection, together with early photographic records of Nez Perce life.

Military and Indian artifacts from the Bear Paw Battlefield are on exhibit, but a visit to the battlefield itself, just sixteen miles south of Chinook, should be on your itinerary. Interpretive signage and markers line the footpath through the battlefield.

Exploration of northern Montana began with the fur traders of the mid 1700s and Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery expedition in 1804. Settlement did not begin in earnest until the Great Northern Railroad was completed in 1887. Prior to that time access was by means of the Missouri and riverboats. 1888 saw the boom of the cattle and sheep ranching era, and their associated range wars. Large scale homesteading began only as recently as 1910.

Extensive exhibits tell the story of the Nez Perce Indians, the pioneer days of the cowboy, the hardships of the homestead era, and follow Blaine County through two World Wars. Reconstructions feature strongly in the museum, with an early church, schoolrooms, country dentist and doctors offices, complete with “torture tools”, and even a reconstructed “Tar paper” homestead, with period furnishings, on display inside the museum.

The most incredible journeys we make are not measured in miles, they are instead, voyages of the imagination, transporting us back through the ages to very different times than these. In fact, back as far as worlds inhabited by the giant dinosaurs, which lived, hunted and died in what is now Blaine County. The paleontology department exhibits many unique fossil remains of paleo-life from the seas, which periodically covered this region, and the dinosaurs that ruled the land 75 million years ago.

The audiovisual presentation “40 Miles to Freedom” is one of the highlights of the museum. Combining video, sound, lighting effects, and photography, centered around artist Lorenzo Ghiglieri’s spectacular paintings, the presentation details the events leading up to the Battle and siege of the Bear Paw. Which event ended one of the most remarkable and tragic retreats in this nations history, Inspiring Chief Joseph to utter the now immortal line “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”

The museum is located just south of downtown Chinook and is open daily Memorial day to Labor day. Hours are reduced off season to 1 p.m.-5 p.m. weekdays only. There is no admission charge and guided tours are available.