Museum of the Beartooths

Museum of the Beartooths in Columbus reflects Stillwater County’s corner of Montana History. We are enjoying our fifth May-to-September season in 1997. The main building, newly constructed as a museum in 1991, briefly outlines local history back to the 1870’s. Exhibits include historic washing machines, artifacts relating to the second Crow Agency, 1875-1882, the Albert Johnson vintage home furniture, 1895 Line Drug Company pharmaceutics, military section featuring a tribute to native Donald J. Ruhl, one of Montana’s seven Congressional Medal of Honor recipients earned by his sacrificial death on Iwo Jima. Other notable displays tell the story of the 1938 Frank Robideau hanging in Columbus and a time line of mining activities culminating in the current Stillwater Mining Company platinum/palladium mine, the only one in America.A quaint museum gift shop intrigues visitors with a variety of made in Montana crafts as well as books and memorabilia items.
Outdoors, a new building displays farm machinery and related tools; a forge from a historic blacksmith shop; flour-sacker from once thriving county flour mill. Nearby, visitors may tour a retired 1960’s Northern pacific caboose, kindly donated by Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railroad Company.
The Museum of the Beartooths is located off I-90 at Columbus MT. Follow Highway 78 south to 4th Avenue North – turn right to 5th Street, turn right again and go one block to 5th Ave.
May – September
1:00pm – 5:00pm (closed Mondays)