Yellowstone Gateway publishes second edition of History of Park County, Montana
The Yellowstone Gateway Museum’s Wan-I-Gan Press recently published the second edition of History of Park County, Montana. First published in 1984, the second edition now includes an index.
Led by Doris Whithorn, museum volunteers compiled the book in 1984. They recognized the importance of remembering individuals and families who settled in the region and the generations that followed. There is genealogical, place name and business information, but most valuable are the abundant and colorful stories that people submitted, giving readers a sense of life in Park County.
More than one hundred years are chronicled. Some of these stories stretch back before 1883, when Livingston was established, and before Montana became a state in 1889, including tales of Civil War veterans, miners, railroad workers, homesteaders and business owners.
Stories of ranching, rural schools, working for the railroad or in Yellowstone National Park, making community improvements, family activities, accidents and disease, military service and more are present. Some of the families represented are now gone but this book is a tribute to their perseverance, hard work, creativity and community spirit.
Richard Dysart compiled a detailed index for the History of Park County, Montana, including special thematic summaries, and Wan-I-Gan Press published it in 2013. This year’s second edition of the book includes the index. The 622-page book is the largest compilation of Park County history and family stories ever published.
This book and other Wan-I-Gan Press publications are available at two Livingston locations: Yellowstone Gateway Museum, 118 W Chinook, at Park Photo, 115 S Main. Please call (406) 222-4184 or contact museum@parkcounty.org for more information. •