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Visitors’ Directory
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Attractions:
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Billings Tour Loops
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Useful Information
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Most of the rights and opportunities women have today are possible because of
the daring efforts of individuals from the past. All of these local women
demonstrate that America was the training ground for transformation. Learn
their inspiring stories and see how they still inspire us today.
The Western Heritage Center opened 2012 with “A Mile in Her Shoes: Montana Women at Work,” showing January 20 through September 29. This exhibit shares new research
highlighting the changing roles of women in the 20th century.
Learn about Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, and Hazel
Hunkins Hallinan, a Billings High School graduate, who led the fight for the
right to vote. View an original outfit of Calamity Jane, a resident of Billings
in 1894, on loan from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Watch a film about
some very unique women bronc riders. View unique clothing styles from the 20th
century. See the art and stories of Evelyn Cameron, an Eastern Montana
photographer, Ethel Hays, an illustrator of the flapper period, and Caroline
Lockhart, a famous western writer and Bighorn Canyon rancher.
Other exhibits currently on display at the center:
J.K. Ralston: History on Canvas — The museum’s lower gallery has been made over to replicate the lobby of a 1930s dude ranch
lodge. Rustic western furniture, inspired by the designs of Thomas Molesworth,
and a stone fireplace provide the ideal setting to display paintings by James
Kenneth Ralston, a regional artist inspired by the great stories of the West.
Billings: The Railroads Shape Our Town — Billings is a railroad town. Since its inception in 1882, the history and shape
of the town have been influenced by the railroads. Throughout Billings is
evidence of the railroad’s impact in planning, designing, and promoting the settlement of the region.
This exhibit and short film illustrate how we can still see the impact of the
railroad in Billings.
American Indian Tribal Histories Project — The permanent American Indian Tribal Histories Project exhibit provides
visitors with an overview of Montana’s Native American tribes through maps, tribal flags and an explanation of their
symbols, Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribal member oral histories and a
chronology of the American Indian Tribal Histories Project, whose mission is to
preserve and maintain American Indian tribal histories and culture.
The Western Heritage Center is located at 2822 Montana Avenue. For more
information call 406-256-6809 or visit www.ywhc.org.