Welcome to the Owen & Gayle Robinson

Research Center

As part of the Cascade Country Historical Society, the mission of The History Museum Research Center is to preserve historic documents and original records significant to the heritage of North Central Montana and to provide access to the public.

Resources:

  • Ursuline Western Province Records

    Over a century of records amassed by Ursuline nuns with a focus on Catholic missions to Native Americans and non-Native schools in Montana and the West.

  • Tribune Reporter Files

    Articles, photographs, and ephemera representing decades of reporter research on the Northern Plains.

  • Oral Histories

    Recorded and transcribed interviews and conversations with community members.

  • Manuscript Collections

    Letters, diaries, and other unpublished materials from individuals, businesses, and organizations.

  • City of Great Falls Records

    Early civic and business history, resolutions, scrapbooks, and other misc.

  • Cascade County Records

    Assessment, business licenses, civil and criminal court cases, land property valuation, sheriff, voter registration, other misc.

  • Building and Site Research

    Survey of original town site of Great Falls, surveys and nominations for historic districts plus renovation information. Some house plans, architectural drawings, blueprints.

  • Directories

    City and business directories from 1887 to present for Great Falls and some smaller towns in Cascade County.

  • Homestead Records

    Over 7,000 original land patent holders.

  • Library

    Local histories for Cascade County communities and surrounding areas. Regional historical fiction and nonfiction.

  • Maps

    City, county, state, plat maps, blueprints and elevations, mining and power lines. Sanborne Insurance maps.

  • Naturalization Records

    Declaration of Intention, Petition, and Citizenship papers for the Cascade County residents 1887 to 1966.

  • Newspapers

    Bound copies of the Great Falls Tribune (1893-1953), The Great Falls Leader (1888-1961), and Belt Valley Times (1893-1977). Online access available to other newspapers.

  • Photographs

    Approximately 70,000 photographic images dating from the 1860s to the present. Subject strengths include the Anaconda Mining Company and the WWII era 7th Ferrying Group.

  • Vertical Files

    Extensive clippings, pamphlets, brochures, and ephemera for businesses, organizations, and prominent people in Great Falls, Cascade County, and North Central Montana. Also files on significant national events and prominent local people.

Request Information

Please begin your visit by contacting the Research Center first. Advanced notice of your visit is recommended for staff to prepare your requested materials. History Museum staff and volunteers are available to assist with on-site research. If you need to have research conducted for you, such services are available for a fee. Contact a History Museum staff member for more information.

The History Museum Research Center maintains 5,500 square feet of closed stack resources. These are accessible to the public through indexes and the help of staff who will bring the material to you for use in the Research Center.

All materials must be used under close supervision in the Research Center. No materials may be checked out.

Most materials can be copied. A fee list and guidelines are available.

The Research Center actively collects historic, researchable materials. To donate material to the Research Center, please contact a staff member for more information.

Service Fees

There is no charge for on-site users to conduct research. If you are unable to visit The History Museum Archives, we can conduct limited research for a fee.

Research by external request is on a pre-pay basis with a $20 minimum charge. This fee includes up to one hour of research time, up to 10 photocopies, and postage. Additional photocopies are $0.25 per page and research is $20 per hour. For in-depth research requests that would demand too much time of our limited staff, we will provide names of local researchers that are available for hire. There is no guarantee that information will be found. Please begin by using our contact form on this page.

Reproduction Services

The History Museum Archives can create photographic or digital reproductions of many items in our collections. A signed order form must accompany each request. Please review the following forms for more information: Application for Permission & Archives Order Form

Research Center Policies

Please become familiar with our policies before visiting the Research Center.

Archival material use is restricted to the Research Center and is non-circulating. These materials require special handling and security. Patrons will be asked to sign in and leave belongings in a locker.

Records may be fragile and must not be marked, folded, written on top of, or leaned upon.

Please preserve any existing arrangement of materials. If they appear out of order, call this to the attention of staff.

There is no charge for on-site users to conduct research.

Food and beverages are not permitted in the Research Center.