Our mission is to preserve and communicate the history, both human and natural, of Carbon County, Montana and our surrounding area.
Our History:
Carbon County Historical Society & Museum was first established in 1959 by Alice Greenough to house the collection of her world-renowned rodeo family. The Carbon County Historical Society was formed in 1974 and took over the museum facility in 1980. In 1990, the three-story Labor Temple building was gifted to the Carbon County Historical Society by an anonymous donor. The Labor Temple was built in 1909, entirely by the Red Lodge Miners Local No. 1771, and put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The historical society reopened the museum's doors with a newly remodeled basement and first floor in 1999.
The museum is the home to the Greenough and Linderman rodeo collections, the Waples family gun and projectile point collection, an interactive coal and hard rock mine exhibit, the Carbon County archives, and much more. The staff assists with family genealogy and historic research. The gift shop has a large variety of Carbon County, Montana and Old West historical books and gifts.
“Hi,
I’m a 96 yr. old woman who believes in preserving history & teaching our children.”
—Andrea U. Brainard, CCHS Member—3-12-2021
History is not just about dates, names, and places. Preservation isn’t just about bricks and mortar. Both are about human values…about relationships between individuals and their communities that stretch from the past through the present to the future. The Carbon County Historical Society & Museum has done just that.
Crow women parading in Red Lodge
Get Involved
Want to join our volunteer team?