The Museums of Deer Lodge, Montana

Deer Lodge offers "more museums and historical collections than any other town in the Northwest." My last post told you a little about the historic Grant-Kohrs Ranch Ranch, on the outskirts of Deer Lodge. That alone would keep a museum go-er happy for a long time--but wait, there's more! Much more. This town has something to capture almost anyone's imagination, and it's easy to get to, just off I-90 between Missoula and Butte. Be sure to allow lots of time, because there is much to see.

A high, convict-built stone wall, guarded by turreted stone towers, surrounds  Old Montana Prison . The prison was home to convicted felons for over 100 years, until operations were relocated to a nearby location in the late 70s. 

Accommodations were rudimentary and privacy almost nil. Showers were taken at assigned times in a large shower room edged by open stalls, with a guard controlling the water.

 If a prisoner behaved well, he might be allowed to enjoy a television show in the t.v. room. The program choice was up to the guard, and in the barred cubbyhole to the right of the television was an armed guard to make sure order was maintained. The chair was for Turkey Pete , a legendary prisoner whose grasp on reality became tenuous as he imagined himself a grand entrepreneur during his life sentence for murder.

This chapel/classroom was monitored by guards who prowled the adjacent underground passage. The passage also provided views of the television room and dining hall.

Upstairs in the 1912 cell house is the Law Enforcement Museum.

A single admission fee includes admission not only to the Old Prison, but to the adjacent car museum and a row of museums across the street.

The Montana Auto Museum has over 150 vehicles, including cars from the famous Towe collection. Edward Towe owned the world's largest Ford collection. At one point the collection had been transported to California to be housed there, but as a result of a lengthy tax dispute with the IRS, the collection was broken up, sold at auction to satisfy the IRS lien. Towe's advice: "Don't fight the IRS; you can't win."

 America's love affair with cars, along with the birth of the National Park system, led to vastly increased opportunities for people to enjoy camping...

which naturally led to RVs.

Across the street, the Frontier Museum has displays of cowboy, gambling, wild west, and native American memorabilia. There is yet more western memorabilia in Desert John's Museum . Wait--we're not done yet. 

The Powell County Museum houses a very nice historical collection, an absolutely enormous salt and pepper shaker collection, and an amazing collection of woodcarvings, all from the knife of one man. The Twenty Mule Team is especially impressive.  All from a sheepherder who began whittling in his early forties! Cottonwood City is an open air display of historic Montana buildings. Currently the interiors of 2 are open to the public. Visit Montana's foremost doll and toy museum at Yesterday's Playthings . Besides hundreds of dolls, there are trains and toy trucks, as well as a clown collection.

Did we visit enough museums today?