The 1960s brought a decade of change in American History. Citizens of the United States were looking to the future, with Civil Rights movements and anti-war protests gaining steam. At the same time, a group of Sheridan County residents were looking to the past, realizing they had to make a conscious effort to capture the historical flavor, fashions, and fixtures of early Montana, before those items were lost forever, as if carried away by the prairie wind. And so, the Sheridan County Museum was born.

Located in Plentywood, Montana, the county seat of Sheridan County, sits the museum, waiting to share stories of this remarkable region. The original Dooley Post Office boxes are on display, as well as depression era typewriters, irons, and radios. Photographs of the colorful and historic past of northeast Montana help you imagine life in a quieter time, before the information age intervened with every aspect of day-to-day living. Step back in time to a 1920s general store, take a trip to a dress shop, tour an early school room, and envision the dreaded experience of having a tooth pulled at an old dentist office. Visitors to the museum will also see Montana’s longest interior mural and a historical monument near the museum signifying the historic surrender of the great warrior Sitting Bull.

The exterior of the Sheridan County Museum is extra special and has its own story to tell. The rock facing the building was provided by the descendants of early day homesteaders of Sheridan County whose parents and grandparents had diligently and tirelessly gathered them into piles to clear their lands for crops. Over the years the rocks have become overgrown with lichen, fed by the sun, rain, and air. The land and the rocks have witnessed a variety of newcomers to Montana, from courageous homesteaders to rugged cattle-men, determined roughnecks on towering oil rigs to small town merchants. The rocks on the Civic Center adjacent to the museum houses the collections of antiques farm equipment for the Old Tractor Club. Across from the museum is a highway rest area and RV dump station which is open 24/7 year-round. A Sitting Bull memorial is also located there. RV camping spaces are available at the fairgrounds nearby.

All those who have set foot in Sheridan County have played a role in northeast Montana’s history. Their experiences and stories are remembered and treasured in the Sheridan County Museum.

The museum is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.