McCone County, near the Redwater Valley, has a deep history in cattle ranching. It began around 1883, when Major Seth Mabry, a former Confederate Army officer, drove a herd of longhorn cattle north, all the way from Texas. He established a ranch and branded his cattle with a plain circle iron. His ranch would become one of the state’s first big cattle ranches. In 1884, the ranch on the Redwater River was named the Circle Ranch, and the nearby town became known simply as Circle.

This story and more can be discovered inside the McCone County Museum, which was established in 1980. With over 10,000 items of historical interest related to northeast Montana, there is something for everyone inside the walls of the museum. Over 200 birds and animals have been mounted and displayed in their natural settings as part of the wildlife collection. Lucky for you, the rich history of McCone County isn’t confined to the steel building. The grounds of the museum include folk-art cement dinosaurs, reminiscent of the giants that roamed McCone County, Montana millions of years ago, a collection of early farm equipment, a former schoolhouse, a church and homestead house, the epitome of the pioneer days. The old Northern Pacific Train Depot and a caboose are a nod to a time when the railroad was king, its arrival a deciding factor in whether or not a small, frontier town would survive. There’s all this and more to explore at the McCone County Museum!