The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame is a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
hall of fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
organization. Its stated goal is to ""To honor our cowboy way of life, American Indian cultures, and our collective Montana western heritage. It confers the honour of induction on an annual list of distinguished individuals. At present, the organization lacks a permanent physical museum, but was granted statutory recognition by the Montana State Legislature in 2003 and 2011. Fundraising efforts include a specialty car license plate, The hall of fame was granted US$0.5 million in state funds for site development and project planning during a 2007 special session of the
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
.
A previous proposal was to be located in
Wolf Point
Wolf Point ( asb, šųktógeja oʾípa) is an incorporated ranchingtown in, and the county seat of, Roosevelt County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,517 at the 2020 census, down 4% from 2,621 in the 2010 Census. It is the larges ...
,
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
, as designated by the
State of Montana in 2003. But the Big Timber location was selected in part due to its proximity to
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
, proximity to other tourist destinations such as
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
and lower construction costs.
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]
Inductees
The first round of legacy award inductees was announced on April 8, 2008. Trustees from the twelve districts voted on the nominees to arrive at 51 foundational members of the hall of fame. This initial round includes nominees who made their impact on Montana's western heritage between 1860 and 1920. Subsequent inductees were announced annually thereafter.
District 1 (Daniels, Phillips, Roosevelt, Sheridan, and Valley counties)
*Assiniboine people
The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...
*Sherman T. Cogswell
*"Dutch Henry" Ieuch
*William H. Moecker
*Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock I ...
District 2 (Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Prairie, Richland, and Wibaux counties)
*Evelyn Cameron
Evelyn Cameron (August 26, 1868 – December 26, 1928) was a photographer and diarist of the American West, who documented her life as a pioneer near Terry, Montana from the late 1890s onward. She is best known for her photography chronicling th ...
*Bob Fudge
*N Bar N Ranch
*Undem Ranch
*Ralph Whitlock
*XIT Ranch
The XIT Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle which operated from 1885 to 1912. Comprising over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km²) of land, it ran for 200 miles (300 km) along the border with New Mexico, varying in width from 20 to ...
District 3 (Carter, Custer, Fallon, Powder River, Rosebud, and Treasure counties)
*Ord Ames
*Casey Barthelmess
*T.W. "Wiley" King
*Lisle D. Powell
* David and Ijkalaka Russell
*W.W. Terrett
District 4 (Blaine, Chouteau, Hill, and Liberty counties)
*"Long George" Francis
*Marie Gibson
*Jim McCoy
*Honora Matilda Redwing
*Winfield Scott Young
District 5 (Cascade, Glacier, Pondera, Teton and Toole counties)
*Peggy Bell
*Edwin R Freiboth
* Charles M. Russell
District 6 (Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum, and Wheatland counties)
*E.C. "Teddy Blue" Abbott
* James Fergus
*DHS Ranch
*Granville Stuart
Granville Stuart (August 27, 1834 – October 2, 1918) was a pioneer, gold prospector, businessman, civic leader, vigilante, author, cattleman and diplomat who played a prominent role in the early history of Montana Territory and the state o ...
*George R. "Two Dot" Wilson
District 7 (Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Yellowstone counties)
*Plenty Coups
Plenty Coups (Crow: ''Alaxchíia Ahú'', "many achievements"; 1848 – 1932) was the principal chief of the Crow Nation ("Apsáalooke") and a visionary leader.
He allied the Crow with the whites when the war for the West was being fought, becaus ...
*Dilworth Cattle Company
*Charles C. Huyck
*Charles McDonnell
*William Franklin McLeod
District 8 (Broadwater, Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark counties)
* 2nd US Cavalry
*Broadwater Hotel and Natatorium
*Thomas Cruse
Thomas Cruse (December 29, 1857 – June 8, 1943) was a brigadier general in the United States Army who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for valor in action on July 17, 1882, at the Battle of Big Dry Wash, Arizona. An 1879 graduate of ...
*John M. Frey
* General Thomas Francis Meagher
*Sons and Daughters of the Montana Pioneers
District 9 (Gallatin, Meagher, and Park counties)
*Charles Anceney
*Charles M. Bair Charles M. Bair (1857–1943) was an early railroading businessman who also became one of the largest sheep ranchers in the United States. He had two daughters, Alberta (1895-1993) and Marguerite (1889-1976).
Charles M. Bair was born in Stark Count ...
*Henry Heeb
*Nelson Brothers
*Nelson Story
Nelson Story Sr. (April 4, 1838 – March 10, 1926) was a pioneer Montana entrepreneur, cattle rancher, miner and vigilante, who was a notable resident of Bozeman, Montana. He was best known for his 1866 cattle drive from Texas with approximate ...
* Frank Crail
Dick Randall OTO Dude Ranchg
Districts 10, 11, and 12 (Lake, Lincoln, Sanders, Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli, Deer Lodge, Beaverhead, Silver Bow, Granite, Madison and Powell counties)
*Myron D. Jeffers
*Conrad Kohrs
Conrad Kohrs, born Carsten Conrad Kohrs (August 5, 1835 – 23 July 1920) was a Montana cattle rancher (cattle baron) and politician.
Biography
He was born in Holstein, a province that was ethnically and culturally German and part of the ...
*Nevada City Hotel
*Henry Plummer
Henry Plummer (1832–1864) was a prospector, lawman, and outlaw in the American West in the 1850s and 1860s, who was known to have killed several men. He was elected sheriff of Bannack, Montana, in 1863 and served until 1864, during which ...
*The Round Barn
*Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
- 1889 Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
winner
External links
Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame
website
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montana Cowboy Hall Of Fame
Cowboy halls of fame
State halls of fame in the United States
Halls of fame in Montana
Proposed museums in the United States
Biographical museums in Montana
Museums in Wolf Point, Montana