The Frontier Gateway Museum is a hidden gem of an attraction you can see from I-94 in Glendive, Montana.
Its collection includes everything from real bones of dinosaurs and Native American artifacts to the railroad and homesteaders.
What’s in the Glendive Frontier Gateway Museum?
The Glendive Frontier Gateway Museum occupies an acre of land. The entrance display building houses smaller artifacts in its main floor and basement.
You can start your museum tour by meeting its oldest resident — Margie the Struthiomimus — an ostrich-like dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of North America. At around 14 ft (4.3 m) long full grown, you wouldn’t want her chasing you through the displays!
Outside, there are half a dozen additional buildings in an open air format. Some, like the 1910 Golden Valley School, were relocated to the museum from another site.
Montana, also known as the treasure state, is home to abundant wildlife and diverse natural landscapes. While many displays showcase this diversity, the taxidermy collection puts it up front at the Frontier Museum.
Some of the neat Old West exhibits you’ll see in the main building include saddles, rifles, and other frontier era pieces from when the state was home to around half a million cattle! You’ll even find a cigarette holder and ash tray made from cattle horns.
The main building takes you through the railroad era to a period of economic development in Glendive. You’ll find stores and services of all sorts, from hair dressers to dentists, and military uniforms and history to an original war ration book.
Outside, you’ll find buildings that include a sheep wagon and log cabin. You’ll also find well-marked displays of farm equipment from settlement on.
Fun Stuff in the Museum Collection!
While chains aren’t exactly household items, I found the badlands cedar hand-carved wooden chains fascinating. A note attached to one indicated it was hand carved by John S. Larimer in 1937.
Fast Fact: It took Larimer 300 hours to carve the chain, so we know what he did in his evenings at home before there was television!
Did you know that a century ago dentures could be made out of rubber? I sure didn’t!
However, the museum has a vulcanizer for fabricating rubber dentures.
Linda’s Pick of the Displays
My favorite part of this museums was its extensive coverage on households, with most displays dating from the early 1900s. I particularly loved the clothing modeled on the mannequins.
Notes were attached to many of the articles, including a wedding dress from September 7, 1882!
It was a beautiful blue two-piece outfit worn by Margaret O’Connor Elliot Dion.
She sure must have been a stylish bride!
The latest in baby’s wear was displayed on an ABC toys brand baby doll with stuffed body, plaster head and limbs, from about 1911. The doll laid in a wooden cradle brought from Norway by boat then overland in 1821. The cradle was used by several families in the area, but is in amazing condition.
And of course, clothes require raw materials. So, the museum has a Swedish home loom used chiefly for rug making or cloth, and a second, larger loom.
Quilts were also an important part of most households, so several of those are also on display.
Linda’s Road Trip Tips
We visited Glendive on one of our roadtrips to the US for our article series: Small Town USA. It made for a nice three day, two night visit, and we didn’t run out of things to do!
Don’t miss the Glendive Dinosuar & Fossil Museum, which is situated right next to the Frontier Gateway Museum. It’s got lots of great information — note, however, that it’s a creationist museum. It’s curated from the perspective that life on earth is only about 6000 years old, and Noah’s Ark was the point of extinction for all types of dinosaurs.
Makoshika State Park is just out of town and offers a drive to the top of the badlands for an amazing overview.
If you like to hike, there are lots of trails there. When it comes to places to eat, our favorite spot was the Trailstar Cafe (also known locally as Gi Gi’s Cafe) located in a section of the Sinclair Gas Station complex.
Who Should Visit the Frontier Gateway Museum?
The Frontier Museum is the official Dawson County museum, located in the heart of the state’s Hell Creek Formation. Most of the artifacts have been donated by families who’ve spent generations in the community. So, for anyone with ancestry or friends in the area, going through all the exhibits will be a trip down memory lane.
Even if you’re just passing through Montana on I-94, this is a should-see museum.
While a full visit will take you 3-4 hours, staff can readily help you get to the exhibits you’re most interested in if you have less time.
There’s a lot of walking, however the interior exhibits weren’t crowded and the lawns on the exterior were smooth and well maintained.
How Do You Visit the Frontier Gateway Museum?
The Frontier Gateway Museum is located in Glendive, Montana. It has a variety of well-developed displays, from early fashion to farm machinery to dinosaur fossils.
Street Location: Glendive, Montana, right off I-94 at 201 State Street.
On the Web, visit their website at Frontier Gateway Museum.
They’re open seasonally, so be sure to check the website or their Facebook page before planning your visit.
Check Google Maps to enter your location and get directions!
Find More Museum Reviews for Montana
Check out more reviews of museum attractions in Montana on guide2museums.com.
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