Heavy smoke during the summer of 2021 throughout Montana drove us indoors (checked into a hotel in Great Falls, MT) for a short reprieve. Admittedly, on a scale of Sasquatch to Gigi Hadid, the city of Great Falls is on the Sasquatch end of the things. (Go to Whitefish for Gigi Hadid beauty.) It turns out, though, that Great Falls is worth a stop for two wonderful museums – the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center and the Charles M. Russel Museum – and the town’s water features.
The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center
If you spend any time travelling through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, or the Dakotas in the western states, you’ll see plenty of historic markers related to Meriweather Lewis and William Clark, who are known for their expedition from St. Louis MO to the west coast and back. They were sent by Thomas Jefferson following the Louisiana Purchase in hopes of finding the northwest passage, a water route to the Pacific Ocean. They failed in this but made many other contributions. Piecing together their goals, their journey and their contributions is difficult without your junior high history book or a lot of Googling. That’s where the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center comes in!
The museum is very well done. The exhibits not only walk you through their entire journey and timeline, relaying wonderfully colorful stories as well as correcting some misconceptions, but are also interactive. It really brings this history to life, making it great for children of all ages!
Why, with all their travels, is Great Falls, Montana where this center resides? The lengthy, unexpected, and arduous portage overland 18 miles to bypass the five waterfalls situated along a 7 mile stretch of river that give Great Falls its name is a major highlight in their explorations.
Here are 10 fun facts from the many we learned about the expedition:
- Thomas Jefferson gave the team $2500 for the expedition which took almost 3 years and covered approximately 3,700 miles.
- Other than the detailed journals kept per Jefferson’s instructions, the only piece of physical evidence of the expedition on the Lewis and Clark Trail today is Clark’s signature at Pompey’s Pillar, just east of present day Billings, MT.
3. Clark, like many 19th century writers, spelled words the way they sounded; but he was particularly inconsistent and spelled “Sioux” 27 different ways and none of them were S-I-O-U-X.
- Clark, like many 19th century writers, spelled words the way they sounded; but he was particularly inconsistent and spelled “Sioux” 27 different ways and none of them were S-I-O-U-X.
- During the expedition they recorded taking 259 buffalo for food (each explorer eating about 7lbs of meat per day), making clothes, moccasins, and baggage covers.
- The portage past the 5 waterfalls in what is now Great Falls required several round trips by wagons and men totaling approximately 130 miles.
- In addition to assisting with translations, searching for edible plants as medicines, and making moccasins and clothing, Sacajawea’s mere presence on the journey likely helped the explorers in allaying suspicions of Native tribes as having a pregnant woman and later mother on the journey suggested peaceful intentions.
7. There are more statues of Sacajawea than any other American woman.
- There are more statues of Sacajawea than any other American woman.
- All these years, we’ve probably been wrong about the pronunciation of Sacajawea due to spelling alteration made to the Lewis and Clark journals in 1814. The correct pronunciation is thought to be Sah-KAH-gah-we-a with a hard “g”!
- At one point in their journey, game became scarce, so they purchased 40 dogs from a village and ate dog meat.
10. Lewis was struck in the left buttocks by a musket ball while elk hunting with a one-eyed explorer on his team, who would never admit to the deed. The truth is stranger than fiction!
- Lewis was struck in the left buttocks by a musket ball while elk hunting with a one-eyed explorer on his team, who would never admit to the deed. The truth is stranger than fiction!
The Charles M. Russel Museum
Charles M. Russel or C.M. Russel was an accomplished illustrator, painter, sculptor, and gifted storyteller. Working out of Great Falls it’s believed that he may have created over 4,000 works – everything from large bronze sculptures to whimsical wax animals, but he’s most known for his dynamic paintings of the Old West.
Known as the “Cowboy Artist”, his works covered a wide range of topics from major historical events to the everyday life of the American cowboy or Native American. It’s notable that he often portrayed well known historical events from the point of view of the Native American people.
He was a popular artist during his lifetime in thanks due to his wife, Nancy, who is credited for making a business of his artistry by promoting him and selling his works. Today several of his works have sold for well over $1M.
We absolutely loved this museum, not only for all the artwork, but additional information on his life, his friendship with artist O.C. Seltzer, and the walk through his Great Falls studio.
Water Features in Great Falls
Due to dams built along the Missouri River, the Great Falls falls are not what they used to be (pre-1890) but are still fairly impressive. The 5 falls extending approximately 10 miles have the effect of dropping the water level a total of 612 feet.
What we liked more than the falls was Giant Springs, one of the largest fresh water springs in the United States. At this location underground water emerges. It has been measured as having an average discharge of 242 cubic feet of water per second or 150 million gallons per day! It serves as the headwaters to the 200ft long Roe River, once listed as the shortest river in the world according to Guinness Book of World Records. Roe River flows into the Missouri.
Given those stats you’d think this would be loud and gushing like water from a fire hose, but it’s not. It’s tranquil, clear and unassuming with mesmerizing brilliant green water plants that sway in its wake.
Great Falls was never on our bucket list, but this town surprised us. If you’re in the area it’s worth a 2 day stop.
