July 11 2019

Department of Administration launches Heritage Center project website

August 20 2019

Department of Administration Director announces Montana Heritage Center project committee members

October 11 2019

Initial meeting of the Montana Heritage Center Building Committee

November 01 2019

Meeting of the Montana Heritage Center Building Committee

November 20 2019

Meeting of the Montana Heritage Center Building Committee

November 25 2019

Site evaluation report published

December 12 2019

Director Lewis selects Sixth and Roberts location for Heritage Center

September 02 2020

Ground Blessing Ceremony

The site of the new Montana Heritage Center underwent a "ground blessing" ceremony Wednesday morning.

Steve Lozar, a member of Montana Historical Society's Board of Trustees and tribal councilman with the Confederated Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreille Tribes performed the traditional blessing, known as a smudging, in front of a limited crowd that included Gov. Steve Bullock, Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney and state legislators.

In addition to the smudging and prayer, Lozar symbolically ingested a pinch of earth from the site, acknowledging its historical significance as a trail to traditional buffalo hunting grounds.

"We take it in as a sign of unity, that everyone who walks into this place walks in with equality, walks in with a pure heart, and finds what this ground really is," Lozar said. "It's a place of discovery where we discover who we are, how we connect. We can see how we've connected in the past. We can take joy and pride in the things we've collectively done well, and we can learn from our mistakes."

July 27 2021

Excavation Work Begins

Excavation work for the foundation footings will be ongoing this week. The construction team anticipates that rebar will be arriving by the end of August and foundation work will follow. The goal is to get the foundation work completed before the winter weather arrives.

September 20 2021

Foundation Work Begins

The foundation for the Montana Heritage Center has started! Some of the Montana Historical Society staff are now working in offices with boarded up windows as we connect the two buildings together. This is going to provide the optimal visitor experience to the Heritage Center as all galleries and public spaces will be on one level. The project team and staff of the Montana Heritage Center have been working hard for many years to make this happen.

October 07 2021

The Big Pour Starts

This week, we started pouring the foundation for the Montana Heritage Center - a whopping 200 cubic yards of concrete! Crews are working long hours even as the days get shorter, and expect to be working throughout the winter. In anticipation of colder temperatures, they've gathered ground warming materials that will allow them to proceed throughout the year.


November 08 2021

Climbing the Walls

The concrete walls are poured!! Workers climbed the rebar, and added insulation to protect the building during cold weather. Plans are in place that will allow construction to continue even in winter. Thank you for all your support.

February 10 2022

Main Floor Slab Poured

Construction crews took advantage of the atypical balmy weather and managed to finish one of the huge slabs that will be the main floor of the Montana Heritage Center.

October 05 2022

MTHS Announces Temporary Construction Closures

Homeland and NENUK galleries close.

November 29 2022

All Galleries Close January 2023; Research Center Shutters Dec. 15, 2022

Construction of the Montana Heritage Center in Helena is slightly ahead of schedule, which means the Montana Historical Society is going to ramp up the anticipated temporary closures and find new ways to fulfill the publics’ needs while having limited access to our artifacts and documents.