Helena author Aaron Parrett reads from his book, "Montana: Then and Now," focusing specifically on one chapter, "Literary Tastes of Surprisingly High Order: Montana Belles Lettres." When Montana Territory was established in 1864, it was a land of tepees and ramshackle cabins, of lawless vigilantes and miners scraping out meager livings. On the occasion of Montana's 150th territorial anniversary, and with a perspective born from a lifetime's devotion to the history of his home state, "Montana: Then and Now" compares where we started with where we are today, and reveals a Montana we may not have previously imagined. www.montanahistoricalsociety.org

These supposed "Chinese terraces" next to the railroad baffled archaeologists for many years.

In the era before women's suffrage, Ella Knowles successfully became Montana's first female lawyer.

Jodie Foley speaks about Mary Gleim, the iron-fisted queen of Missoula's historic red-light district. Presented at MHS on May 23, 2013.

Ellen Baumler details the sources and the colorful history of Helena's street names.

Anthrax and brucellosis contributed to human slaughter of wild buffalo herds.

The steamboat St. Peter's provides just one example of human error that led to an epidemic of smallpox.

During the frontier era, African-American Isaiah Dorman served as an interpreter, courier, guide, and soldier.

Montana Department of Transportation historian Jon Axline takes you on a trip over Helena's Benton and Frenchwoman’s roads as he explains their significance to Montana’s history 150 years ago. Axline’s forthcoming book, Taming Big Sky Country: The History of Montana’s Transportation from Trails to Interstates, will be published by The History Press this March. (Presence of the Past program series, Feb. 5, 2015)

Rich Aarstad, MHS senior archivist, presents a series of vignettes based on items from the MHS collection that speak about the Civil War. Presence of the Past Series, January 22, 2015