fort missoula museum

I was in Missoula with two of my friends for the day. The day was coming towards an end but we didn't want to quite head back home to Kalispell yet, so we decided to make a stop here.This museum was well worth the stop. The inside museum provides a great history lesson on Missoula. I didn't know all the history in Missoula, and it was well worth It learn. The outbuildings were very cool also. They were in great condition. The grounds are beautiful. We will definitely be returning again in the summer when all the buildings are open. Come here for a really awesome visit.

While on business (I work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan), I made a stop at Fort Missoula. I love all art, but can appreciate the educational outlet that historical museums create. The first thing I noticed in the museum was the disgusting "orientation room." Carpet in a museum is not a good look unless it is regularly cleaned (including a good carpet shampoo). The two cases contained extremely creepy dolls that were apparently part of their Christmas exhibit - but it is almost February, Christmas is no longer relevant. The walls are white - there is no depth to the room. The brown columns need to be painted - it may be a "historical" museum, but its presentation was disturbing and definitely made me feel that whoever runs the museum does not care about drawing in a crowd for a positive experience. Also, the horse in the orientation room is awkward and out of place. If there was text explaining the horse's purpose, I missed it, which wouldn't be hard to do given that the text is so small and unreadable. The 150 years of Missoula wing has an abundance of inaccuracies. It goes from 1860 to 1920 - that is mathematically incorrect (that's only 60 years!). When I walked in, I saw a children's station where you can write your story on a piece of paper and tack it to the wall. That is very elementary in what is supposed to be a professional setting. Otherwise the exhibit was very cluttered. Not enough space for all of the history that Missoula possesses. I wasn't sure where to start in the exhibit because it's so tight and overwhelming (in a bad way). The Fort Missoula gallery has an awkward life-size cutout - who is he? What purpose does he serve? Very small exhibit for the fort. The artwork on the wall is beautiful, the information is great, but the lighting is so bad. The museum was so gloomy! History may be gloomy, but a museum is supposed to be lively. I read that this museum's mission statement is to keep Missoula's history alive, but there is nothing lively about it. It was so dreary and disappointing. Also - I read in the brochure that the building was built in 1910, but there is no sign of historic charm to it. Like I said, very dreary.In the "gift shop," they sell huckleberry jam and huckleberry chocolate. In all seriousness, I would bet that the chocolate is stale. Not a good idea to sell food in a gift shop at a museum that is not hip and happening.I would not recommend this museum to anyone, but when visiting Missoula I would recommend the Missoula Art Museum because it is a professional example and is a great representation of the community.

This museum is located on the grounds of a former military base within one of the original buildings. The theme of the displays is centered on the military history of the fort and the surrounding area, which dates back to Lewis and Clark up through a time when foreign nationals occupied a detainment camp here during WWII. Displays are mostly static with some dynamic offerings including a video presentation. Worth a stop.

interesting presentation of history most of us do not know - but can appreciate. Convenient to downtown.

If in Missoula you should take time to visit the museum. It is not really large in size but well worth the trip. History of area and MT.Very friendly people work there and explain history and exhibits .So glad we went. Family friendly and a great gift shop

We didn't see that much but what we saw was nice and the grounds was well maintained. They have bathrooms and it is a very nice place to walk or run in. Good for kids too.

This was a last minute decision to go to this museum. We are glad we did. The exhibits were well done and there was quite a bit of information that was available for us to learn more about the history of this area.

There's alot to see at Fort Missoula. From the museum, school, fire watch tower and many others to list. There is a small charge to get into the museum but well worth it. The displays are always changing which keeps it interesting. One display was a telegraph machine were you could learn how to type a message. Fort Missoula is by no means large but worth a visit. There are tables set up for people to use to eat lunch also.

We enjoyed our visit. We learned a lot about Missoula that we did not know even though we had previously lived in the area. It was very well presented and very enjoyable.

Good background on the history of the area - makes driving around the area more interesting. Historical markers on the roadside fit into this context. It was very hot, or we would have spent more time exploring the grounds.

It was a small museum but the 10 minute film provided a great overview for the history and museum artifacts. Amazing how many functions that the "Fort" served (fort, black regiment bicycle experiment, Italian detention WW I, Japanese holding camp, etc.). The grounds housed many interesting buildings and on Thursday-Saturday have interpretive docents.

Great place to learn about Missoula's history as well as the incredible history of the old fort. The grounds include restored buildings from Missoula's past including a one room school house, trolley barn with old trolley and old fire engine, barracks from World War II detention use, a fire look out tower, as well as logging exhibits. This can be fun for all ages. It is also a super picnic area.

We checked Trip Advisor and found this interesting history of Montana Museum. It had a mixture of historical items like trains, school house, ccc, photography, local history which was interesting to us. We enjoyed it and recommend.

I found the property, parked, traipsed around, found the Military Museum closed, walked back to car, and on my way, found a little, tiny sign that said, "Museum." I didn't go in. The grounds are kind of neat, giving a little history about forestry activities. The cemetery was sweet, but sad with all the children buried there...

I walked amongst the buildings on a pleasant Sun morning. It struck me as a hodgepodge of various historical topics ranging from pioneer house and schoolhouse, military, industry, and trains. I enjoyed the train station most. Looks like it is a work in progress and reliant on volunteers. All in all an interesting take in. It was free of charge to wander among the buildings.