Upper Swan Valley Historical Society

MUSEUM AND HERITAGE SITEOne of the programs of the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society, Inc. is management of the organization's Museum and Heritage Site established to showcase historical items, artifacts, and exhibits and to archive information and materials. There are no other government, cultural, or historic offices in this small, unique, rural community. During 2013, the organization continued to improve the building and land at the local Museum and Heritage Site and continued with the goal to provide preservation of the cultural and historical heritage of the Swan Valley, Montana, and to provide educational and research opportunities for public benefit and enjoyment. The Grand Opening of the Museum was celebrated on the Fourth of July. Various exhibits and displays of items from early day one-room schoolhouses, fire lookouts, saw mills, hunting and fishing camps, homesteads, and other historic memorabilia were viewed by the more than 200 adults and children who visited the Museum on that day. The Museum's exhibits and displays chronicle the community's settling and the spirit of the homesteading pioneers. During 2013, there were over 675 visitors to the Museum and Heritage Site. Approximately 57 students from area rural schools attended and participated in programs at the Museum and Heritage Site designed to demonstrate activities that took place more than 60 years ago in Swan Valley one-room schoolhouses. In addition to the exhibits and displays in the Museum, plans include continuing to expand the outdoor interpretive exhibits.

FROSTBITE FESTIVALThe Upper Swan Valley Historical Society, Inc.'s program coordinator developed and organized the fourth annual Frostbite Festival program. More than 85 adults and children enjoyed a family-oriented event held at the Swan Valley Community Hall to bring the community together for activities and camaraderie. Both children and adults participated in crafts, entertainment, an antique item contest, and other activities designed to unite the community and celebrate its cultural heritage. In addition, the Museum was open during the Frostbite Festival and more than 75 adults and children visited a display and exhibit of an extraordinary collection of antique Santa Claus figurines, collected over half a century.

ORAL HISTORY PROJECTOver the past decade, The Upper Swan Valley Oral History Project has recorded over 60 interviews with the early residents, along with collecting photographs, maps, documents, and other memorabilia. In 2011, the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society, Inc. produced a book, "Montana, Voices of the Swan", containing 65 historical summaries of recorded interviews with earlier settlers, their descendants, or others who knew the Swan Valley in former years. Their "voices" tell the story of lives of mingled hardship and joy in earlier days in the Swan Valley of Montana. The objective is to preserve the history and to make it available for present and future generations. In June, 2013, a tour of three historic lodges, all dating from the 1910s through the 1930s, was sponsored by the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society, Inc. and attended by 85 people. The tour featured speakers who were former guests of the lodges, workers, and descendants of former owners sharing their personal stories of events that occurred. A video project using techniques of oral storytelling, photographic documentation, and historical research is planned to capture the history of the historic lodges before it is lost. During 2013, the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society, Inc. produced "As Time Goes By: A Chronology of the Swan Valley" that includes information about historical events, such as exploration, homesteading, logging, and development, occurring from 1854 through 2013, and provides an easy-to-use reference about the natural, cultural, and historical aspects of the Swan Valley.