The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

organization. Its stated goal is to ""To honor our cowboy way of life, American Indian cultures, and our collective Montana western heritage. It confers the honour of induction on an annual list of distinguished individuals. At present, the organization lacks a permanent physical museum, but was granted statutory recognition by the Montana State Legislature in 2003 and 2011. Fundraising efforts include a specialty car license plate, The hall of fame was granted US$0.5 million in state funds for site development and project planning during a 2007 special session of the

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

. A previous proposal was to be located in

Wolf Point Wolf Point is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,517 at the 2020 census, down 4% from 2,621 in the 2010 Census. It is the largest community on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Wolf ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, as designated by the

State of Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of ...

in 2003. But the Big Timber location was selected in part due to its proximity to

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, proximity to other tourist destinations such as

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

and lower construction costs.

Inductees

The first round of legacy award inductees was announced on April 8, 2008. Trustees from the twelve districts voted on the nominees to arrive at 51 foundational members of the hall of fame. This initial round includes nominees who made their impact on Montana's western heritage between 1860 and 1920. Subsequent inductees were announced annually thereafter.

District 1 (Daniels, Phillips, Roosevelt, Sheridan, and Valley counties)

2008

Assiniboine people The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nak ...

of Northeastern Montana *Sherman T. Cogswell *"Dutch Henry" Ieuch *William H. Moecker *

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...

2009

* Harry Rutter * William Henry Smith

District 2 (Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Prairie, Richland, and Wibaux counties)

2008

* Evelyn Cameron *Bob Fudge *N Bar N Ranch *Undem Ranch *Ralph R. Whitlock *

XIT Ranch The XIT Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle which operated from 1885 to 1912. Comprising over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of land, it ran for 200 miles (300 km) along the border with New Mexico, varying in width from 20 to ...

2009

* Daniel & Susan Haughian

District 3 (Carter, Custer, Fallon, Powder River, Rosebud, and Treasure counties)

2008

*Ord Clinton Ames *Casey Barthelmess *T.W. "Wiley" King *Lisle D. Powell * David and Ijkalaka Russell *William Wiseham "W.W." Terrett

2009

Andy Jones

District 4 (Blaine, Chouteau, Hill, and Liberty counties)

2008

*"Long George" Francis *Marie Gibson *James "Jim" McCoy *Honora Matilda Redwing *Winfield Scott Young

2009

* Louis Shambo

District 5 (Cascade, Glacier, Pondera, Teton and Toole counties)

2008

*Peggy Bell * Charles M. Russell

2009

* James Willard Schultz

District 6 (Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum, and Wheatland counties)

2008

*E.C. "Teddy Blue" Abbott *

James Fergus James Fergus (October 8, 1813 – June 5, 1902) was a miner, rancher, businessman and politician in Minnesota and Montana. He immigrated as a young man from Scotland and became a naturalized United States citizen. He helped develop the frontier ...

*DHS Ranch *

Granville Stuart Granville Stuart (August 27, 1834 – October 2, 1918) was an American pioneer, gold prospector, businessman, civic leader, vigilante, author, cattleman and diplomat who played a prominent role in the early history of Montana Territory and t ...

*George R. "Two Dot" Wilson

2009

* W.E. "Limestone" Wilson * William I. Hughes

District 7 (Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Yellowstone counties)

2008

*Chief

Plenty Coups Plenty Coups (Crow language, Crow: ''Alaxchíia Ahú'', "many achievements"; c. 1848 – 1932) was the principal chief of the Crow Tribe and a visionary leader. He allied the Crow with the whites when the war for the West was being fought becaus ...

- Chiilaphuchissaaleesh (Buffao Bull Facing the Wind) *Dilworth Cattle Company *Charles C. Huyck & The Roberts Ranch *Charles McDonnell *William Franklin McLeod

2009

* John B. Kendrick

District 8 (Broadwater, Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark counties)

2008

* 2nd US Cavalry *Broadwater Hotel and Natatorium *

Thomas Cruse Thomas Cruse (December 29, 1857 – June 8, 1943) was a brigadier general in the United States Army who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for valor in action on July 17, 1882, at the Battle of Big Dry Wash, Arizona. An 1879 graduate of ...

*John M. Frey * General Thomas Francis Meagher *Sons and Daughters of the Montana Pioneers

2009

Fannie Sperry Steele Fannie Sperry Steele (March 27, 1887 – February 11, 1983), born Fannie Sperry, was an American bronc rider and rodeo performer from Montana. She was one of the first women inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western ...

District 9 (Gallatin, Meagher, and Park counties)

2008

*Charles Anceney * Charles M. Bair *Henry Heeb *Nelson Brothers - Monroe "Beaver" & Frank "Doc" *

Nelson Story Nelson Story Sr. (April 4, 1838 – March 10, 1926) was a pioneer Montana entrepreneur, cattle rancher, miner and vigilante, who was a notable resident of Bozeman, Montana. He participated in the 1866 cattle drive from Texas with approximately 100 ...

2009

* Byron Roger Sherman

Districts 10, 11, and 12 (Lake, Lincoln, Sanders, Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli, Deer Lodge, Beaverhead, Silver Bow, Granite, Madison and Powell counties)

2008

*Myron D. Jeffers * Conrad Kohrs Ranch *Nevada City Hotel *

Henry Plummer Henry Plummer (c. 1832–1864) was a prospector, lawman, and outlaw in the American West in the 1850s and 1860s, who was known to have killed several men. He was elected sheriff of what was then Bannack, Idaho Territory, in 1863 and served ...

*The Round Barn *

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

- 1889

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

winner

2009

*Frank Bird Linderman *The Sacred Medicine Tree of the Salish *Clyde Hunter Smith

External links

Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame
website

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montana Cowboy Hall Of Fame Cowboy halls of fame Rodeo halls of fame State halls of fame in the United States Halls of fame in Montana Proposed museums in the United States Biographical museums in Montana Museums in Wolf Point, Montana Sports hall of fame inductees