Extraordinary Bair Family Museum Open Seven Days A Week

Beginning Memorial Day, May 26, the Bair Family Museum will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last tours beginning at 4 p.m.

In late April, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the Bair Family Museum was the primary purpose of the Charles M. Bair Family Trust. The court ordered the board of advisors to “use whatever principals and income of the trust that is necessary to establish, improve and maintain the museum.”

“Yes, that’s good news for us. Additional security systems, a sprinkler system and several other environmental enhancements are on our short list of improvements for the coming year,” said R.C. (Bob) Brown, president of the Upper Musselshell Historic Society. Brown said the Bair Museum has been opened for the past two summer seasons, supported by a grant from the trust and an agreement with the Historic Society to oversee operations.

Bair Museum President Bill Jones of Harlowton said, “It’s our every intention to perpetuate the historic and artistic significance of the Charles M. Bair Ranch.”

A newly appointed Board of Advisors for the trust will hold its first formal meeting within six months of the court decision. But in the meantime, it is full speed ahead for the Bair Museum.

Sandy Solberg, museum director, said there are a number of summer activities scheduled, and that the museum is receiving numerous requests for group tours. “All the recent press,” she said, “has reminded people around the state, that yes indeed, we are open and ready for business as usual.”

Charles M. Bair came to Montana in 1883 as a conductor on the Northern Pacific Railroad and went into the ranching business in 1891. He made a sizeable fortune in the Alaska gold rush and went on to invest in mining, oil and real estate. Bair also became one of the most successful sheep owners in the world, at one time running over 300,000 head. Among his friends were Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Chief Plenty Coups and many U.S. Presidents.

The Bair home was built around an old homestead house, finished in 1936, in time for Mr. and Mrs. Bair’s 50th Wedding Anniversary. Bair’s daughters, Alberta and Marguerite, who were the last to live in the house, purchased many of the antiques and works of art on their frequent trips to Europe. A few of the Native American artifacts are displayed in the Pine Room, the Bair’s favorite, including a small beaded vest given to Alberta Bair at about age six by Chief Plenty Coups. Handsome reproductions of paintings by Charles M. Russell and Joseph S. Sharp collected by the family adorn the walls of many rooms.

The Bair collection is a very eclectic one, blending the cultures of Europe and Montana. The Bair sisters decorated their home with French furniture, English silver, western paintings, Indian artifacts and Chinese porcelain. A collection of Paul Storr Silver fills the formal dining room that also contains a Duncan Phyfe table along with an 18th century British sideboard. The home is a monument to beauty, hard work and luck.

Open: Memorial Day through Labor Day - 7 Days a Week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Contact Information: Bair Family Museum, P.O. Box 364, Harlowton, MT 59036

Directions: Bair Family Museum is located south of Highway 89, between White Sulphur Springs and Harlowton. Take the Martinsdale turnoff on Highway 12, one mile south.

Services and amenities: Air Conditioning, Gift Shop, Handicapped Accessible, Merchandise, Parking, Public Restroom, Tour, Books.

Besides touring one of the most intriguing historic homes in Montana, visitors may want to attend some of the other fun activities scheduled during the summer.

June 20-21 Woolgrowers Campout at the Bair Ranch

June 20-22 2nd annual Wind Festival in Harlowton

July 2-4 4th of July Rodeo in Harlowton

July 4 Ranch Rodeo and Shakespeare in the Park-White Sulphur Springs

July 12 - 13 Birthday Party for Alberta and Marguerite Bair at Bair Museum

July 7 Culpepper and Merriweather Circus in White Sulphur Springs

July 26-27 “Paint-Out” featuring art by Jo Firm and Lavonne Rice at the Bair Museum

July 26 Street Dance in Martinsdale

August 7-9 Meagher County Book Festival in White Sulphur Springs

Aug. 30-Sept. 1 Labor Day Rodeo-White Sulphur Springs