Whitehall's Montana History "Live" Bringing Bannack Back to Its Glory Days September 16-19

Montana History “Live”, a Whitehall non-profit, prides itself on historically accurate interpretation of time periods, from the 1600s to the late 1800s. Whitehall locals Mark and Sharon Brown created the non-profit in hopes of bringing history back to life. For the last ten years, they have brought Bannack State Park back to its heyday of the 1860s. In cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the National Park Service, Bannack Living History Week has brought in thousands of attendees from all over the country.

Not to be confused with Bannack Days in July, Bannack Living History Week is always held in September, this year September 16 - 19. Historic interpreters from all over the country, but mainly from Montana (and the majority from the Whitehall area), dive into historically accurate representations of the time. Not a Coke can will be seen. Not a mention of Trump or Biden will be heard - all conversation with the interpreters is period correct to the era.

Montana History “Live” brings to life nearly every building in the ghost town of Bannack, with interpreters inhabiting the miner’s tent city, the mercantile, the carpenter shop, the Meade Hotel, Saloon, Boarding house, the newspaper/telegraph shop, a bakery and pie cart, dressmaker’s shop, Express Office, the pit saw, the doctor’s office, the laundress, the city drug store, the gunsmith shop, the Miner’s Court, the schoolhouse, the livery, the meat shop, and private residences. A period church service is held Sunday morning, and attendees will also notice a itinerant photographer and a professional hunter roaming around town.

The event is not open for participation - meaning that only members of Montana History “Live” are interpreting during the week; those arriving in costume will be asked to change. However, attendance is highly encouraged as this is one of few historical interpretation events in Montana administered by the state. Schools from all parts of Montana - as far away as Glasgow, as well as Idaho, bus students into Bannack Living History Week to see history in action. Please contact your local school to see about the possibility of a school field trip in the future.

Next week the Ledger will look in depth at the showcased roles of Whitehall residents at the Bannack Living History Week.