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D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E
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whitefishspirits.com
2023
RESTAURANT & DISTILLERY
IN KALISPELL
BOTTLES & CANS
AT FINER LIQUOR STORES
T
HE MADISON VALLEY, WITH ITS PANORAMIC
VIEWS OF THE TOBACCO ROOT MOUNTAINS AND
WORLD-CLASS FISHING, IS ONE OF SOUTHWEST-
ERN MONTANA'S GREATEST TREASURES. But located on
a blink-and-you'll-miss-it turn off of MT Highway 287 is
another (albeit much, much smaller) treasure: the Madison
Valley History Museum. Sat on a hill overlooking Ennis and
the massive peaks of the valley, the three buildings of the
museum are chock-full of artifacts, photographs, and sto-
ries. Every item within the museum is local to the Madison
Valley area, and each piece helps to tell the generations-old
story of the area as we now know it.
When ascending the staircase that leads to the front door,
visitors will see the names of donors who have contributed
to the museum. Two names in particular might stand out
to visitors who walk up the ramp; while they never visited
in person, Hollywood filmmaker Todd Fisher made post-
humous donations in the names of his sister and mother,
Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. The main building used
to house the Madison Valley Clinic, before being donated
and moved four miles to create the museum. Adjacent is the
Otto Coss-Oscar blacksmith shop, which contains original
and fully functioning blacksmithing equipment from Ennis.
MADISON
VALLEY
HISTORY
MUSEUM
by TOM RATH
