Gallatin County Jail and the Pioneer Museum

Gallatin County Jail Celebrates 100 years!

It was the December 100 years ago that Gallatin County opened the new jail in

Bozeman. The building no longer houses criminals, but instead, hosts the Pioneer Museum, with plenty of evidence that it was the jail house for 70 years! There are gruesome reminders, like the hangmans’ noose and trap door, along with the isolation cell called “Siberia”, that some terrible criminals were kept here.

In 1911, the construction cost was $33,932, quite a sum for those days. The Historical society maintains the building at no cost to tax payers these days, it relies entirely on donations of good doers instead. The Pioneer Museum houses 12,000 artifacts, 17,000 photos, and a mess of newspapers, tapes, films and transcripts. It is toured by school children and visitors Monday through Saturday and is a definite stop over point for anyone wanting to preview some Bozeman history!