Introduction

In 1870, approximately 200 of the 20,617 Montana Territory residents were of African American descent. "African Americans settled in nearly every part of the territory, most lived in Helena (43 percent), Virginia City (10.4 percent), Fort Benton (8.9 percent), Bozeman (7.8 percent), and Deer Lodge County (7.3 percent). In these early years African Americans worked in a range of occupations. Occupations include servants and domestics (23 percent), laborers (19 percent), barbers (17 percent), cooks (14 percent), and farm or ranch workers (4 percent)." (Meredith, Scott, Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 57 No. 1)

Please see the African-Americans in Montana Heritage Resources website for more information.

Use the links below to access specific areas of the Research Center collection.

Click here for bibliographic information. (Includes photo collections, archival collections, published materials, newspapers)

Click here for biographical information.

Click here for an index of names.