We can never pass through eastern Montana without a stop in Terry, Montana. Besides having a great name, it has a large county museum and is home to the Evelyn Cameron photography gallery.
In this small town, the Cameron gallery was our first stop but the door was locked. A sign said that the key was next door at the Prairie County Museum, so we made that our first stop. With two floors, an annex and a railroad building, a visitor could spend quite a bit of time here.
The two main floors of the building were once the local bank.
The top floor features a room with early 20th century medical technology, including a dentist's office.
Much of the banking setup, including teller cages, is well preserved.
Both a Burroughs adding machine and a National cash register are on display. These two items are always favorites of mine.
Out back in the annex, is an ancient office switchboard (PBX) from a small business. These are hard to find anywhere. And an assortment of telephone gear just waiting for some ambitious curator's touch.
After a quick tour through the museum, we headed back over to the Cameron
Gallery.
Evelyn Cameron was a pioneer of glass-plate photography at the beginning of the 20th century. She documented farm and small town
life in eastern Montana and her work was relatively unknown until recent
years.
While her photographs are a marvelous gift to following generations, she also was a detailed diarist.
The gallery contains transcribed copies of her daily entries over a long period. She documented life on the Montana prairie in full detail. It was not an easy life. Here is a sample day's entry:
An additional brief bio of Evelyn Cameron can be found here.
A few additional photos from the museum and Terry are available here.
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