Overnight experiences
Did you ever book a room in a historic place, only to find that it was just like every other hotel room you’ve been in?
Well, you won’t find that here.
Historically authentic. Real. Not for the casual traveler.
Overnight in History
Experience history up close!
Stay overnight in a caboose, an oil worker’s house, or the homestead!
Your adventure begins with a site orientation by staff, dinner (optional), a one-on-one experience with a historian about your building and its role in history , your overnight experience, and breakfast the next morning.
Check in is between 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm (or a prearranged time) and check out by 10 am.
Now taking reservations for the Overnight in History Program. $225 per night, double occupancy. Sorry, but no more than 2 people per venue.
We now have a shower and restroom for guest use. Bedding is provided.
caboose
What was the role of the caboose on the railroad? Who worked in them? What are lantern signals? Why are there no cabooses anymore? Spend the night shift on BN caboose 12424 and learn the answers to these questions and more. This car was built in 1981 by the International Car Company of Kenton, Ohio, and was in service from 1981 into the 1990s.
A historian will meet caboose guests and introduce them to the operation of cabooses like 12424 on the Burlington Northern.
After your visit, enjoy an evening in BN 12424. Railroading comes alive at night with the caboose’s lights, especially the red marker light. Relax in the reversible chairs up in the cupula and watch the sun set. Outdoor chairs on a platform deck are there for your relaxation and enjoyment. The caboose is also equipped with a lunch table and two chairs, an office desk and chair at each end of the car, and two single cots. A hospitality closet offers area railroad and history books, playing cards, cribbage, and a variety of snacks.
The caboose is available year round. Amenities: electricity (12 volt), heating stove (in winter), fans/air conditioner available as needed, and two single cots. A restroom is located a short distance away from the caboose.
oil worker's house
Come explore what life was like in 1935 in Santa Rita, an oil camp just five miles north of Cut Bank. You are invited to live like an oilfield family for a night in an authentic oil worker’s house, one of the few preserved in Montana. Our experience will accommodate two people. The house is furnished when the Hegg family lived here: Mel purchased this home for $500 in 1934 for his wife Doris and four-year-old daughter, Hermoine. Only 12′ wide, the home has a living room, kitchen, and bedroom as well as a shed addition with a front entry and the rear entry doubling as a laundry room.
A historian will meet guests at the house for a discussion of life in the oil camp of Santa Rita from the perspective of the Hegg family. Learn about Mel’s place of work on a cable tool rig. Learn the difference between an oil house and an oil shack. What did families eat, do for entertainment, or wear? How was laundry done? This chat will be around the dining room table set up for entertaining in 1930s style with a plate of treats and water heated on the gas stove for tea or coffee. In the background, the radio will be playing music from the 1930s.
After the historian’s visit, continue to enjoy music from the 1930s, read a periodical from the period, play cards, or cribbage, or other popular 1930s games, or listen to an episode of the radio show Fibber Maggie & Molly.
This experience will be available from April through December. In December, the house will be decked for Christmas. Amenities: electricity, gas heating stove, and double bed. A restroom is located a short distance away from the house.
homestead house
Take the risk, be a homesteader- at least for one night. Beginning in 1909, hundreds came to Montana with high hopes of transforming the barren prairie into a prosperous farm with horse drawn equipment. The government offered up to 320 acres of free land. At the Lois Maltby homestead, you will learn her story and about her family.
Her homestead is tiny house living at its best, consisting of a small homestead house measuring 8’ x 20’, a privy (non-functioning), a chicken coop with feathered residents, a vegetable garden, and farm equipment. Inside the house is a bed, stove, dry sink, table, and chairs.
A historian in period attire will meet guests at the homestead for a discussion bringing you into the world of a homesteader. How did a homesteader get free land? What did a typical homesteader raise for crops? Learn about washing clothes using a stone boat, copper boiler, rapid washer, and washtub- and the five mile quest for water. Were all homestead houses this small? Your guide will show you the operation of the woodstove. You may use the woodstove for heating if necessary or to make coffee or tea. Try your hand grinding coffee beans in the grinder. Refreshments will be available.
After the historian’s visits, enjoy the evening inside or out. Oil lamps and lanterns provide light at night. Reading is available about area homesteading. Play cribbage or traditional card games.
This experience will be available from April through December. Amenities: wood heating stove, oil lamps/lanterns, and double bed. A restroom is located a short distance away from the house.
Reservations:
Interested in staying with us? Give us a call or send an email. We will be happy to accommodate you individually. Call (406) 873-4904 or (406) 450-0999 for reservations (please leave a message and we will get back to you right away).