Finding Old Missoula - Porte de L'Enfer Publishing Company

09/20/2025

U of Montana Grizzly Football game...

University of Montana Grizzly football on the university campus, Missoula, Montana. The clock tower on University Hall can be seen behind the stadium. Year unknown. https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/18604

01/23/2025

Really cool picture of Missoula from Waterworks Hill!

Group picture of elementary Zoology class taken on Water Works Hill, Missoula, Montana. The reservoir can be seen downhill from the students. Hellgate Canyon, Mount Sentinel, and university buildings can be seen in the background. 1929. https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/17795

12/05/2024

For folks who have historic properties...

Owners of historic properties in Montana may be eligible for $20,000 to $100,000 grants from the Montana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Funds from the state accommodations tax will support repairs and improvements to historic properties that are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. All work must meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Properties.

Applications are due on February 10, 2025. Visit https://mths.mt.gov/shpo/grants for details and how to apply.

11/03/2024

Wonderful Christmas Gift for friends and family who love Missoula! Makes a great coffee table book. Can also be used for home schooling or as a visitor's guide. Includes field trip suggestions.

https://portedelenferpubco.com/
https://portedelenferpubco.com/how-to-order

10/29/2024

Passengers boarding a streetcar in front of the Bright Spot Grocery in the Daly Addition, Missoula, Montana. https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/17131

09/23/2024

A photo of downtown Missoula in 1910.

Clang, clang, clang went the trolley....

It's true, Downtown Missoula once had a trolley that went up and down Higgins, getting passengers to their destinations with ease. This photo was taken in 1910, before The Wilma was built. You can see the original Hammond Arcade building to the left, which burned down in 1932 and was rebuilt with the building that stands there today in 1934. The site where today's First Interstate Bank building now stands is on the right, with the MMC sign of the Missoula Mercantile Company peeking out just beyond.

04/24/2024

Milltown Dam during flood of 1908.

Looking up the Clark Fork River toward what was known as the Milltown Dam as the June 1908 floodwaters spilled over the dam and surrounded the power plant. Trees and utility poles are partially submerged.
In a recap of the event, the June 19, 1908, Missoulian newspaper reported (using the eloquent prose of the time) that "the people of Missoula ... should be thankful that the worst did not come to the worst, that they and theirs were spared the climax of calamity. Although the last of the days of destruction passed a week ago, still it is enough to make one shudder to think of what would have happened had the Clark dam at Bonner given away. Behind this obstruction in the river was a solid wall of water 40 feet high, waiting for the slightest weakening to sweep the dam away and rush down on Missoula."
The caption with this photo calls it the Missoula Public Service Dam in Milltown.

03/22/2024

Front Street in Missoula about 1875.

View of Front Street, Missoula, Montana, c1875.

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐲: 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝

03/16/2024

1901 photo of building at 116 South Higgins Avenue in Missoula. A large sign reads: E. S. Newton Carpenter and Builder (Edwin S. Newton). Other signs on the building advertise paper hanging, house painting, and wall paper cleaning. A small sign reads: Office of Kellogg and Dean (Charles F. Kellogg and Joseph E. Dean). The building was the former location of the Worden and Company Flouring Mill https://buff.ly/3Iycjzr

Photo from Mansfield Library

03/16/2024

Former Worden and Co. Flour Mill on the northeastern corner of the Higgins Ave Bridge in 1901. You can see the river on the right.

1901 photo of building at 116 South Higgins Avenue in Missoula. A large sign reads: E. S. Newton Carpenter and Builder (Edwin S. Newton). Other signs on the building advertise paper hanging, house painting, and wall paper cleaning. A small sign reads: Office of Kellogg and Dean (Charles F. Kellogg and Joseph E. Dean). The building was the former location of the Worden and Company Flouring Mill https://buff.ly/3Iycjzr

Photo from Mansfield Library

03/12/2024

"Mrs. Conley out for a drive down Main Street Deer Lodge with daughters Helen and Hilda." Old Montana Prison Complex FB Page

Mrs. Conley was the daughter of C.P. Higgins, one of the founders of Missoula. Her husband was the warden of the prison at Deer Lodge for many years.

01/07/2024

So nice to see this historic church refurbished!

St. Michael's Church, donated by the Helena Diocese around 1989, still contains many features carved by Brother William Claessens in 1863.