Montana Historical Society Launched A New Kind Of March Madness

While you may be filling out brackets for March Madness and keeping up with college basketball, there is another kind of madness happening here in Montana. This one comes with a dose of history.

A few years ago, the Montana Historical Society launched something called Montana Madness. Instead of teams, people voted on historic artifacts. The goal was to crown Montana’s Most Awesome Object.

It started with 65 items pulled from an online exhibit tied to the book A History of Montana in 101 Objects. Fans narrowed it down to a final sixteen, and from there it turned into a full bracket competition. In the end, more than 1,000 votes were cast in the championship round. The winner surprised some folks. A simple lid from a dynamite box connected to the 1943 Smith Mine Disaster claimed the top spot, beating out a well known painting by famed Western artist Charles M. Russell. The power behind that win was not flash. It was the weight of the story it carried.

This year the focus shifts from objects to locations. Drawing from the book A History of Montana in 101 Places, the competition will feature 16 standout spots from across the state. Voting kicks off March 9, and the bracket will be released soon.

So if you love Montana history and a little friendly competition, you might want to fill out more than one bracket this month.