The name says Prison Museum, but you are really visiting an extensive collection of automobiles…read more(and before they were automated), a prison used until 1961, a toy museum and art. Spread over four buildings (well, the prison is a lot of buildings) on both sides of the street. So it's more than an old prison. To begin with, the prison grounds are under going some repair work. Pathways are being repaired, stair ways closed off. There is a lot of walking outdoors to see the areas open to the public so be sure you are dressed for the weather. Cells in the new prison and women's prison are open including the 'hole' and other cells used for punishment. The guide book tells you about those. Dining room, job placement office, social services, visitor room, 'the tunnel', shower room and clinic are some of the sites you can see or enter. Signs around the property give information. The auto collection goes on and on. From horse drawn on thru the years it's quite the collection. Each vehicle has a bit of info. A small display shows the Yellowstone trail which states that was the first trans-continent roadway from Boston to Seattle. Never heard of that and now I want to know more. The museum has an annual fund raiser to support museum upkeep. Buying raffle tickets helps keep the doors open. This years raffle is a 1965 Mustang GT! Drawing is in December and tickets are a tenner each. Go get ya some. We arrived after lunch and did not have time to view the other two museum locations across the road. We did however have time to get some ice cream from the shop near the entrance before getting back on the road. Also, there is a little free library at the entrance where you can take one or leave one. We parked street side. Restrooms are off the gift shop. Deerlodge is a cute little town with a National Park on the other end that is well worth a visit as well. A very family friendly stop.

Such a unique experience to see a big piece of Montana history. This prison was the first in the…read morestate and was the state prison through the late 1970's. You can definitely feel the impact from those who served sentences here.

A great selection of American made cars and memorabilia. Admission gets you into 5 museums!read more

Amazing place to see beautiful vintage cars. The collection is the best, I have ever seen…read more The staff is lovely! The store is fun. Thank you.

Right a cross from the train museum the museum is outside and you can walk to each exhibit. It's…read moreworth seeing and free

This was my first time that I've ever been into a museum dedicated to minerals. I was really…read moreimpressed by the gigantic variety of minerals from around the world. In my opinion, it's way better than the mineral collection at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. There are two floors to explore and there is even a gift shop where you can buy minerals and prehistoric fossils! You can buy real pure gold for 3 dollars a bottle!!! Folks, this place is a gem. Admission is free.

I took my two daughters, 2 & 4, to the museum mid-afternoon on a Wednesday and we spent a hour…read moreroaming it. There were only two other visitors the whole time we were there. The museum is on the third floor and the rest of the building is an active campus building with lots of college kids studying and learning about geology. It was a beautiful older college building. The museum is in a beautiful old room, it looks like it used to be a presentation hall and is well laid out with lots of glass cases. I would recommend this museum to anyone. The cost (free) is reasonable, the information and display of artifacts was impressive. If you find yourself in Butte and have some spare time, definitely visit the Mineral Museum.

If you enjoy house museums, then you should definitely take time to visit this house. The house has…read morelimited furniture, but it has a unique history and floor plan. The entrance fee is only $7 for adults.

Butte, Montana: The Arts Chateau, formerly the home of Copper King William Andrews Clark's son,…read moreCharles, the home was designed in the image of a French Chateau. The home was built in 1898. This ornate mansion now serves as a community arts center and gallery.

Love this prison, I've been here I think 3 times now and I will go back, I have felt the eerie…read morechill of the darkness in this place and I've felt creeped out, nervous, startled and find lots of interesting things in my pictures when I look at them later, This is a wonderful self guided walk about and I will go back Thank you all for keeping it in its mostly original conditions !

If your traveling through Deer Lodge it's a really interesting place to tour plus for the price of…read more$10 you also get to tour the auto museum. Stop and your a review does no justice

After breakfast I was looking for things to pass the time to digest while also learning more about…read moreMontana and this museum fit the bill perfectly. This is located right across the Montana State Capitol building. The museum entrance fees are as followed: - $5 (adult) - $1 (children) - $12 (family: 2 adults and immediate children under 19) - free (members) Once you pay your fees you get a sticker and a receipt which you can actually use as admission for two days. You can go in and out during the day as well if you just keep your receipt. There are a good amount of exhibits here, including one about the history of children toys, history of bison and other wildlife in the area, the daily lives of Native Americans, and the journey of Lewis and Clark through Montana. Some of my favorites were reading and seeing clothing, weapons, tipis, and other artifacts that Native Americans used to live, trade, and hunt. You can actually go into a replica of a tipi and sit on one of the chairs like how they would. I also learned about the history of their interactions with Lewis and Clark as they made their way through Montana, including wars that broke out between them and resulted in whites taking over their land and pushing them out. There were also some exhibits about the different tribes in the state and where they lived then and now. This museum was very informative and is exactly what I am looking for when I want to learn about the history of wherever I'm visiting, especially for a small entrance fee. If you're in Helena and looking to learn more about the area I recommend coming here!

This was an excellent visit for our family. The center has a great collection of artifacts from…read moreMontana history. It is right across from the Capital building.

Disappointed!! Well, it does have a great story behind them but it stops there. At $15.00 per…read moreperson, pretty pricey. While I agree that it's always best to keep an old historical building in its original condition, preservation. Is important. But, the new owners took control In 2018, and they still have so many rooms still being used for storage. Very disorganized. It smells horrible and the damp floors were soft and in some places, it felt like the floorboards were going to collapse from under me. I'm actually surprised, the City hasn't condemned it yet. Interestingly, it was the longest running Brothel in the US.... 1890-1982 !! The downstairs area, as told, has been kept original, including booze bottles, curtains & cigarette butts. Rugs, wet walls & I'm sure the bedding is what is smelling. But.....by being on the Historical Records, it should not allow the extensive condition of this place. I don't know.., but, there has to be Reconstruction Grants available. I wouldn't pay that price for this condition of a museum. Very sad.

One of my favorite museums to visit in Montana, the Dumas Brothel is currently the longest running…read morebrothel in the U.S., and it has a unique history that speaks to Butte's history and the history of women's labor. Our guide, who owns the building with her husband, was friendly and super knowledgeable about history, the women who worked at the brothel, the brothel's founders, and the building's architecture. We learned that the brothel is built in the Victorian style, and it was constructed specifically to be a brothel. Many of the rooms contain relics from the past that you can check out, including clothing, makeup, bedding, furniture, and more. I know the owners are still working on restoring the place and it's looking great. My favorite part was either the upstairs, where you could see red lights and the Madame's room, or the basement, which was a bit harrowing and slightly haunted, in my humble opinion. It was really interesting to think about the circumstances surrounding women's labor in Butte, and how this line of work could have both empowering and difficult elements. In terms of Butte museums, this was the one I enjoyed most.

We stopped in to Butte on our cross country drive and visited the mining museum after lunch in…read moretown. They offer military and other discounts on their entrance fee The gift shop area includes information on local, current mining operations as well as merch. This is an outdoor museum so dress for the weather. If you want to take the under ground tour be sure you are wearing closed toed shoes. (Crocs not included, I don't know why) They also have above ground tours. Part of the property is set up like a western town. Something that would grow up around a mine. Post office, apothecary, carpenter, blacksmith, etc, etc. All these buildings are set up with window displays but most are not open to the public. You just peer thru the windows. There is a memorial garden to miners. A mine yard with pieces of heavy equipment. The motorized lift, miners locker room, light room, information and equipment used in dry and wet boring, 3D representations of mines and more with information posted on the displays. You can walk up into the mine head if you are so inclined to see how the ore chutes operated. We spent about two hours here without realizing it. Very interesting museum. Staff are very personable, answered questions and suggested reading material for more on the subject. Very good, family friendly stop.

Great place to see the history of mining and also you got to go down into the mine.Also Ken is a…read morereally nice person to do the tour with.

Make sure to take time to visit this awesome little museum that chronicles the Chinese in the area…read more Around the corner is the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant in the U.S.! The curator was friendly and of course knowledgeable.

I'm not really a fan of museums, since I find them a bit boring, as all you do for the most part is…read morejust walk around looking at artifacts and taking pictures. Big deal, you can just look up pictures online. But this museum is basically an artifact in itself. It's the site of an old Asian noodle parlor and general store from back in the early 1900s, and every effort has been made to preserve the original structure so as you're walking through it, you can really appreciate what it must have been like to be a customer back then. And of course as with any museum they do have artifacts on display, like old menus, plates, merchandise, etc, but when you see it in its original setting it's quite impressive. Plus the entry fee is only $8 so skip your latte at Starbucks for a day and visit this place instead!