Please review the information below regarding the donation of objects & documents to the museum’s collection. Please do not drop off items without contacting us first. For any additional questions or concerns, call us at 406-741-5665.

The purpose of the LaRue Hot Springs Museum’s permanent collection is to collect, document, and preserve items of historical importance to this area, from Perma to Niarada. 

The LaRue Museum cannot accept items that are simply old, they must be able to illustrate the story of our local history.

Offered items must be analyzed by the Collections Curators before they are accepted into the collection. This often takes time, since we want to research an item as necessary before accepting it. 

Please note: The Museum Collections Department cannot accept items that

• Have no relevance to this area

• Come with restrictions, such as permanent display or exhibition of an entire collection

• Are in too poor condition or would have extraordinary storage needs

Donating Archival Material

The museum collects researchable materials that tell our story.

A few examples of what the museum archives collects:

• Photographs of identified people, buildings, or landscapes

• Yearbooks

• Newspapers printed in this valley

• Letters

• Journals or diaries

• Maps

• Scrapbooks, Local pamphlets/brochures and City records will be accepted as needed

• Published local history or locally written fiction or nonfiction

• Oral histories

All of the above must be related to the area. The Archives cannot accept materials that are simply old.