Join us for our monthly lecture with a mix and mingle from 6-7pm with the talk beginning at seven. This month we explore the history of barns in Montana with Chere Jiusto . This evening is sponsored by Humanities Montana and is FREEand open to the public.

About the Lecture:
Across the state, barns testify to a uniquely Montana way of life. Symbols of the agricultural settlement that transformed Montana's landscape and culture, they bring to mind images of people drawing their living from the land. Stone barns, round barns, Dutch barns, dairy barns, some veritable castles for racehorses, others hewn from rough logs―they were all built to serve utilitarian purposes: sheltering livestock and storing crops and equipment. As these handcrafted buildings reach a venerable age, some of them having survived a hundred years and more, we recognize them not only for their utility but also for their beauty. Photographer Tom Ferris's color images capture the barns' majestic exteriors as well as telling details of their construction, use, and preservation. The photographs are accompanied by stories of individual barns and their builders. Historic Barns of Montana recognizes these invaluable buildings, encourages their preservation, and honors the ranch and farm families that built them.

About the Authors and Photographer:
Chere Jiusto has worked in the fields of Montana history and culture for over twenty years, most recently as the director of Montana Preservation Alliance. She is the author of Montana Mainstreets: A Guide to Historic Hamilton (Montana Historical Society Press). Christine Brown is an architectural historian with over ten years of experience documenting and evaluating rural properties. As outreach and education director at Montana Preservation Alliance, she promotes the preservation of Montana's historic buildings and places. Tom Ferris maintains his own studio in Helena, Montana, but since 1995 has also worked as an archival photographer for the Montana Historical Society. Tom's work is in many private collections in the United States and overseas and has been collected by the Ministry of Culture in France and the Shimada Museum in Japan.