The History Museum – Cascade County Historical Society – Blueprint Storage

Over the years, the Cascade County Historical Society has been given blueprints, drawings, and town site maps from a variety of sources: architectural firms, the public library, the Cascade County Courthouse, etc. The Historical Society houses 3,500+ blueprints for residences, schools, libraries, businesses, and commercial buildings. The blueprints were preserved in flat files and boxes, and a good deal of them lay in piles on shelves. The interest in these blueprints is not restricted to Great Falls alone as plans for buildings in at least 40 other cities and counties are stored in the same archive. Using MHF funds, the Cascade County Historical Society purchased corrugated, tan acid/lignin-free boxes to organize and store 855 of their oldest blueprints.

The Cascade County Historical Society has already seen sustained use of this collection by architects, organizations, churches, and individuals. Over 2,000 people use the archives each year, and the number is expected to rise.