Amazing Smithsonian Bison Display Makes Home in Montana

• Fort Benton, Montana is home to an amazing display of bison that were formerly housed at the Smithsonian Institute.
• The display was originally collected in 1886 by zoologist-conservationist William Temple Hornaday
• The collection is available to view at the Fort Benton Museums and Heritage Complex in the small central Montana town

Amazing Smithsonian Bison Display Makes Home in Montana

I am fairly certain that you know about bison.  Whether it be from a history standpoint or as a spectator sport while watching tourists dodge them in Yellowstone.

via GIPHY

But did you know that nestled inside a small museum in central Montana is one of the greatest displays of these magnificent animals?  So great that the Smithsonian Institute even housed them at one time?

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Checking Out the Fort Benton Museums and Heritage Center

Fort Benton, Montana is home to the Fort Benton Museums and Heritage Center featuring the opportunity to "explore the cultural and natural history of the American West".

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One of the main features of the museum is the Hornaday Bison display at the Museum of the Northern Great Plains in the small town.  Originally collected in 1886 by zoologist-conservationist William Temple Hornaday for the U.S. National Museum (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington D.C., it features 6 plains bison.

The "Most Significant Display of These Animals" in Montana

The 6 bison were taken from among the last remaining wild bison between the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers.  As hunting decimated the once flourishing herds into the late 1800's, Hornady worked to preserve them.  He is often credited with and "is widely regarded as a key figure in saving the buffalo from complete extermination".

The display was originally at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. from 1888 until 1957.  The display was then transferred to the Museum of the Plains in Fort Benton where it has been available to view since.