History Research at the MonDak Heritage Center
The Lillian Anderson Jensen History Library
The Lillian Anderson Jensen Library is the informational hub of the MonDak Heritage Center.
The library is named for one of the MonDak's earliest settlers, who is thought to be the first white child born in Sidney, Montana. Lillian's family was instrumental in the growth of Sidney and many descendants still live in the area. Stories about Lillian and other settlers can be found among the collection of family histories housed in the library.
In addition to those histories, the library houses more than 10,000 "heritage cards" available for tracing family histories in the area. The library also has an extensive collection of local newspapers dating back to 1908, and a collection of area maps of historical interest.
In addition the library has area high school annuals, minutes of organizations and hundreds of photos of the area. The facility was established to preserve these materials and make them available for research by local residents and visitors.
Call us at (406) 433-3500 or e-mail at mdhc@midrivers.com to make an appointment to use the Library.
Scholarships offered
Funding for the library comes from the Jensen family and the Jensen family endowment fund. The Lorena Young Jensen Scholarship Fund for a Richland County, Montana female high school graduate is administered by the MonDak Historical & Art Society for the library.
An assortment of old school annuals found in the museum's history library, including a unique Sidney High School annual from 1932 in which all the pictures in it of students, teachers and activities were drawn by a talented Sidney student, when the school did not have the money to pay for photographs.
A drawer of full of "Heritage Cards," a genealogical treasure capturing details about current and former MonDak residents and their families. The Lillian Anderson Jensen History Library houses more than 10,000 of these records, all of which are available to interested genealogists.