The WHC is one of six Montana museums accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Incorporated in 1971, the Western Heritage Center (WHC) began as a community center displaying a private collection of western artifacts in a historic building. We’ve since added outreach programs and walking tours, changing interactive exhibits, traveling displays, and a collection of over 400 oral histories and 40,000 historic items and photographs. The museum strives to incorporate original research into all its exhibits and programs. The museum has received generous support from Yellowstone County taxpayers and the Yellowstone County Board of Commissioners since 1971
A former affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, we adhere to national exhibit and archival standards. The museum has three full-time staff, four part-time staff, and a dedicated core of volunteers and interns. We are especially grateful for the on-going support from Yellowstone County and its taxpayers. We give additional thanks to our museum members, sponsors of our programs and exhibits, community partners, granting agencies, and visitors to the museum.
The Western Heritage Center received the 2021 Mountain Plains Museums Association Leadership & Innovation Award and the 2021 Mountain Plains Museums Association EdCom Award for Excellence for mid-sized museums for the Billings Youth Volunteer Program partnership of the Western Heritage Center and Moss Mansion.
The Western Heritage Center received special recognition by the Museums Association of Montana in 2023 for the traveling exhibitions, “Baa Hawassilo & Enomotaheseh: Healthcare on the Crow & Northern Cheyenne Reservations,” “Hazel Hunkins Hallinan, Billings Suffragist,” and “Vietnam Voices.”
The museum received full professional re-accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2022.
Annual Reports
Kevin Kooistra, beloved community historian and Executive Director of the Western Heritage Center, passed away in December 2024. Kevin had an unmatched passion for discovering, preserving, and sharing Montana and Billings history. In his almost 30 years of service at the museum, he worked enthusiastically to share the history of this wonderful city with the community in every way possible.
Whether it was through walking tours, public programs, or spending a few hours with a museum guest to find family photos in the archives, he was happy to lend his knowledge however he could. He was especially interested in sharing the forgotten stories of great Montana figures, like women’s rights activist Hazel Hunkins, and bringing to light their importance to the state.
For Kevin, the history of the city was such a significant part of his life that he even adopted and named a kitten he found behind the museum Julia Parmly, in honor of the wife of Frederick Billings, the namesake of the town.
Kevin was a great community leader and participated in associations even beyond Billings itself, such as the Extreme History Project of Bozeman, the Southeastern Tourism Board, the Yellowstone Historic Preservation Board, and the Museums Association of Montana. He touched the lives of many and will be dearly missed by all. Kevin’s family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support from the people of Billings and across Montana. A celebration of life for Kevin will be announced at a later date.
-Emily and Lilly Kooistra-Manning-
The Board of Directors and staff could not have written a better statement. Kevin was one of the most knowledgeable and amiable men a person could have known. His many friends and colleagues are a testament to his lifelong love of learning and sharing of his passion. Finding a replacement for this generous, learned, and vibrant man will be difficult for he is truly one of a kind. We were blessed to have him in our midst.
