1. In 1873, the town of Helena, Montana was incorporated. Helena would later become the state capital in 1894.

2. On February 11, 1914, Montana became the first state in the nation to adopt the presidential preference primary, allowing voters to directly nominate presidential candidates.

3. In 1962, Montana State University became the first university in the state to offer a doctoral program, in microbiology.

4. On February 11, 1982, Montana's first national park, Yellowstone, was joined by the newly created Grand Teton National Park to form the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This ecosystem is one of the last remaining intact ecosystems in the contiguous United States.

5. In 2005, the Montana Historical Society unveiled a new, state-of-the-art archive and research center in Helena. The facility houses thousands of documents, photographs, and artifacts related to Montana's rich history.