The Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives will continue its Brown Bag Lunch series on Wednesday, September 11, with a presentation by Evan Kelly. His talk will focus on analyzing and interpreting the important role that steamboats played in the material and cultural changes occurring in Montana from 1859 to 1890.   The talk will examine first-person accounts from steamboat journeys, beginning with case studies from the fur trade era and the Montana Gold Rush, and continuing through to the start of the railroad era.  Discussions will highlight the different ways that steamboats interacted with the environmental and cultural forces in the region.

Evan Kelly is a graduate student in the History Department at Montana State University.  He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental History and the History of the American West.  Before graduate school, Evan was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine where he spent two years teaching English as a Second Language.  This year, Evan spent his summer working in Israel as a field archaeologist where he helped excavate a Roman legionary base.

The presentation will begin at noon and run about an hour at the Archives, 17 W. Quartz. Guests are encouraged to bring a sack lunch. Coffee and water will be provided.

Brown Bag Lunches are held the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month. Upcoming lectures will focus on topics of local interest. For more information, contact the Archives at 782-3280.