The Broadwater County Museum closed on September 15. It won't reopen until May 15, 2027. Downtown Townsend has three events in the next eight days and another dated event almost every week through the end of November. Most of them sit within a few blocks of Broadway Street.
That's how Townsend's year turns over. In summer the calendar stretches across the county: Radersburg, the Canton Church, the river access sites below Toston Dam. In late fall the same volunteer groups move back into town, and the calendar moves with them. If you live here, a short list of addresses on Broadway, Front Street and North Spruce now holds most of what's happening.
What Closed, and What Stayed Open Online
The museum ended a big year. 2026 was its 50th anniversary, with new exhibits, several significant donations and 300 visitors, according to curator Linda Huth's report in the Broadwater Community Connections newsletter from the Broadwater County Development Corp. Out in Radersburg, the Historic Schoolhouse has been winterized and closed. Earlier in the year, Radersburg Historical Preservation, Inc. had the north side of the Methodist Church roof on Main Street reshingled after last winter tore off many of the shingles.
The winter is for working on the collection. The museum is working to digitize the rest of the county's local newspapers. Issues through 1973 are already online through the Montana Historical Society's newspaper collection. Click "Public Access Site" once you're in. The Preserve Broadwater County History website also hosts three films, "Bittersweet," "Growing up in the Canton Valley" and "Dun Movin'," under the Broadwater County Museum's "Videos" tab.
The same site keeps collecting Huth's weekly "Day In History" column and Shelley Douthett's "Whispers of the Past" pieces about the Centerville Cemetery. Both run in MT43 News. If you'd normally stop by the museum on a summer afternoon, those columns carry the history through the off-season.
The Calendar Through the End of November
With the out-of-town sites closed, here's what's on the books from today through the end of November:
- Friday, October 23, 5:00–7:00 p.m. The Senior Steak Fry and Silent Auction, a long-running Broadwater High School tradition, in the Townsend Elementary School cafeteria before the senior night football game.
- Saturday, October 24, 5:00–9:00 p.m. STOKE's Fall Pottery Date Night at the Pottery Guild, 108 N. Spruce.
- Friday, October 30, starting at 4:30 p.m. The Townsend Area Chamber of Commerce Ghost Stroll on Broadway Street.
- Wednesdays, 10:00–11:00 a.m. Story Hour at the Broadwater School and Community Library, running through May 12, 2027, with no Story Hour on November 25, December 23 or December 30.
- Friday, November 20, 5:00–9:00 p.m. STOKE's second Fall Pottery Date Night at the Pottery Guild.
- Friday, November 27, 11:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. A Red Cross blood draw at American Legion Post 42, the day after Thanksgiving.
Look at who runs these. A school booster tradition, a youth nonprofit, the Chamber, the library and the Legion. These are the same groups behind the summer calendar, now meeting in town.
Broadway and Front Street on October 30
The Ghost Stroll shows the shift most clearly. The Chamber's 2026 event page opens it to every business on Broadway and Front Street this year and welcomes trunk-or-treat hosts. If you plan to park and hand out candy from your car, arrive on Broadway between 4:00 and 4:20 p.m. to get a spot. Questions go to the Chamber at 406-266-4101.
On timing, the Chamber organizes the event and lists 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The community calendar on townsendmt.com shows 4:30 to 7:30. With little ones, plan around the earlier end.
Front Street also has a new spot to warm up before or after. Good Ol' Boys' Café at 316 N. Front Street held a soft opening over Rodeo weekend, after owners Mike Graham and Ray Turney took over the former TB's restaurant in August, according to MT43 News. Manager Dustin Hutson told the paper they redid the space with new flooring and equipment. They were waiting on a larger custom vent system so the kitchen could double its output.
The café has a small fishing tackle shop at the front. "It's not very big, but we have a little of everything a fisherman might need- hooks, bobbers, poles, and even hats," Turney told MT43 News. That August report described huckleberry French toast at breakfast, a tuna hoagie with fries at lunch, mud pie, children's and senior specials, and hours of 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. seven days a week. Hours can change with the season, so call (406) 266-0040 before you count on a late dinner.
A Clay Studio on North Spruce
A block or so off the main streets, the Pottery Guild at 108 N. Spruce has become one of the town's busiest indoor rooms. It runs under STOKE, a Townsend youth nonprofit whose name stands for Science, Technology, Outdoors, Knowledge, Entrepreneurship. In the October newsletter, STOKE's John Hahn wrote that Teddy and Teresa Lewis have been busy with more new members, adults and kids alike, and that Date Night at the Guild "is becoming a very popular event."
Demand added more nights to the schedule. The newsletter puts the price at $100 per couple for an evening of making pottery and dining on "some fine cuisine."
The Guild also hosts birthday parties. Ask Teddy at 406-439-9345.
STOKE's kids' programs are shifting for winter as well. STOKE says skiing and snowboarding are "coming soon" and usually have a waiting list. It has collected five sets of cross-country skis in case the snow cooperates. Its robotics teams share space in the basement of the Lodge, and indoor rock climbing at Stonetree in Helena is a new addition. All STOKE programs are free to the kids.
The Outdoor Piece That Got Better This Month
One outdoor project wrapped up in October. Maintenance on the Townsend North Asphalt Trail was completed on October 9, 2026. Wharton Asphalt, Inc. of Billings did the work. It covered the stretch from the end of the concrete sidewalk at the city limits to the Centerville Road crossing. Crews graded the shoulders for runoff, sealed small cracks, pulled out and replaced the larger grass-filled cracks, repaired soft spots, and fog-sealed the whole run. The business approaches that cross the trail were left alone because they were already in good shape.
The funding follows the same pattern as the rest of the season. According to the Broadwater Community Connections newsletter, a Trail Stewardship Project grant administered by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks fully paid for the construction contract. Interstate Engineering helped prepare the application. Townsend Rotary, the Broadwater County Trust Board and BCDC are covering administration, bid preparation and field oversight. The newsletter adds that more money will be needed for on-site administration through the end of the project.
The BCDC Trails Committee that managed the paving also led a Fall Colors Hike on September 12. Seventeen people and a three-legged leashed dog covered about 4 miles around Pond 3 of Canyon Ferry Lake. Broadwater County Weeds Coordinator Jessica Bushnell brought plant pamphlets she made for the walk, and Jake from the Last Chance Audubon Society set up a spotting scope for the shorebirds. The same committee also handles the river side. Its July dedication of the Missouri River Paddlers Trail 43 is the subject of our post on finding the put-in below Toston Dam.
To hear about the committee's next outing, follow BCDC on Facebook. The newsletter's next quarterly issue is due in January. Anyone who wants to be added can email [email protected].
I keep a running list of these dates on my local events page and in my monthly newsletter, so the Ghost Stroll, pottery nights and the Legion blood draw are easy to find in one place. If you're hosting a trunk on Broadway on the 30th, or want to tell me what your organization has planned for December, I'd love to hear from you. Let's connect at Bronda Bowery.
