An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Western Heritage Center brings the history of Billings and the surrounding region to life through interactive exhibits, historic artifact collections and education and outreach programs. It is housed in one of our city’s oldest buildings, the original Parmly Billings Memorial Library. The Western Heritage Center has everything, such as outreach programs, walking tours, changing interactive exhibits, twelve traveling displays, a collection of over 400 oral histories, and 40,000 historic artifacts and photographs. One example of an exhibit of the museum are the “Conquering Diseases of the Past” exhibit, where you can learn about the constant battle between the people of Billings and the deadly diseases its fought through its history

The mission of WHC is to collect, preserve and tell the stories of the people and places of the Yellowstone River Valley and the northern High Plains region.