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January 13, 2010
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The local museum in Bozeman has built a display around Walter Cooper and some of his contributions to the founding and building of Bozeman, Montana Territory. The museum graciously designed the display with some of the items I have collected over the years, significant to Bozeman and it’s earlier years. In the lobby area, in front of the display is the cannon that has seen lots of action throughout the state of Montana, eventually being brought back to Bozeman by Cooper, from the field where it had been left abandoned near Fort Smith.
I have a few original Sharps rifles that were used in the 1870’s to kill buffalo in Montana. They were all shipped to Walter Cooper in Bozeman, Montana Territory in the 1870s. They all have Montana Provenance and one even has double that. The top rifle was shipped to Walter Cooper through J.G. Dow, then ended up in Miles City and was converted to 40-90 Bottleneck and stamped by A. D. McAusland, another frontier gunsmith in Montana Territory.
The 2 lower guns were actually shipped from Sharps rifle Manufacturing in the same shipment in August 1877. Although they aren’t consecutive serial numbers, they are logged into the ledger consecutively. Together again after 141 years…
November 7, 2015
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Very nice! I like the display style as well, not as cluttered as many tend to be. What’s the story on that Winchester?
Mike
January 13, 2010
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TXGunNut said
Very nice! I like the display style as well, not as cluttered as many tend to be. What’s the story on that Winchester?
Mike
The display was built around Walter Cooper and his involvement with business in early Bozeman. He had the Cooper Armory that is the graphic on the glass door to the left. He later sold the Cooper Armory that became the Montana Armory and the model 1892 has the Montana Armory stamp in the stock. This document is a copy of the original articles of incorporation for the Montana Armory…
