McGill, Caroline, 1879-1959

Caroline McGill (1879-1959) was a Butte, Montana physician and collector of historical memorabilia. Born in Mansfield, Ohio on May 18, 1879, McGill moved to Lebanon, Missouri with her family at the age of five. She attended normal school at nearby Springfield and eventually Missouri State University at Columbia where she earned a doctorate in anatomy in 1908. In 1909 she left for Europe to study medicine. In 1911 McGill began her work at the Murray Hospital in Butte, Montana, but shortly thereafter left to earn her MD at Johns Hopkins University. She returned to Butte in 1913 and continued to practice medicine until her retirement in 1956. She purchased the 320 Ranch in Gallatin Canyon in 1936 and took a keen interest in the area's history. Collecting antiques complimented her research on Gallatin Canyon's past and she stored much of her growing collection of objects and memorabilia at the ranch as well as her apartment at Butte. She eventually moved the collection to the Montana State University campus where it formed the core of the Museum of the Rockies. Caroline McGill died on February 4, 1959.

From the guide to the Caroline McGill Collection, 1909-1958, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)

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