The dedication ceremony for the Father Anthony Ravalli Research Library, held April 20, 2007, is in honor of the memory of Lucylle H. Evans. Many of the books in the library are from the private collection of Mrs. Evans.
A major portion of her life was devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and operation of the Historic Mission Complex. Through her efforts, the Historic Mission has been transformed from a near pile of rubble to its present day restoration.
As an author and historian Evans was awarded membership in the International History Honorary Society. She was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Carroll College in Helena. Mrs. Evans was a life member of the Bitterroot Valley Historical Society and a Charter Member of the Stevensville Museum.
She spent ten years in the study, research, travel and writing of the companion volumes, St. Mary’s in the Rocky Mountains and Good Samaritan of the Northwest. Her research included a visit to Ferrara, Italy, the birthplace of Anthony Ravalli, where she met members of the Ravalli family. Mrs. Evans also authored The History of St. Mary’s Mission in Stained Glass and The Indians Called Him Lolo.
Lucylle H. Evans
1917 - 1999
Another interesting group of books contain information about the history of medicine, doctors, medicinal remedies used by the Indians, and Fr. Ravalli’s medical treatment of the Indians, miners, trappers, and local pioneers. Notably: Pharmacy Museums and Historical Collections in the Northwest by George B. Griffenhagen & Ernst Walter Stieb, Doctors of the Frontier by Richard Dunlop, Good Samaritan of the West: Anthony Ravalli by Lucylle H. Evans, The Library of Health by Charles Brodie Patterson, Medicine in the Making of Montana by Paul C. Phillips, Medicine Woman by Lynn V. Andrews, and Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River by Melvin R. Gilmore.
A number of somewhat rare and out-of-print books have been donated to the library and include the following:
Maurice Rossman's Leading by Mary B. Baldwin (1889), The House of Dreams-Come-True by Margaret Pedler (1919), Saracinesca by F. Marion Crawford (1887), The Lily of the Mohawks by Ellen H. Walworth (1890), A Century of Dishonor: A Sketch of the United States Government's Dealings with Some of the Indian Tribes by H. H. (1881).
Volumes Donated by Lucylle Evans:
The Journals and Letters of Major John Owen
Pioneer of the Northwest 1850-1870 Embracing his purchase of St. Mary’s Mission, The building of Fort Owen, His travels, His relations with the Indians, His work for the Government, and His activities as a western empire builder for twenty years.
Transcribed and Edited from the Original Manuscripts in the Montana Historical Society and the Collection of W. R. Coe, Esq.
By Seymour Duncan and with notes to Owen’s Texts by Paul C. Phillip Professor of History – University of Montana
With Two Maps and Thirty Plates
Published by Edward Eberstadt, New York 1927
This set is a first edition limited to 550 copies and the volumes have red boards and gilt tops.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A History of Montana by Merrill G. Burlinggame, Ph.D. and K. Ross Toole, Ph.D
Published by Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., New York 1957
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806
Edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites With an introduction by Bernard De Voto -Arno Press 1953
This is an eight volume set including maps.
Father Anthony Ravalli Research Library
406-777-5734
Email: stmary@cybernet1.com
www.saintmarysmission.org
The library houses an extensive collection of historical reference material that contain interesting and valuable information about the late 1700’s through the 1900’s in the Rocky Mountains, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon. There is also a large collection of books about the Indians of the Rocky Mountain region, the Pacific Northwest, and the Plains, many of which focus in particular on the Flathead, Salish, Nez Perce, and Blackfoot tribes in Montana and Idaho. These range from novels, edited oral transcriptions, historical texts, and pictorial depictions of cultures, legends, reports, and important events. Titles include: I Will Fight No More Forever by Chief Joseph, The Indian Tipi : Its History, Construction, and Use by Gladys Laubin, History of the Flathead Indians by Peter Ronan, History of the Indian and White in the Northwest by L. B. Palladino, Creation Tales from the Salish transcribed by W.H. McDonald and Mourning Dove: A Salishan Autobiography 1888-1936 by Mourning Dove & Jay Miller.
Last Update: 8/24/2016
Historic St. Mary's Mission, Inc. * All Rights Reserved
Web Site Design by S&J Enterprises
P.O. Box 211
315 Charlo Street
Stevensville, MT 59870
