Child-Sized Footprints Fuel Billings Ghost Stories at Old Library

Every town has a building locals talk about, and in Billings, one is the sandstone landmark on Montana Avenue. If you've ever walked past the Western Heritage Center and felt the place watching you back, you're in good company. Staff, interns, and visitors have been trading stories about this building for decades.

Parmly Billings Memorial Library History in Downtown Billings

The building at 2822 Montana Avenue was dedicated in October 1901 as the original Parmly Billings Memorial Library, according to the Montana Memory Project. It was named for Frederick and Julia Billings' eldest child. Architect Charles S. Haire designed it in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, and Frederick Billings Jr. donated the money for the original structure.

Parmly Billings died at age 25, and his family financed the library in his memory. His sister, Elizabeth Billings, later paid for the west wing. The railroad name attached to the Billings family helped determine where the building sits today. Local sandstone and an entrance facing away from the rail line made it a distinctive downtown structure.

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From Public Library to Western Heritage Center Museum

By the 1960s, the community had outgrown its first library. The collection moved in 1969 to a former hardware store building, which served as the public library until 2014. The Western Heritage Center opened in the 1901 building in 1971. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and the museum received the Montana Governor’s Humanities Award in 2001.

Traci Taylor

Billings Ghost Stories: Meet Priscilla

The best-known resident is a ghost named Priscilla. A long-time employee once reported finding child-sized footprints along the attic walkways, according to Southeast Montana. The Billings Gazette adds that her laughter has been reported echoing from the tower's twisty steps.

The same Southeast Montana account describes a librarian who worked in the building when it was still a library. She said an uneasy feeling hung over the place, and she never felt comfortable going to the attic for old newspapers because of the creaking and whirling sounds up there.

Haunted Basement Sightings Inside the Western Heritage Center

Priscilla is not the only name on the list. The Gazette also mentions an elderly man among the reported spirits, and notes that author Ednor Therriault speculated in “Haunted Montana” that he could be western artist J.K. Ralston. Southeast Montana reports that two interns spotted the same man without knowing about an earlier sighting. These are firsthand reports and local lore, and nobody has proven them. I will say, a museum full of paintings and old photographs is a fitting place for a story like that.

Ghost hunter and author Karen Stevens told KULR-8 that the Western Heritage Center is definitely one of the most haunted places in Montana.

Visit the Western Heritage Center in Billings

You don't need to chase a ghost to get your money’s worth here. The museum tells the stories of the Yellowstone River Valley and Northern Plains, and Visit Billings lists long-term and changing exhibits, oral histories, lectures, and guided walking tours of downtown. The center is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It cares for more than 16,000 artifacts.

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Plan a daytime visit, bring your curiosity, and whether or not you hear anything, you'll walk away knowing a good deal more about how Billings got its start.