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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper Montana Oil and Mining Journal (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953

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About Montana Oil and Mining Journal (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953

The Montana Oil Journal published its first issue in April 1921. The Great Falls, Montana paper proposed to be “a log of the oil fields,” providing news of the state’s fledgling oil industry to its subscribers twice a month. Early issues averaged 26 pages of news and advertisements in four columns, and covers proudly displayed photographs of local oil rigs. Contents in the 1920s included news of strikes, refinery operations, and the arrival of industry giants such as Standard Oil. Some small sections were dedicated to specific oil fields such as Cat Creek.

The Great Depression did not wipe out the paper or the Montana oil industry. It did, however, force the paper to shrink to four pages from 1933 to 1934. Nevertheless, content in the 1930s was relatively expansive. The Journal reported on operations in Montana and Alberta, ran a humor column (“The Sunburst Badger Says”), and had a complete list of drilling wells in Montana. In 1931 the Journal offered subscribers a “keyed map of the State of Montana, showing every recognized oil and gas structure in the state, printed in red on a blue base map.”

The Montana Oil Journal changed its name to the Montana Oil and Mining Journal in 1931 when it began printing a dedicated mining section. Expanding coverage of the western oil industry led to another title change in 1953. With the expanded title, the paper became the Montana Oil Journal: With News of Oil in the Williston Basin, Montana, Dakotas and Greater Rockies. In 1991, the paper’s new owners condensed the title to Rocky Mountain Oil Journal.

In its 99th year, the paper suspended operations in the face of declining oil exploration and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Rocky Mountain Oil Journal phrased it, “Just like the industry, which has seen its ups and downs, so has the Rocky Mountain Oil Journal.”

Provided By: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Montana Oil and Mining Journal (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953

Dates of Publication

  • 1931-1953

Created / Published

  • Great Falls, Mont. : Montana Oil Journal, 1931-1953.

Headings

  • -  Petroleum--Montana--Newspapers
  • -  Petroleum industry and trade--Montana--Newspapers
  • -  Petroleum
  • -  Petroleum industry and trade
  • -  Montana--Great Falls
  • -  Great Falls (Mont.)--Newspapers
  • -  Montana
  • -  United States--Montana--Cascade--Great Falls
  • -  United States--Montana--Yellowstone--Billings

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 11, no. 1 (Mar. 28, 1931)-v. 33, no. 1 (Mar. 14, 1953).
  • -  Place of publication varies: Nov. 17, 1951-Mar. 14, 1953, Billings, Mont.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Montana oil journal (Billings, Mont.) 0047-794X (DLC)sn 78005513 (OCoLC)2251250

Medium

  • 23 volumes : illustrations ; 56 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86075103

OCLC Number

  • 1758612

ISSN Number

  • 2831-4328

Preceding Titles

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Montana Oil and Mining Journal Great Falls, Mont. -1953. (Great Falls, MT), Jan. 1 1931. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86075103/.

APA citation style:

(1931, January 1) Montana Oil and Mining Journal Great Falls, Mont. -1953. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86075103/.

MLA citation style:

Montana Oil and Mining Journal Great Falls, Mont. -1953. (Great Falls, MT) 1 Jan. 1931. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86075103/.