Tucked along the roadside in Polson, Montana is one of the largest collections of American history in the country – and I got lost there for a day this summer.
Gil and Joanne Mangels founded the Miracle of America Museum in 1981, with the non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of all that is American. Located near the southern shore of beautiful Flathead Lake, it is closer to Canada than Helena and has an annual traffic of about 18,000 visitors.
A big part of the story of the country involves guns, and the Miracle of America Museum has several hundred of them ranging from a working Puckle gun and Nock Volley gun to a converted Remington Model 11 converted to AAA training and a DWM-marked Maxim captured by Montana troops on the Western front in 1918.
Yes, that is a Maxon “Meat Chopper”
The principal facility contains more than 70 classic motorcycles dating back to the 1900s. Several are military variants to include a German BMW and a few Harleys from WWII.
As well as a Cushman motor scooter pulling a machine gun trailer including an M1919 Browning.
The grounds contain several aircraft, including a circa 1971 USAF A-7D Corsair strike bomber, a Navy T-33B trainer, the nose of an F-4 Phantom, four helicopters, and at least three different Cessna Bird Dogs.
For much more details, including a 20-minute tour video we did with Gil, head on over to my column at Guns.com.