Livingston’s history is closely tied to the railroad, and a new statue at the Livingston Depot is honoring a man who spent much of his life preserving and advocating for that history.
Warren McGee was a photographer, railroad conductor and lifelong advocate for passenger rail. He lived to 102 and left behind a long list of accomplishments that helped shape Livingston and the surrounding area.
“Just as Montana is known for its Big Skies it's also known for its big steam engines and its big history,” said Laura Cota, executive director of the Livingston Depot Foundation.
The Livingston Depot, a train station built in 1902, was once slated to be the “Welcome Center to the West.” More than a century later, photographs documenting the area’s history line its walls, including many taken by McGee.
“I think when folks come in here and see some of the dramatic photographs from Warren McGee I think they are able to get that same sense of grandeur,” Cota said.
McGee helped establish Sacajawea Park and the Lagoon and fought against a proposed dam on the Yellowstone River that would have flooded Paradise Valley. Just a few of his long list of accomplishments.
“He created a lot of different things in this town he created a lot of different partnerships,” Cota said.
But McGee’s connection to Livingston’s railroad history began when he was a boy.
“So he would come down and sit on the fence and watch those beautiful steam engines,” Cota said.
That childhood fascination eventually became a career.
McGee worked for the railroad and became the last conductor for passenger rail on the Northern Pacific Railway. In the 1970s, he took his fight to preserve passenger rail all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, ultimately losing the battle.
But McGee continued advocating for passenger service.
“Then he worked for the next forty years to try and bring passenger service back,” Cota said.
McGee died in 2017, but his work remains part of Livingston’s history. His historical archive now contains more than 40,000 images.
Now, his legacy has a permanent place at the Livingston Depot.
A statue of McGee was unveiled Sept. 2 after years of planning. The project was made possible through a community effort and a donation from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.
The statue was commissioned from artist Mary Michaels, who also created the Sacajawea statue and Pomp near the Livingston Civic Center, Cota said.
The hope is that the statue will become another piece of Livingston history for residents and visitors to enjoy for generations.
And perhaps people sitting nearby will get the chance to watch a train roll by — just as McGee did as a boy.
“ [To be] Enjoyed by all of the city residents and visitors,” Cota said.
