1. On January 2, 1864, the territorial legislature of Montana established the first public school system in the state. The law required each county to create a school district and to provide education to all children between the ages of 6 and 21.

2. In 1883, the Northern Pacific Railroad reached Missoula, Montana, on January 2. This event was significant because it opened up western Montana to settlement and helped to spur the growth of the city.

3. On January 2, 1920, the prohibition of alcohol went into effect across the United States. Montana had been a dry state since 1918, but the national ban on alcohol created a boom in bootlegging and speakeasies.

4. Montana's first woman legislator, Jeannette Rankin, was sworn into office on January 2, 1917. Rankin was a suffragist and pacifist who later became the first woman in Congress.

5. On January 2, 1942, the United States government established the Missoula Army Airfield in Montana. The airfield served as a training and staging ground for bomber crews during World War II, and today it is home to the Montana Air National Guard.