Get to Know Me
I’m a historian, researcher, and writer with a passion for uncovering the stories behind people, places, and events. I hold master’s degrees in History and Museum Studies, as well as a Juris Doctor, and I bring a combination of historical training, research experience, and legal analytical skills to my consulting work.
Born and raised in Oakland, California, I’ve lived and worked across the American West, including Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, and Texas. Those experiences have deepened my interest in the history of communities, landscapes, institutions, and the people who shaped them.
Before turning my focus to historical consulting, I practiced criminal defense and appellate law. My legal career taught me to dig deeply into complex records, evaluate sources critically, identify details that others might overlook, and build clear, compelling narratives from extensive research—skills that translate naturally to historical research and writing.
I particularly enjoy the process of following a question wherever the evidence leads: searching archives, examining primary sources, piecing together fragmented records, and transforming research into writing that is accurate, engaging, and meaningful.
Whether you’re researching a family, property, community, organization, historical event, or other subject, I approach each project with curiosity, attention to detail, and a commitment to getting the story right.
What I do
Historical research. Thoughtful analysis. Compelling stories.
I provide historical research and consulting services tailored to individuals, organizations, and projects that need thoughtful, thorough historical investigation. I research people, places, properties, families, organizations, and events, drawing on archival records, primary sources, and other historical materials to uncover and document the past.
From a single research question to a deeper historical investigation, I turn complex or scattered information into clear, well-researched, engaging narratives.
Presentations & Publications
Presentations:
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Lyons, Victoria, Bucked Out of the Arena: The End of the Female Rough-Stock Competitor, Northern Great Plains History Conference, Bozeman, MT, (Accepted/to be presented October 2026.)
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Lyons, Victoria, Lawless Litigants: The Legal Agency of Sex-Workers In the American West, Western History Association Conference, Portland, OR, (Accepted/to be presented October 2026.
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Lyons, Victoria, Dr. Sadie Lindeberg: A Quiet Activist, Montana Historical Conference, Billings, MT, (Accepted/to be presented September 2026.)
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Lyons, Victoria, Grace McGinnis: Leading Madam & Legal Maven, Montana Historical Conference, Helena, MT, September 2025.
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Lyons, Victoria, Alma Smith Jacobs & Lucille Smith Thompson: Librarians and Activists, Montana State University’s Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: “Women in Montana”, Bozeman, MT, March 2025.
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Lyons, Victoria, History’s Mystery: Bozeman’s Piece of the Chinese Lottery Puzzle, The Rotary Club, Bozeman, MT, October 2024.
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Lyons, Victoria, History After Dark: Ghosts of Bozeman’s Past, The Extreme History Project, Bozeman, MT, October 2024.
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Lyons, Victoria, Chapter 64: The Road to Post-Conviction Testing in Texas (co-authored with Jack Blackburn), Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 7th Annual Forensics/Innocence Seminar, Houston, TX, October 2009.
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Lyons, Victoria, Staging the West: A History of Flagstaff’s Buffalo Park. Arizona History Convention, Tempe AZ, April 2003.
Publications
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Lyons, Victoria, Disgraceful Shacks and Fire Traps: Carnegie Library, Bozeman Magazine, (March 2024).
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Lyons, Victoria, History’s Mystery: Bozeman’s Piece of the Chinese Lottery Puzzle, Gallatin History Museum Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 3 (August 2024).
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Lyons, Victoria, The History of Hawthorne: East Side School to Art Deco Hub, Bozeman Magazine, (September 2024).
Curated Exhibitions:
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Illuminating the Shadowed World of Bozeman’s Red-Light District, The Extreme History Project, 234 E. Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, Co-curator, February 2023 – Current.
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B.M. Bower: A Female Author in a Man’s West, The Extreme History Project, 234 E. Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, Co-curator, September 2025-Current.
Education
December 2009 – Juris Doctorate, Texas Tech University School of Law
May 2007 – Master of Arts – Museum Studies, Texas Tech University
May 2003 – Master of Arts – History, Northern Arizona University
December 2000 – Bachelor of Arts – History, University of San Francisco