Photographer leaves $1 million Montana farmland to fund Alzheimer's research
The 480-acre donation to the Weissman Hood Institute will support research into neurodegenerative diseases through agricultural lease proceeds.
Photographer Arnold Swanberg, who died in October 2024, bequeathed two parcels of agricultural land in Montana to the Weissman Hood Institute, according to a Times of India report. The 480 acres of farmland, valued at approximately $1 million, is intended to serve as an endowment for Alzheimer's research in his hometown of Great Falls.
The land consists of two properties located in Cascade County and Teton County. The Weissman Hood Institute will continue to lease the land to local farmers, with the proceeds directed toward the Center for Integrated Biomedical and Rural Health Research (CIB-RHR).
Swanberg, who was born in Great Falls in 1948, spent much of his adult life in Seattle. He was a military aircraft photographer and published a magazine called Flight Line. His decision to support medical research was influenced by his family's history with neurodegenerative diseases, according to former Great Falls mayor and friend Randy Gray.
The CIB-RHR is a partnership involving the Weissman Hood Institute, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine-Montana, and Benefis Health System. The centre focuses on biomedical and clinical research in rural communities, including studies on Parkinson's disease and age-related vision loss.
The endowment is expected to provide researchers with financial flexibility for projects that may struggle to secure funding. Gray told KRTV that the farmland could potentially become a test site for research examining connections between agricultural environments and neurological conditions.