Carter County Wouldn’t Be the Same Without . . .
Carter County spans more than 3,300 square miles in southeastern Montana yet includes just two official entries in the National Register of Historic Places. What historic or archaeological resource in Carter County do you think is worthy of preservation?
McCone County wouldn’t be the same without . . .
The Gladstone Hotel in Circle, Montana, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and represented one of McCone County’s two official entries. Unfortunately, the historic and beloved hotel, and arguably the last piece of standing original history in Circle, burned down this past September.
Ruffatto School in Richland County, Listed!
In 1910, rancher Mrs. T. T. Armstrong rode several hundred miles on horseback to secure signatures that would establish a school district serving rural communities in a vast area south of the Missouri River. As the population of Richland County grew, the school district was reorganized to include what would become the Ruffatto School in Richland County.
Eave returns
Commonly seen on American architecture of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, the eave return or cornice return serves to aesthetically elevate a building’s façade and to convey a message about the building’s function or perhaps about the people who made their home there.
Notches
Festive, cozy, and nestled in the forest — the log cabin is the architectural epitome of the holiday season. A well-built log cabin stays so cozy throughout the winter due to the watertight and windproof seal created in part by a notching system at the cabin’s corners. In “locking” the logs, notches help make traditional sealing materials of mud, clay, and straw (known as chinking when on the exterior of the cabin and daubing on the interior) more effective.
What’s the difference between shakes and shingles?
Q: What’s the difference between shakes and shingles?
A: It kind of depends on whom you ask
Warehouse Transformed into Commerical Spaces with the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program
Imagine a historic Art Deco school turned into low-income apartments, or a warehouse transformed into commercial spaces for small businesses. Since 1997, the Montana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has helped to facilitate through the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program the rehabilitation of 81 historic buildings across the state.
Basin Creek Park Historic District, Listed!
The Basin Creek Park Historic District represents corporate efforts of the early twentieth century to provide members of the working and middle classes a place to escape the summer heat of the city for leisure and recreation in a scenic rural setting. Butte Water Company’s commitment to maintaining the free public park ensured Basin Creek’s role as one of the most popular recreation spots in Silver Bow County for decades to come.
Thankful for Historic Theaters (and Theatres)
Montana is home to at least ten historic theaters that are eligible to be listed or are currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Glass block
Glass block is a type of structural glass that gained popularity in the first half of the 20th century when styles like Art Deco, Streamline, and Art Moderne were in vogue. Glass block frequently shows up in both interior and exterior walls in industrial, commercial, and even residential architecture of the 1930s and 1940s.
Montana’s Historic Airway Beacon Corridors
Between 1926 and 1938, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Air Commerce created 18,000 miles of airway corridors in the United States and installed 1,550 airway beacons, marking corridors for night flying. When pilots were at one beacon, they could see the next one on their route. The establishment of the airway corridors signaled a profound evolution of the nation’s air transportation system.
West Fork Ranger Station, Listed!
Ole Tangen, a Norwegian-born master log craftsman, built or supervised the construction of nearly three dozen log buildings throughout the Bitterroot Valley, and several Forest Service and National Register-listed properties. Tangen’s log work remains as an instructive example to modern log builders and preservationists.
A Window into Historic Character
The Baxendale Schoolhouse near Helena met with serendipity recently when the National Guard demolished a historic building on its Fort Harrison campus. The schoolhouse, owned by statewide nonprofit Preserve Montana, needed new windows—and the windows from Fort Harrison just happened to be the perfect size.
Orange Street Tunnel in Missoula, Listed!
In 2023, additional documentation regarding the history of the previously National Register-listed Orange Street Underpass was submitted to the National Register. The documentation acknowledges the Montana Department of Transportation’s reclassification of the steel stringer and steel girder underpass structure as a tunnel. The well-known structure with its Art deco flourishes supports two historic warehouses, West Railroad Street, North 1st Street West, and five sets of BNSF tracks.
What’s the little tower on top of a barn called?
Q: What’s the little tower on top of a barn called?
A: Many barns are topped by cupolas, or small domed structures that help ventilate the building. Cupolas let in light and fresh air to help dry the hay stored in the hayloft; they also let hot air out so that the hay doesn’t catch on fire.
What’s the fancy trim on the edge of a roof called?
Bargeboard, vergeboard, or gableboard — it’s all the same thing. Bargeboard has two purposes. Functionally, it covers the exposed ends of structural roof beams called purlins…
Wise River Ranger Station, Listed!
The Wise River Ranger Station, just east of Wise River, represents the Forest Service’s early management in the Big Hole Valley and the Pintler Wilderness Areas. The resources associated with the 1933 station reflect on-going Forest Service activities and facility expansion associated with the agency’s growth and centralization during the 1960s and 1970s. The Forest Service continues to use the Wise River Ranger Station for timber management, trail maintenance and construction, range land and grazing management, and firefighting.
Lavina School Historic District, Listed!
The development of an academic campus in Lavina is unequivocally linked to a significant population increase experienced by the community in the early 1900s. The main 1919 block of the school building illustrates educational construction in the first half of the 20th Century displaying a melding of Restrained Classicism and Stripped Collegiate Gothic, evoking the value of public education and a sense of permanence and confidence within the community.
Robworth Apartments, Listed!
Built at a time of relative prosperity for the town, the Robworth Apartments represent the optimism of the post-World War I era in Deer Lodge.
Sacajawea-Miles Parks Historic District,Listed!
The City of Livingston realized early in the 20th century that residents, as well as travelers, needed a place to rest and recreate. The early use of Sacajawea Island partially fulfilled the recreational need, and the proximity of McLeod Island, the location of Miles Park, further enhanced the attraction of the area south of town.