On Friday, March 29, 2024, the Montana Club closed its doors to patrons. Let’s hope it was a pause and not a terminal event in this 100-year old Helena landmark, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
And landmark it is, with the original design by one of the nation’s preeminent turn of the 20th century architects, Cass Gilbert. The design cam early in his career but it’s a magnificent example of the Renaissance Revival style, in keeping with Gilbert’s love for classical forms. He ended his career with the remarkable classical-style Supreme Court building in our nation’s capital. I have long thought folks in Helena did not appreciate this Cass Gilbert building as one of the state’s great architectural statements.
The Montana Club has delightful public spaces. The basement Rathskeller is a fun Arts and Crafts style room. I probably have had a few too many there.
I know I have had a few too many at the wonderful second floor bar, where generations of skilled bartenders practiced their craft, from which we all benefited.
The adjoining main dining room is gorgeous, and its huge windows allow for stunning views of the city.
Indeed the building is full of bold, imaginative and inspiring spaces. It’s a real jewel in the capital city. Let’s hope its doors don’t stay closed for long.
When I lived in Helena from 1981 to 1985 one of my favorite jaunts was along U.S. Highway 12 from Townsend to Roundup. It remains so today, 40 years later. My initial interest centered on railroad corridors. Helena to Townsend followed the Northern Pacific Railroad and a good bit of the Missouri River (now Canyon Ferry Lake).
Northern Pacific bridge over Missouri River near TownsendMissouri River and Canyon Ferry valley near TownsendMissouri River campground near Townsend
It was a brilliant day with fall colors just popping as we left US 287 and turned into the heart of Townsend.
As soon as you leave town to the east you encounter a lovely mix of ranches and irrigated fields until you thread your way through a national forest along Deep Creek.
Fall colors along Deep Creek
We decided to continue east by briefly jumping off US 12 and go to Montana 284 so we could follow the Milwaukee Road corridor from Lennep to Martinsdale where we would reconnect with US 12. Two of my travelers had never been to the Milwaukee Road “ghost town” of Lennep. It was a beautiful morning to be there.
Milwaukee Road powerhouse
You first realize that this abandoned railroad corridor is different when you encounter an electric powerhouse—the Milwaukee Road’s tracks were electrified from Harlowton Montana west to Idaho.
Lennep
At Lennep the landmarks remain—the Trinity Lutheran Church, the store, the school, a teacher’s cottage and an early notched log house—but all were a little worse for the wear compared to my last visit 10 years earlier.
As we traveled east that morning we quickly moved through the county seats of Harlowton and Ryegate to get to Roundup by lunch. The Musselshell Valley was brilliant even as signs of the old railroad almost disappeared.
Near Ryegate Near Lavina
Roundup continues its renaissance with new businesses and restored buildings. The town core, clustered around the intersection of US highways 12 and 87, was busy on a fall weekend.
A mural on the great cattle drive of 1989The Backporch—great bbqNew mural at the KegArt studio doing wellAwaiting its renovation Community green spot
As I observed a few years ago Roundup residents worked together and created a plan—and the place continues to work the plan, from the adaptive reuse of its historic stone school to the careful stewardship of its historic fairgrounds. It’s impressive.
After Roundup we stopped at two county seats on the return to Helena. Harlowton was rocked by the closing of the Milwaukee Road over 40 years ago. It has struggled to reach the economic comeback achieved at Roundup. But the historic stone buildings have great potential. Three of them are now part of a large museum complex.
Then there’s the newcomer: the Gally’s microbrewery and pub, housed in the 1913 Montana Block.
It’s a great place for local beer and good conversation—and maybe the start of something good for the town.
US Highway 12 was torn up for major repairs when I last visited White Sulphur Springs last decade. The improvement along its population growth and the ever expanding hot springs gives the place a new look, reflected in new catchy fronts to local bars along with new businesses such as a huge Town Pump.
But historic White Sulphur Springs is doing ok too: the New Deal constructed Meagher County Courthouse is still a roadside landmark while the old railroad corridor, just west of the Hot Springs, remains, awaiting its rebirth.
These places are mere highlights along a historic route that’s worth a drive anytime in the fall.
For almost 50 years the Sun River Valley Historical Society has undertaken the preservation and restoration of Fort Shaw (1867-1891), one of the most important federal sites in the west. When I first met and talked with the group in 1984 during the state historic preservation planning process, efforts were just underway, focused on the officers duplex, the wash house, and bakery.
Officers duplex
Now I would like to focus on achievements of the last 10 years since the last visit in 2013. I have posted earlier about how the society has restored the cemetery. This post is about the regimental officers quarters, where restoration began with repairing the historic adobe walls in 2014 and continued with a comprehensive interior restoration over the next several years.
Commanding Officers quarters
While the first restored building serves as a general history exhibit about the fort and immediate region, the society restored the Commanding Officers quarters as a period historic building.
Dining roomParlor
Within the period objects found in each room, the society also empathizes a “First Lady” theme, adding a strong historic textiles collection to the museum.
Restored interior doors and floorsRestored staircase and flooring
The society took care with the kitchen and also addressed the presence of Chinese cooks at the property. The federal census of 1880 records 5 Chinese men at Fort Shaw. A letter from 1887 documents that Ah Wai was employed as a cook for the private company that operated the post’s mess hall and store. The Fort Shaw Indian School superintendent, who may have resided in this building, hired Joe Ling as a cook in 1898.
A bedstead for an unidentified Chinese cook at Fort Shaw is located within the pantry of the building Bedrooms arranged in the second floor—note the massive chimney flue of adobe brick.Desk within officer’s bedroomCentral hall restoration, first floor
My initial impression is that the many period objects are both a blessing and a curse. A blessing is that the furnishings make the place “come alive” and creates ample opportunities for storytelling about the inhabitants. It reinforces the Victorian era that the fort was part of—and the storyline of military families in the west. The curse is that the rooms may have too many objects—and few that are directly tied to the property. Do overfurnished interiors overwhelm the visitors visually—it is too much to take in?
Such is the challenge of the period room historic house museum. If the past here is any indication, the preservation of Fort Shaw is far from over—I look forward to future visits.
This week Chico Hot Springs and 500-plus acres were sold—shocking news for many but really not surprising, considering what happened earlier in the year at Izaak Walton Inn in Essex. A big development company that operates high end hotels and resorts from California to New York purchased the property and surrounding acreage for $33 million.
First I am glad the long-term owners got “paid.” They deserved it. They have been successful and effective stewards of this special place, a property I first documented during the historic preservation plan survey in 1984.
Chico Hot Springs in 1984
Let’s hope the new owners “get it” and respect the history and traditions of the place. After all it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (You can read my earlier 2016 blog “Chico Hot Springs” on the place for more on the history).
Detail of one-story wing in 1984
The place has changed in my 40 years of visiting. By the 21st century, the one-story side wing had grown to two stories and a small conference center had been built.
2011 view from second story windowConvention center in 2006
However these changes left the historic barn and stables intact. My children loved to pet the horses at the barn.
Barn in 2006
Over the last 40 years other buildings were added: cabins, wagons, separate spa and more—but the historic lodge remained at the center and the heart of the experience. From 1984 to today, Chico had evolved into a destination not just a hot springs pool with an absolute killer bar and restaurant. (In fact the restaurant has been legendary for almost 50 years and was highlighted in the classic western movie “Rancho Deluxe” from 1975.)
Sazerac 75Prime rib—a house special for over 40 years.
Throughout the changes the rustic feel, the early 20th century aura of the place remained. The lobby had the same lumpy chairs, the same heavy tables, well worn. If you had to have more modem facilities, they had it. But if you wanted a taste of the west from decades ago, you had the lobby—the perfect place to have a great cup of coffee and watch people in way too big of a hurry.
And you have the plain, no air conditioner third floor rooms—a bed, sink, and common bathroom down the hall. I have heard now for years that visitors complain about the third floor. I really hope the renovation leave these plain but comfortable rooms as they are.
Chico has many character defining nooks and crannies that could disappear in an over-wrought renovation. There’s no need to make every room a $300 “suite”. Do that in the modern additions of the last 30 years; respect the old historic inn and the pool. Keep Chico accessible to all, not just the few.
For years I have emphasized the national significance of Fort Shaw, Montana, often to deaf ears it seems. But just stop and think: at this one place in the valley you have centuries of Native American history, then immediately after the Civil War comes the federal presence with the establishment of Fort Shaw in 1867. The last regiment serving at Fort Shaw were four companies from the 25th U.S. Infantry, an all African American unit, with the troops often called Buffalo soldiers. Once the military left the post in 1891 another federal program through the Interior department created the Indian Industrial Boarding School that operated 1892-1910. By that time the U.S. Reclamation Service already had launched the massive Sun River Irrigation Project, which created the infrastructure that shapes the valley today, designating the Fort Shaw district as its initial project. So much change in less than 50 years. Whew!
Sun River between Simms and Fort Shaw
Telling this huge story has largely been left to the Sun River Historical Society. I first met the group when I did a public meeting at Fort Shaw during the 1984 state historic preservation planning process. The society’s vision then was huge—but over two generations the members have met, even exceeded, that vision. In this post I want to highlight the efforts of the society and Blackfeet Nation in restoring the Fort Shaw Military Cemetery.
The cemetery is on a graveled county road on land managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management.
At the time of the historic preservation survey the cemetery was known but not well maintained. There were some extant grave markers but many more grave depressions that marked lost tombstones or removed graves.
The U.S. Army, after closing the fort, had decided to remove the soldiers from the military cemetery. In 1894 that process began and 74 soldiers, fort employees, and family members were moved from Fort Shaw to either family cemeteries or to Custer Military Cemetery at the Little Big Horn Battlefield.
Seven soldiers remained buried at Fort Shaw; eventually the standardized military tombstone marked their graves.
In 2016 Dick Thoroughman (who has since sadly passed away) convinced his fellow society members that they could restore the cemetery and restore a sense of dignity to those buried there by “saying their names.” The society built replica tombstones and then placed a small insert that gave the name and identification of the deceased
Among the marked graves are thirty-three students from the Indian Industrial Boarding School. Each tombstone is a testament to the horrors of the boarding school program. The names are not just of Blackfeet children but from many nations in the West and Alaska.
The federal boarding school program ripped children from their families, isolating them at the schools where their teachers too often literally tried to beat native culture and identity out of the students. Almost 2000 Native American children attended the Fort Shaw school from 1892-1910. Tribal members today believe that there might well be more than 33 Native American children buried at Fort Shaw.
Blackfeet Nation members have held vigils at the cemetery for years to honor and remember the victims of the boarding school. As Christine Diindiisi McCleave of the Native American Boarding school Healing Coalition told the University of Montana’s Byline Magazine, “We are in a moment of history where the wound of unresolved grief from Indian boarding schools is being ripped wide open. The truth is being unearthed and yet so much more is still unknown .”
The Sun River Historical Society recently restored the commanding officers house in 2019, where they are trying to find out more on the life of “Chinaman Joe” who worked as a domestic and is also buried at the cemetery (see below).
Many, many stories are yet to be identified, researched, and interpreted at this 7.5 acre property. But the 2016-17 restoration started the process. The Sun River Historical Society has earned thanks for their commitment and dedication to the task.
Rimini is another “ghost town” in Lewis and Clark County that actually has a number of permanent residents and that number increases during the summer and on weekends. The town served mines first discovered c. 1864 but not developed until the 1880s once the Northern Pacific Railroad ran a branch line to the town. the buildings from the late 19th century are excellent examples of False-front commercial architecture, especially where log buildings have a frame front.
The town’s 1904 school house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It serves as the Rimini community hall today.
Nearby is the Moose Creek Ranger Station, another National Register-listed building. Made of logs, the station was built in 1908, at the time the federal government established Helena National Forest. It is also associated with Camp Rimini, a CCC camp established across the road from the station in 1939.
The building then became associated with the U.S. army’s dog training facility from 1942-1944. The soldiers trained dogs to serve in Artic search and rescue teams.
Moose Creek Ranger Station garage
Thus this 100-year old log building is not only associated with the history of the US Forest Service but also helps to tell the story of the New Deal and World War II.
Marysville was the first mining ghost town that I visited in Montana in 1982. Forty years ago it wasn’t really a ghost town—several families lived there year round. But many buildings were abandoned, in disrepair, even one of the historic churches. Whenever families or friends visited me in Helena, I always took them to Marysville to see what was left because I wondered just what the future of the place would be.
I need not have worried. I had not been in Marysville since 1985 when I visited in May 2023. Today about 80 people live in Marysville—again far from being a ghost town. But so much preservation work had taken place since the 1980s.
Today many historic buildings from c. 1880 to the 1920s help to tell the story of gold mining in Montana at the fabled Drumlummon Mine owned by Thomas Cruse, a mine that overlooked the town. But work remains—other key buildings need their champion to ensure their preservation.
Drumlummon concentrator ruinsRuins only remain of this dwellingStone commercial building from 1895The 1898 Masonic Lodge Building with its impressive brick exterior dates to 1898. Both Mountain Star 130 and Ottawa 51 met in the building.Another important building was the general store, initially established by Ann and Blibal Betor (Betor was from Lebanon) c. 1898. When I lived in Helena the place was abandoned and in rough shape. A well planned restoration began in 2004 and was finished in 2018.The general store interior speaks to its conversion into a saloon and dance hall c. 1940.The former Northern Pacific railroad depot is now home to the town’s bar and cafe.Another restoration was led by the Hollow family at the town’s Methodist Episcopal church. This 1886 building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church also dates to 1886. Thomas Cruse later took some of his Drumlummon fortune and donated it for the construction of the Cathedral of St. Helena in Helena, MT.The Marysville Pioneer Memorial Building contains a museum about the town and its mining history.
The people who call Marysville home have been remarkable stewards. By keeping the town alive they also have preserved a special place in Montana’s mining past.
The most spectacular urban cemetery along U.S. Highway 2 is just off of the historic road in Kalispell. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Conrad Memorial Cemetery has 87 acres in is nominated property. Designed by architect Arthur Hobert, the cemetery began in 1902-1903, similar to other city cemeteries of the Hi-Line. But most comparisons stop there. A private non-profit, established initially by Alice Conrad, administers the cemetery.
From the gates a long ceremonial drive leads you to a winding drive that takes you past the cemetery office onto the bluffs that define the property.
There you encounter on one side a large obelisk, placed by the State of Montana, in honor of former Governor Robert Smith (d. 1908). Former Governor John Erickson is also buried here.
Smith memorial is on the left
On the opposite side of the drive is a memorial to the military veterans of Flathead County, a splendid modern classical statement.
It’s an impressive opening to a beautiful landscaped, and well maintained, city cemetery. Hobart’s rural cemetery movement design has few parallels in Montana. You can get lost in many lanes, creating multiple large sections for burials.
The quality of the early 20th century grave markers equal the beauty and creativity of the grave markers from those years.
The Richardsonian arch of the Burton memorial is unique for this region.A much more recent mountain theme memorial
As you might expect fraternal lodge themes are common throughout the cemetery’s sections.
Other markers share poignant stories of loss and memory, in both words and symbols.
As you explore the different sections you finally encounter why this cemetery exists at this particular place: the long landscaped approach to the mausoleum for Charles is E. Conrad (d. 1902)
Alice Conrad wanted her husband’s final resting place to overlook the town he had done so much to develop in the prior decade. He was only 52 at the time of his death. His many investments separated him and his family from other civic and economic leaders in Kalispell. Thus the cemetery design placing Conrad’s mausoleum in such a honored place reflected the reality of his times.
The stone Classical Revival building still is alone, afforded a place of honor and hierarchy within the property. the circular drive from the mausoleum connects to every other part of the cemetery.
Markers date from 1903 to the present. it is a property that takes hours to assess, due to the multiple sections and many captivating markers. But the time is so well spent and rewarding.
The news came like a thunderbolt in the December 16, 2022 edition of the Montana Free press: the Izaak Walton Inn had been sold to LOGE Camps.
“Street” facade of the building
I must admit that the place is special to me because it was one of the first National Register of Historic Places nominations that I had ever worked on. As I have discussed earlier in this blog, my task was to document its extraordinary significance because at that time of nomination (1984) the building was not yet 50 years old.
Historic Great Northern yards next to the inn, May 2023
Making the case was not that difficult because when it was built in 1939, it basically WAS the village of Essex: lodging for railroad workers, food, bar, post office, etc., but I have covered these points earlier in the blog. I stopped in May 2023 to document the place one last time, before n auction of interior stuff and collections and before renovations began.
In that December 16, 2022 Montana Free Press story, LOGE Camps official Slate “Olson said LOGE was well aware of the inn’s history and is not planning drastic changes to the property. However, the company does plan to make upgrades. Olson said it’ was’s too early to know exactly what those improvements will be, but that new furniture and room amenities are likely on deck in the coming year. We have a ton of respect for the history of the Izaak Walton Inn,” he said. “We want to create a destination where you feel the history, but you also appreciate the updated touches and amenities.””
May 2023May 2023
Let’s hope so. A good part of the historic integrity of the property lies with its rough edges. The old boarding houses was upgraded to a degree in the mid-1980s, certainly. But you also had the right spaces, the post office boxes, and the laid back vibe of common areas. And wi-fi: well good luck once you left the link in the lobby.
May 2023May 2023May 2023
Believe me, I get it. Historic places are always changing. But here at Essex you have to accept that the building was a key part of a working landscape of the railroad. That its history will forever be tied to the tracks and the people who worked here. Take away that gritty reality, and you lose so much.
May 2023May 2023This covered pedestrian walkway led to other cabins and trails into the park. It was a great way to see the inn and the railway working together.
Here’s to the first 38 years of the Izaak Walton Inn as a National Register landmark adjacent to Glacier National Park. Let’s hope the next generations recognize and nurture the qualities that make it special.
I had not been in Augusta since 2016–two years before the foods of June 2018 rattled this northern Lewis and Clark County town.
Old haunts like the Western Bar and the Lazy B Cafe were still operating, looking good.
Recent historic preservation efforts had given a new life and a restored appearance to such as National Register-listed landmarks as the Mack general store and Quinn’s garage.
Mack’s general store, 2016Mack general store, 2023Quinn’s Garage, closed in 2016Quinn’s Garage, 2023. Now listed in the National Register, the garage is restored and open for commercial use.
The Augusta Branch, first established almost 50 years ago, of the Lewis and Clark County Library also had recent renovations and a new ramp. A great place for more information about this very historic rural Montana town.
And I still love the historic school, both the classical building from the first decades of the 20th century and the more modern styled building from the mid-20th century.
Augusta is a place, as I discussed in this blog in 2016, that is long in history and short in pretense. You need more evidence—just trim around from the school and consider its neighbor, a Masonic Lodge with a concrete block facade fitting a Quonset hut-like structure behind. What a great place.
Montana's Historic Landscapes 