2023 Historic Preservation Awards
Every two years, the Montana Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) hosts the Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony. Certificates of registration are given to Montana properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places within the past two years. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s cultural resources worthy of preservation.
Photo Gallery - 2023
The Montana Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office announced five recipients of Montana Historic Preservation Awards for 2023: Historian Dr. Ellen Baumler (Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation), Historian Chere Jiusto (Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation), the Como Schoolhouse Corporation (Outstanding Historic Preservation Stewardship, the Como School in Ravalli County), Grove & Company, LLC (Outstanding Local Preservation Project, F.M. Mack General Store in Augusta), and Fagg Family Properties, LLC and HGFA Architects (Outstanding Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Project – Governor’s Award, the Kate Fratt Memorial Parochial School in Billings).
These awards, as well as certificates for owners of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places in the past two years, were presented in a biennial ceremony and catered reception to be held in the Myrna Loy Center, 15 North Ewing, in Helena on May 5. Lt. Governor Kristen Juras and MHS Director Molly Kruckenberg will assist State Historic Preservation Officer Pete Brown in the presentations. The event was open to the public.
2023 Historic Preservation Award Recipients
Historian Dr. Ellen Baumler
Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation
Historian Chere Jiusto
Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation
Como Schoolhouse Corporation
Outstanding Historic Preservation Stewardship, the Como School in Ravalli County
Grove & Company, LLC
Outstanding Local Preservation Project, F.M. Mack General Store in Augusta
Fagg Family Properties, LLC and HGFA Architects
Outstanding Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Project – Governor’s Award, the Kate Fratt Memorial Parochial School in Billings
Properties receiving National Register Certificates for listing in 2021 and 2022
- Everson Creek Archaeological District - Beaverhead County
- McMaster Ranch Historic District - Broadwater County
- Spokane Hills Beacon - Broadwater County
- Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association Camp - Carbon County
- Symmes Park Missile - Fergus County
- Billy Kruse Cabin - Flathead County
- Ford Schoolhouse - Flathead County
- Shenango Work Station - Gallatin County
- River View Dairy Barn - Glacier County
- Beavertown Historic District - Jefferson County
- Hall Bungalow - Jefferson County
- F.M. Mack General Store - Lewis and Clark County
- Morelli Bridge - Lewis and Clark County
- Shaw’s Best Factory - Lewis and Clark County
- St. Regis Airway Beacon - Mineral County
- Swanson Homestead - Mineral County
- Edwards & McLellan Block - Phillips County
- Como School - Ravalli County
- Poker Jim Butte Fire Lookout - Custer Gallatin National Forest, Rosebud County
- Paradise School - Sanders County
- Thompson Falls Hydroelectric Dam Historic District (Boundary Modification and Additional Documentation) - Sanders County
- Billings Communal Mausoleum - Yellowstone County
- McKinley Elementary School - Yellowstone County
- Montana National Bank - Yellowstone County
- Pioneer Park - Yellowstone County
- Black Montana’s Heritage Places Multiple Property Document - Statewide
2021 Historic Preservation Awards
2021 Award Recipients
Northwest Montana Lookout Association
The Northwest Montana Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association (NWMCFFLA) has advocated for lookouts since their chapter formation in 2013. One of the greatest contributions of the FFLA and the Montana chapter is the extensive volunteer work they contribute to restore historic forest fire lookouts.
The Monarch Depot Restoration Project and the Monarch-Neihart Historical Group
Constructed in 1901 to replace an earlier depot consumed by fire, the Monarch Depot operated until its 1945 closure by the Great Northern Railroad when the run proved financially unviable. The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) acquired the depot within two years of its closure converting the building into a garage/machine shed. In 2013, Cascade County acquired the Monarch Depot and bestowed it to the Monarch-Neihart Historical Group, Inc. (MNHG), who immediately began their drive toward the depot’s preservation. The Monarch-Neihart Historical Group consulted with SHPO nearly every step of the way of this long process.
2019 Legislature and the Montana Museum's Act of 2020
The 2019 Montana State Legislature passed Senate Bill 338, known as the Montana Museums Act of 2020, an historic bill that will prove transformational for Montana and those who treasure its history. The Act benefits the creation of a new Heritage Center and historical sites and museums statewide through the creation of a grant program.
The Veterans Administration and the Freedom's Path Project (Governor's Award)
The 2021 Governor’s award goes to the Veterans Affairs staff who facilitated the Freedom’s Path project at Fort Harrison and preserved 11 of the fort’s National Register properties while providing housing for those without.
