Montana Historical Society

Big Sky ~ Big History

Museum and research center closed for renovations. For more info, call (406) 444-2694.

Celebrating Montana Preservation

Explore award-winning preservation projects across the state, and Montana SHPO's "Celebrate Montana Preservation" greeting card and poster series. 

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.

The next awards ceremony will be in 2025. Stay tuned for details!

Ceremony and Reception Photo Gallery

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

  1. Everson Creek Archaeological District - Beaverhead County
  2. McMaster Ranch Historic District - Broadwater County
  3. Spokane Hills Beacon - Broadwater County
  4. Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association Camp - Carbon County
  5. Symmes Park Missile - Fergus County
  6. Billy Kruse Cabin - Flathead County
  7. Ford Schoolhouse - Flathead County
  8. Shenango Work Station - Gallatin County
  9. River View Dairy Barn - Glacier County
  10. Beavertown Historic District - Jefferson County
  11. Hall Bungalow - Jefferson County
  12. F.M. Mack General Store - Lewis and Clark County
  13. Morelli Bridge - Lewis and Clark County
  14. Shaw’s Best Factory - Lewis and Clark County
  15. St. Regis Airway Beacon - Mineral County
  16. Swanson Homestead - Mineral County
  17. Edwards & McLellan Block - Phillips County
  18. Como School - Ravalli County
  19. Poker Jim Butte Fire Lookout - Custer Gallatin National Forest, Rosebud County
  20. Paradise School - Sanders County
  21. Thompson Falls Hydroelectric Dam Historic District (Boundary Modification and Additional Documentation) - Sanders County
  22. Billings Communal Mausoleum - Yellowstone County
  23. McKinley Elementary School - Yellowstone County
  24. Montana National Bank - Yellowstone County
  25. Pioneer Park - Yellowstone County
  26. Black Montana’s Heritage Places Multiple Property Document - Statewide

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.

Montana Properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places 2019-2020

Greeting Card and Poster Series

In 1981, the Montana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) launched its first preservation poster featuring a circa-1890 ore car used by the Bi-Metallic Mining Company. In 2022, after 40 years of annual poster production, our office decided to try something new and created greeting cards instead. 

Explore card content

Montana's Cultural Landscapes

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Basin Creek Caretaker's House

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Hunting Blinds & Drive Lines

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Square Butte Jail

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Mann Gulch Wildfire Historic District

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Millie Ringold

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FM Mack Mercantile

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Montana Mainlines

Revitalizing Montana's Rural Landscapes

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Waterworks Museum

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Montana Hotel

Public History | Public Health
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Montana's Carnegie Libraries

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