MONTANA'S MOST
ENDANGERED PLACES 2006

Great Falls Portage National Historic Landmark

This site where the Lewis and Clark Expedition undertook an 18-mile, 31-day portage at Great Falls -- one of the most difficult ordeals of their westward trip -- is threatened by the proposed construction of a large power plant. Continue reading here.

Homestead Depot, Sheridan County

As one of the original Great Northern Railway Depots in Montana, the building serves as an excellent example of the standardized type of building design used by the Great Northern for its small community depots. But years of deferred maintenance and neglect have left the Homestead Depot in grave condition. Continue reading here.

 

Malta Carnegie Library, Phillips County

The Ma lta Library is one of the many beautifully designed Carnegie Libraries inMontana and in the US, which were built in so many small towns and cities in the early 20th century. Centrally located in Malta’s commercial area, the building is an important anchor to town vitality and community heritage.  Over the years, the condition of the building has declined, and it is now sitting vacant with no interested tenants. Phillips County Commissioners know that there is tremendous potential to renovate the building, recapture its former dignity and attractiveness, and restore the sense of community pride in its beauty.  Across Montana and the U.S., local preservation projects of this kind are a proven business catalyst and frequently stimulate other improvements of nearby properties.

 

Bitterroot River Bridge, near Hamilton

The bridge was included on MPA’s Endangered Card in 2005 as part of a group nomination of Montana bridges, and we thought it was important to include the bridge on our card again to demonstrate that one of the state’s most significant highway bridges is still threatened. Continue reading here.

 

 

Native Languages and Places Names, statewide

Language is inseparable from how cultures think and live, but many of Montana’s tribal languages are on the verge of disappearing along with their last elderly speaker, and have a weakening hold upon young people.  As many as half of the estimated 6,000 languages worldwide are "moribund"—spoken only by adults who no longer teach them to the next generation.  Language loss has been especially severe in North America, where perhaps hundreds of indigenous languages have vanished since 1492. Continue reading here.

 

Montana State Fair Race Track, Helena

The 1870 racetrack was the state racetrack at theMontana State Fairgrounds. It was and still is the only historic mile-long track in the Northern Rockies. According to the American Racing Manual, it’s one of the oldest regulation tracks known to exist in the country. It was used as a horse racing track until the late 1990s, and remains as a symbol of Montana’s agricultural heritage and love affair with horses. Continue reading here.

 

Montana's Most Endangered Places 2005