Our Projects

Saving Grace

MPA partnership to help preserve historic St. Wenceslaus

MPA in partnership with the Friends of St. Wenceslaus and the Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings have a launched an effort to preserve the St. Wenceslaus Church in Danvers. The charming white clapboard church was built in 1916 to serve the small Czech homesteading community 25 miles northwest of Lewistown. Due to a diminished population in Danvers, the church was retired from service in 2000.

While the church is well preserved on the interior, the roof, foundation, and windows had all deteriorated badly and the parish faced a painful decision in recent years about possible demolition of the building. Rather than see this heritage property torn down, the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings and Montana Preservation Alliance, in consultation with Danvers residents and St. Leo’s parish in Lewistown, recently agreed to pursue transferring ownership of the church to MPA to enable the building to be preserved and used for activities that benefit the local community and honor the heritage of the church.

MPA has already raised $5,000 from the J.M. Kaplan Fund to kick-off restoration work, and the Friends of St. Wenceslaus have pledged to raise money to further the effort. MPA has also applied for an $82,000 historic preservation stimulus grant through the Montana Department of Commerce. The funding would pay for roof and window repair, new paint, and foundation work.

MPA and the Friends of St. Wenceslaus are exploring ideas to interpret the heritage of St. Wenceslaus Church and its importance as a center of community and worship in the homesteading days. To keep the building in use, MPA and the Friends are considering the feasibility of hosting occasional church services, weddings, reunions, picnics, retreats and other group events at the church. This kind of adaptive reuse is appropriate to the history of the building and ties into the tremendous potential for partnerships between this venue and other Russell Country businesses and tour operators, the Chamber of Commerce and the business community of Lewistown. With partnerships, cooperation, and bright ideas, Montana’s country churches can continue to be cherished gathering places in our communities.