Traveling through southeastern Montana in 1883, naturalist, writer, and future United States President Theodore Roosevelt was struck by what he called the Medicine Buttes. He wrote, “Altogether it was as fantastically beautiful a place as I have…

The Lewis and Clark Caverns Headquarters building, designed by National Park Service architect O. John Ballas and built by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crews in 1938, is a model example of the Rustic or “Parkitecture” style. Drawing on Arts and…

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs to bring the United States out of the Great Depression put millions of men to work and transformed local, state, and national public lands. While New Deal programs like the Civilian Conservation…

Deer hunters first brought the spectacular system of subterranean caverns within Cave Mountain to public attention in 1898. Noticing steam flowing from a natural vent, they discovered passageways and voids filled with striking geological formations.…

Nestled along the shore of Moose Lake, this collection of log and frame buildings is a fine example of how early mining ventures in the region gradually evolved into the U.S. Forest Service’s recreational residence program during the early- to…

Big Prairie—beautiful, rugged, and remote—nestles between the North Fork of the Flathead River and timbered foothills. Even today the area is accessible only via an unimproved 1901 wagon road. Johnnie (John J.) Walsh first came to Big Prairie…

The cornerstone was laid in 1917 for this multi-purpose facility, designed by international Y.M.C.A architects. All contracting, however, went to local firms. The $350,000 building opened in 1919, entirely paid for by citizens’ contributions and…

The Hamilton Hikers’ Club built this lodge in 1935-36 as a destination and meeting place for their newly formed hiking, skiing, and camping group. Named after one of the highest peaks in the Bitterroot Range, El Capitan Lodge sits on Bitterroot…

Seeley Lake is one link in a chain of five lakes nestled between the lofty Swan and Mission mountain ranges in western Montana. Two hundred acres of ancient larch trees surround the area, which has drawn visitors since the early 1900s. In 1924, the…

Originally the post exchange, this building served as a recreation hall for the stationed men. The exchange evolved from the post trader’s store, an integral element in early forts where the men could buy staples and supplies. As early as 1888, the…