Filed Under Twin Bridges

Doncaster Round Barn: "Round Barn at Twin Bridges"

Noah Armstrong established Doncaster Stable in Twin Bridges to take advantage of the Jefferson River Valley's ample water and rich soil. Armstrong firmly believed that Montana’s high altitude would give his racehorses great lung capacity and endurance. The large, round, three-story barn was completed in 1882. Architecturally stunning with vertical board and batten siding, ornamental window detailing, and an elegant primary entry, it was also technologically advanced. On the first floor, eighteen well-lit stalls around the outer edge allowed the horses to see each other and also gave them outside access to individual pie-shaped paddocks. Outside, there was an oval training track. The main entry could accommodate a ten-horse wagon laden with hay. The second level stored 12,000 bushels of grain and fifty tons of hay while the third floor housed Armstrong’s innovative windmill-driven water system. The barn was the birthplace of Spokane, the only Montana-born horse to win the Kentucky Derby. In 1889 Spokane won the fifteenth Kentucky Derby with a time of 2:34:50. This record time cannot be broken since the track was shortened from 1.5 to 1.25 miles in 1896. Despite the success of his horses, financial reverses during the Silver Panic of 1893 ended Armstrong’s horse breeding. When the property sold to Max Lauterbach in 1900, the ranch shifted from horses to cattle. After 1933, owner Arthur Bayers used the Doncaster Barn for many years as a sale barn for prize Hereford bulls. In 1997, it became part of the Hamilton Ranch.

Images

Doncaster Round Barn
Doncaster Round Barn Doncaster Round Barn. Front view of the entry gate and entry doors to the barn, facing west from Riverside Drive. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Kate Hampton Date: June 2012
Doncaster Round Barn
Doncaster Round Barn Doncaster Round Barn. Closer view of the entry doors to the barn, facing west to northwest inside of the fenced-in property that borders the barn near Riverside Drive. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Jon Axline Date: Sept. 2014
Doncaster Round Barn
Doncaster Round Barn Doncaster Round Barn. Front/side view of the barn structure near the entry doors, facing southwest from inside the fencing near Riverside Drive. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Jon Axline Date: Sept. 2014
Doncaster Round Barn
Doncaster Round Barn Doncaster Round Barn. Side view of the barn structure, facing south from inside the fencing away from Riverside Drive entering the property. This photograph offers a view of the structural design around the building. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Jon Axline Date: Sept. 2014
Doncaster Round Barn
Doncaster Round Barn Doncaster Round Barn. Rear view of the barn structure, facing east to northeast from the backside of the property. This particular shot focuses on the rear entry of the barn to provide the contrast between the two sets of doors in the front compared to those holding the rear. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Jon Axline Date: Sept. 2014
Doncaster Round Barn
Doncaster Round Barn Doncaster Round Barn. Side view of the barn structure, facing north towards the entry gate to add yet another perspective that is similar to the photograph facing the south to offer an image of the structural design that surrounds the architecture. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Jon Axline Date: Sept. 2014
Doncaster Round Barn
Doncaster Round Barn Doncaster Round Barn. Side/front view of the barn structure, facing northwest inside the fencing near the entry gate on the side of the front entry doors to the building. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Jon Axline Date: Sept. 2014
Doncaster Round Barn
Doncaster Round Barn Doncaster Round Barn. Front view of the barn, facing west and featuring a close-up of the front entry doors to the barn just inside the entry gates to the property. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Jon Axline Date: Sept. 2014

Location

175 Riverside Drive, Twin Bridges, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Doncaster Round Barn: "Round Barn at Twin Bridges",” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/2197.