Filed Under Miles City

Water Wagon Shed

Fort Keogh Historic District

Hundreds of military and civilian residents at Fort Keogh made the fort’s water supply a primary concern. By 1879, two thousand feet of pipe had been laid and seven cisterns installed. A converted boiler pumped water from the Yellowstone River for the fort’s domestic use. After the initial building period from 1877 to 1880, frame and brick buildings began to replace the original log structures. This hipped-roof brick shed, constructed during the second building phase in October 1883, is the fort’s oldest surviving building. Its arched window openings and lack of ornamentation reflect the fort’s early architecture and the building’s utilitarian function: to house the heavy water wagon. A team of three mules pulled the wagon that delivered water, stored in wooden barrels, to Fort Keogh residents two or three times each week. Several days’ water supply was then stored in individual oak barrels. In 1934, New Deal monies were used to convert the shed to a truck garage. Later, the building housed firefighting and fencing equipment. The building was completely restored in 2004 in accordance with Federal Historical Preservation guidelines at a cost of $125,000.

Images

Water Wagon Shed
Water Wagon Shed Water Wagon Shed. Front to side view of the building, looking west. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Paul Anderson Date: Oct. 1991
Water Wagon Shed
Water Wagon Shed Water Wagon Shed. Rear to side view of the building, looking southeast. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Paul Anderson Date: Oct. 1991

Location

243 Fort Keogh Road, Miles City, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Water Wagon Shed,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/275.