Ant Flat Ranger Station - Fortine, MT
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 48° 43.431 W 114° 52.620
11U E 656133 N 5398932
One of the first year round Ranger Stations in western Montana, this site, unfortunately, retains none of its original buildings. They were burned to make room for newer buildings in the 1920s and 1930s.
Waymark Code: WMMYXW
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 11/26/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member ZenPanda
Views: 1

Its log construction was an intentional throwback to the first days of the ranger station, just after the turn of the twentieth century. It is almost completely original, down to the hinges on the door. It was a working barn, housing the horses and pack animals of the station and storing their hay in the mow above.

After the closing of the ranger station, it sat empty for some time. As well as a National Historic site, it has been converted into an environmental education center, with a one mile nature trail and a marshland ecosystem viewing platform.
Ant Flat Ranger Station
Little was known about Montana’s vast, unmapped wilderness when presidential proclamations set aside U.S. forest reserves during the 1890s. In 1904, this site became one of the region’s first year-round ranger stations. Ample water, land suitable for pasture and domestic gardens, proximity to heavy timberlands, and access to the Great Northern Railway made Ant Flat an ideal location. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed his friend Fred Herrig, a decorated Rough Rider, its first ranger. The primitive facility grew and by the end of Herrig’s tenure in 1920, this strategically positioned district within the Blackfeet Forest Reserve was top-rated for fire detection, prevention, and control. Although no original log buildings remain at Ant Flat, lilac bushes Herrig planted mark the site of the first primitive headquarters. The remaining buildings of the historic complex date to post 1920 when the Forest Service began to serve a wider traveling public.

As use of national forests increased, the appearance of official facilities became more important and the Forest Service sought to harmonize its buildings with the environment. Ant Flat Station reflects these trends. The six-stall log barn (1921-1925) recalls the earlier construction phases and the importance of pack animals. The less “rustic” Craftsman style office/warehouse (1927), gas and oil storage building (1932), and garage and mechanic shop (1934) are a more formal expression of the Forest Service ethic. Ant Flat became a seasonal work center in 1963 but its presence chronicles the evolution of the Forest Service from its beginning through the formative 1920s and 1930s.
From the NRHP Plaque
Describe the area and history:
This old ranger station remains relatively intact. That is, the second set of buildings remain intact. On a side road, off the beaten path, the station is in a pastoral setting, inviting one to walk around and explore.


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