St. Michael's Church - 1863 - Fort Missoula, Missoula, MT
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T0SHEA
N 46° 50.570 W 114° 03.624
11T E 724133 N 5191895
This church is not only 151 years old but is the first Christian church, as opposed to Christian Mission, built in Montana.
Waymark Code: WMMZXD
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 11/30/2014
Views: 1
The Catholic missionaries from St. Ignatius Mission who built this church also built St. Peter's Mission in the town of Hellgate, which served as a base for missionary work from the 1860s to 1884.
Built of rough logs, the church survived 118 years and two previous moves before being moved to Fort Missoula in 1981. It was restored to some extent in 1962.
Hellgate, about 4 miles west of Missoula, was a true flash-in-the-pan town. Settled beginning in 1856, by 1865 the town was dead, even though it had briefly been the county seat of Missoula County, with everyone moving to present day Missoula virtually overnight.
St. Michael‘s Church
Built 1863 - Moved 1981
This church was constructed at Hell Gate Ronde (about 4 miles west of Missoula) by Jesuits from St. Ignatius Mission. When an 1873 survey disclosed that the Jesuits and a local farmer claimed the same land, the church was moved by wagon to Missoula. It stood on the grounds of St. Patrick Hospital until it was returned to the site of old Hell Gate in 1962. The Friends of the Historical Museum moved the church to the Museum grounds to interpret the history of the region’s religious development.
From the Ft. Missoula Tour