HQ Of The Stillwater State Forest - Flathead County, MT - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

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HQ Of The Stillwater State Forest - Flathead County, MT

in American Guide Series

Posted by:  T0SHEA

11U E 679443 N 5379520

Stillwater State Forest, Montana's first state forest, came into being in 1918. In 1922 construction began on Stillwater Ranger Station, one of Montana's first. It remained the state's only major ranger station until 1954.

The HEADQUARTERS OF THE STILLWATER STATE FOREST, 43.9 m. (R), is in six log buildings. The forest covers 90,000 acres. Within it are the headwaters of the Whitefish River, part of the Stillwater, and many small lakes.
Montana: A State Guide Book, 1939

Since 1939 the station has grown quite a bit with approximately twice as many buildings on the site as there were in 1939. Essentially all, if not all, of the buildings one would have seen in 1939 remain, and retain the same appearance. Some buildings were added shortly after, in the early 1940s and others were added as late as the 1960s. It remains a ranger station, under the same name.

The ranger station is on the west side of Highway 93, less than a mile south of the little town of Olney, MT and about 15 miles north of Whitefish, MT, in Flathead County. Following is the history of the ranger station taken from the NRPH plaque at the site.

The Stillwater Forest and its ranger station mark a milestone in the history of state forestry. The Enabling Act of 1889 laid a tenuous foundation for today’s system by granting Montana two sections of land in every township, stipulating that the income generated must be used for education. It soon became apparent that effective management of 500,000 widely scattered acres was impossible. The Office of the State Forester, created in 1909, advocated consolidation of state holdings as the solution. In 1912, the State Forester proposed to swap the Forest Service 60,000 acres of state-owned sections for a like amount here in the Whitefish and Stillwater drainages. President Woodrow Wilson approved the exchange in 1918. Stillwater became Montana’s first state forest. Through the efforts of State Forester Robert McLaughlin, the first log structure at Stillwater Ranger Station was built in 1922. At McLaughlin’s urging, the 1925 legislature designated the Stillwater Forest a managed site.

After 40,000 timbered acres burned in 1926, the Stillwater Ranger Station became a year-round facility for timber management and fire protection and was the only major ranger station in the state system until 1954. Ranger Pete De Groat built the main log residence in 1928, and CCC forestry crews added several more buildings in the 1930s. Maurice Cusick, supervisor from 1936 to 1967, built four others. Today, these historic log buildings constructed of local materials are a tribute to Montana’s early forestry and conservation efforts.
From the NRHP Plaque