Alberton began as a railroad town, a divisional point for the Milwaukee Road as it built its line across Montana. In fact the town was named after Albert J. Earling, president of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The town lost its divisional point status years ago but has survived, slowly growing smaller with each decade since that time.
Like the town, the church has survived, but never found the need to expand or to build a new church. This one has proven to be sufficient for the Methodists of Alberton through all the ups and downs the town has been witness to. It is today affiliated with the Mineral County United Methodist Parish.
Though the NRHP plaque at the church, placed by the Montana Historical Society, notes that the church was built circa 1912, a
newspaper account of 1915 indicates it to have been built in the latter half of 1915, dedicated on November 14, 1915. The other church of the parish, the Isabelle A. Reeves United Methodist Church of Superior, was dedicated three and a half months earlier, on Sunday, August 1, 1915.
METHODIST CHURCH OF ALBERTON
Nestled in the forested mountains of the Clark Fork River valley, this early-twentieth-century church recalls the era when prosperity rode the rails of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company. As the tracks of the “Milwaukee Road” were the lifeblood of the town’s economy, this simple church served spiritual needs. The Methodist congregation came together circa 1912 to construct the simple one-story gable-fronted building. It was built on a rectilinear plan and typifies early churches that often doubled as meeting halls in rural western communities. The square belfry, sided with wood shingles and louvered vents, perches off-center atop the roof. Placement of the bell tower to the side was a common signal of denominational affiliation; bell towers on Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, and Congregational churches were most often centered on the roof. Beveled clapboard siding and windows with orange translucent glass add to its quaint turn-of-the-century charm. The tenacious little town withstood electrification of the Milwaukee Road in 1917 and consequent loss of its division point status, but the townsite never progressed beyond “first phase” frame building. That is why the few buildings that remain from the early period are especially precious. This is one of two churches established in Alberton during the town’s prosperity, and the Methodist congregation continues to hold its services here.
From the plaque at the building