Started in 1907 by Elers Koch, then supervisor of the Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests, Savenac Nursery was named for the one time owner of the land, a German settler named Savennach. Savennach abandoned the homestead, for reasons unknown, and Koch saw it as an excellent location for a tree nursery, on a major road with railroads nearby, with ample flat land and access to water for irrigation. Irrigation water was available from three separate waterways, Savenac Creek, Big Creek, and the St. Regis River, as well as two sloughs. It happened that Koch located the abandoned homestead while traveling the Mullan Road to the west coast on his honeymoon.
By 1908 there were nine buildings or structures at the Nursery, all destroyed two years later by the
The Great Fire of 1910, which burned not only the nursery, but many other towns in Idaho and Montana, also claiming a total of 85 lives, 78 of them firefighters unable to escape the fast moving fire.
Rebuilding began that winter, with the nursery being completely rebuilt and repopulated with the structures and buildings necessary for its operation. In 1932 a complete renovation of the nursery began, seeing the replacement of all existing buildings and a great many other structures. All of this construction took place using CCC labor, taking place between 1932 and 1948. As a result, the only pre 1930 contributing objects which remain are the Weather station, first installed in 1919, the Yellowstone Trail Bridge, built in 1919-1920, a House and Garage Foundation from the 1920s and the Mullan Road/Yellowstone Trail, which passes through, first built 1859 and upgraded in 1914. The majority of the extant buildings are from the late 1930s.
Savenac became the largest tree nursery in the northwest, producing up to twelve million trees annually. Savenac Nursery remained operational until reorganization in the forestry department resulted in its closure in 1969. The buildings remain in excellent condition with some, the bunkhouse, cookhouse and the west cottage,
available to rent in the summer months.
Today the historic district consists of 10 Buildings, 6 Sites, 16 Structures and 2 Objects, for a total of 34 contributing objects. As the
Registration Form states: "
Savenac Nursery contains features that are not typically counted in National Register nominations. These include the seed and transplant beds and the formal landscape plantings of exotic specimen trees such as the Siberian larch behind the Administration Building and the two sugar maples in front of the Administration Building. These features and the overall layout and organization of the site are important parts of the integrity of design, setting, feeling, and association for this property".
Creation of the National Forest Service in 1905 brought Elers Koch, one of the nation’s first professional foresters, to inspect and evaluate the Forest Reserves of Montana and Wyoming. Appointed Forest Supervisor of the Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests in 1907, Koch happened upon the abandoned homestead of a German settler named Savennach. He thought it a perfect spot to establish a tree nursery. Work began in 1908 and just as the first pine seedlings were ready for transplanting in 1910, fire swept through the region scorching 3 million acres of timberland. The nursery was destroyed, but the disaster influenced Forest Service policy, making fire prevention and conservation its primary mission. Reforestation of burned and logged areas figured prominently in that goal. Savenac Nursery was ideally situated along two railroad routes and the historic Mullan Road ran right through the property. The nursery was immediately rebuilt. Circa 1912 national road improvements incorporated the new Yellowstone Trail into this segment of the Mullan Road and by 1916, Savenac shipped several million seedlings to the vast Northern Region. The Civilian Conservation Corps rebuilt and modernized the facility a final time between 1932 and 1948. Savenac became the largest tree nursery in the northwest producing up to twelve million trees annually. The nursery operated until regional reorganization brought closure in 1969. Savenac Nursery, where much of the theory and practice of silviculture was pioneered, reflects the conservation ethic of the Forest Service.
From the NRHP plaque at the building