The Cowboy Church - Carlton, Montana
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T0SHEA
N 46° 40.724 W 114° 04.722
11T E 723415 N 5173609
Built and maintained as a Methodist church, "The Cowboy Church", in later years, has become a nondenominational church, complete with hitching posts.
Waymark Code: WMXJ3W
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 01/17/2018
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Completed and dedicated in June of 1884, the Carlton Cowboy Church AKA Carlton Chapel was served by Methodist circuit riders for its first 40 years of existence. The land for the church was deeded to a group representing the Methodist Episcopal Church by Robert Carlton, a Roman Catholic, the only stipulation being that the little church must always display a cross on its steeple. Various circumstances eventually led to the closing of the church in 1924, with it seeing very little use during the next two decades and falling into a state of disrepair. It is said that, at this time, livestock was known to periodically inhabit the building.
At some point the Methodist Diocese deeded the property to the Florence-Carlton Cemetery Association, which still owns the property, with the proviso that it must remain a church in perpetuity. The late '40s and early '50s saw occasional services in the building, then, in the fall of 1954, Presbyterian services began on a regular basis, continuing until February, 1962. In 1963 the building was renovated and enlarged, then a series of ministers passed through, culminating in the procurement of a Baptist minister, David Hansen, in 1983, who served for eight years, leaving in April, 1992 for a pulpit in Belgrade, MT. During Hansen's tenure the church changed from Baptist to nondenominational and built a new church on land purchased immediately east of this church. The first services were held in the new church during Christmas of 1988.
Following the opening of the new church, this one either remained open, or was later reopened, today being used for more informal "Cowboy" services, which are held Wednesday evenings at 7 PM.
That cross is still in place, though we can't say for certain that it is the same cross that was mounted on the little steeple/bell tower in 1884. In fact, given that it's now made of metal tubing, we'll gamble that it is not original. The little steeple/bell tower rests on the peak of the gable roof, over the front entrance. It, too, has a gable roof, matching those of the sanctuary and the vestibule at the entrance. Sided with horizontal planking, the belfry has rectangular openings on all sides, covered with small wooden slats. Relatively unadorned, it has only some trefoil-like reliefs in the Gothic arches over the openings. The design is somewhat reminiscent of the Scottish thistle design used by Scottish Presbyterian churches.