St. Benedict's Catholic School - Roundup MT - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

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St. Benedict's Catholic School - Roundup MT

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Posted by:  T0SHEA

12T E 688691 N 5146600

Now a museum, this historic building was a Catholic school for nearly 30 years.

Built in 1920-21, St. Benedict's Catholic School was, according to older citizens in Roundup, the design of the town's only architect, John H. Grant, who was also responsible for the design of many commercial and residential buildings in the community between 1910 and 1922. The school taught the children of the Catholic community of Roundup until 1950. The teachers were nuns who spent a few years at a time at the school, moved on and were replaced by other nuns. When, in 1950, replacements could not be found for the departing nuns, the school closed, never to open again as a school.

Apparently, after its closure the building was essentially unused for some years before becoming home to the Musselshell Valley Historical Museum. We wish we could tell you when the museum took over this building, but that information remains hidden to us. In a two storey building with full basement, the museum has a wealth of displays and exhibits, both inside and out, very much eclectic in nature, and all representing an aspect of the cultural, social, industrial, economic and natural history of the Musselshell Valley.

St. Benedict's Catholic School

St. Benedict's Catholic School, built in 1920-21, is significant due to its association with the hundreds of European immigrants who came to the town of Roundup shortly after the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad established major coal mines here in 1907-08. This school served as an important focal point for the Catholic community, and helped preserve the Catholic heritage of the immigrant population as ethnic identities became less distinct in this new American environment.

Erected during the last of the major building phase in the early history of Roundup, St. Benedict's is a substantial, two-story brick building of pleasing proportions. Roundup reached its peak of prosperity in about 1918 at the end of the First World War. The economic impact of the failure of dry land farming and the collapse of the local oil boom is reflected in the closure of all three banks in the community during the early 1920s. Coal production, the mainstay of the local economy, remained high throughout this period, employing from 800-850 men, as demonstrated by the ability of the mine workers from several European countries to support the construction and operation of a separate school for their children.

St. Benedict's Catholic School is a substantial, two-story, buff-colored brick building with a full daylight basement located within the west side residential neighborhood of Roundup, Montana. The building is basically rectangular in shape, and has a concrete foundation. The facade is symmetrically organized and consists of three bays, with the central bay recessed slightly. A concrete belt course runs at the first floor window sill level around the three main elevations. Another belt course at the second floor lintel level serves to define the parapet and the building is finished with concrete coping. A metal cap was installed over the coping to keep water from deteriorating the building. There is one large chimney, set off-center on the flat roof. Crosses set in the brick above the main and side entries serve as reminders of the original function of the building as a Catholic grade school. The name panel above the central entry now reads: "Musselshell Valley Historical Museum."
From the NRHP Registration Form