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 labour, 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".
Toward the northwest corner of the nursery's service area, the bunkhouse, like all the buildings on the site, is a CCC constructed building, this one from 1936. Originally used as an equipment storage building, in 1956 it was converted to a combination bunkhouse/cookhouse and again converted to just a bunkhouse in 1979. It is one of three buildings on the site that are
available to rent on a nightly basis, this one for for $75 per night:
Sleeping facilities consist of bunkbeds and twin beds with mattress covers. There are four rooms with two twin beds in each. Visitors need to bring bedding. Other accommodations include a single restroom with shower and a larger restroom with 3 sinks and two showers. There are no cooking or dining facilities in the bunkhouse; it is a sleeping facility only. The bunkhouse is a two-story building. Lookout Pass ski hill is located 10 miles west on Interstate 90. The world class "Route of the Hiawatha" is located 7 miles to the west for pristine mountain biking. Numerous mountain streams, the St. Regis River, hiking trails and alpine lakes are available for recreational activities within just a few minutes of Savenac. The road at the compound is plowed in winter. Bike rentals are available at Lookout Pass.
From the Forest Service
The bunkhouse is between stops 7 and 8 on the interpretive trail, a copy of which can be seen below. It is just south of stop 8, the road to the upper benches and the dam. To the north is the nursery's old packing plant.