Montana Sites

The WPA allocated funds for construction of a new school building in Absarokee, Montana in 1938. The location and current status of the structure in question is unknown to Living New Deal.

Big Timber Pioneer reported: "Joseph Parker, state WPA administrator, has approved construction of the Ackley lake project on the Judith river west of Hobson in Judith Basin county. This irrigation undertaking will cost $113,003. It will employ 328 clients for four months."

The W.P.A. worked to develop what is now known as Havre City County Airport, in Havre, Montana. W.P.A. project info: “Develop and improve airport” Official Project Number: 265‐1‐91‐58 Total project cost: $522,520.00 Sponsor: City of Havre and Hill County

The W.P.A. worked to develop what is now known as Helena Regional Airport, in Helena, Montana. W.P.A. project info: "Improve municipal airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐91‐168 Total project cost: $201,345.00 Sponsor: City of Helena "Improve municipal airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐91‐71 Total project cost: $169,951.00 Sponsor: City of Helena

The W.P.A. worked to develop what is now known as Missoula International Airport, in Montana. W.P.A. project info: "Develop and improve airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐91‐34 Total project cost: $928,324.00 Sponsor: Missoula County

The W.P.A. worked to improve what is now known as Billings Logan International Airport, in Montana. W.P.A. project info: “Make improvements to municipal airport” Official Project Number: 165‐1‐91‐66 Total project cost: $295,767.00 Sponsor: City of Billings

"Anita Dam and Reservoir, features of the Huntley Project, are located 6 miles southeast of Ballantine, Montana near Billings. This offstream storage dam was completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937. Water is released from Anita Reservoir into the Reservoir Canal which flows across Fly Creek to the vicinity of Pompeys Pillar . As the first representative of the United States in the Upper Missouri Valley, Captain Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition scratched his name and the date of July 25, 1806 on Pompeys Pillar, a large rock landmark overlooking the Yellowstone River. The Crow Indian Reservation...

According to a DoD Heritage Report, the W.P.A. constructed an armory in Bainville, Montana. Assuming this project was undertaken, the location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Number 65‐91‐1605

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Chinook, Montana. Official Project Number 65-91-1602. According to local newspaper articles, the new armory was initial used as a civic center for various community events, as well as a jail, and office space for the neighboring Blaine County Courthouse. Today the building still serves at the Blaine County Courthouse Annex as well as the Chinook ambulance barn.  

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Marion, Montana. The facility is located at southeast corner corner of Broadway Ave. and 3rd St. E. Official Project Number 65‐91‐160X

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Kalispell, Montana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. "Construct Armory building" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐91‐114 Total project cost: $82,810.00 Sponsor: U.S. Navy Department "Provide Armory building" Official Project Number: 65‐91‐6556 "Construct armory building" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐91‐114 Total project cost: $141,008.00 Sponsor: Montana State Armory Board

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Marion, Montana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Number 65‐91‐1601

According to a DoD Heritage Report, the W.P.A. constructed an armory in Poplar, Montana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Numbers 65‐91‐1603, and 165‐1‐91‐93 .

According to a DoD Heritage Report, the W.P.A. constructed an armory in Sidney, Montana. Assuming this project was undertaken, the location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Number 65‐91‐1593

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Whitehall, Montana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Number 65‐91‐1592

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Wolf Point, Montana. "In the WPA records, an armory is listed in the same line with roads. The armory and barracks were near the courthouse, today's library, and the Coliseum. Without the WPA funding, the Coliseum, which was torn down to make way for the new Senior Center, was an option for a courthouse." W.P.A. Official Project Number 65‐91‐160X

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Billings, Montana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Numbers 165‐1‐91‐86 , and 165‐1‐91‐X6 .

The W.P.A. constructed an armory in Harlowton, Montana. The location and status of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Numbers 65‐91‐1526, and 165‐1‐91‐95 .

A large allocation of WPA funds for school construction and improvement projects was issued for the state of Montana in late 1938. Among the construction provided for was a new school building in Babb, Montana. The location and status of this structure is unknown to Living New Deal, though it is known that the current school in Babb is not housed in it. The allocation for the structure appears on Montana WPA Roll 25 under project number 665-91-2-52.

The historic Babb-Piegan U.S. Border Inspection Station on Highway 89 north of Babb, Montana was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The rustic cabin-style facility was completed in 1993. Replaced in 2003 with a facility closer to the border, the historic inspection station is part of what is now a larger housing development.

The PWA allocated $778,000 toward the construction of two reservoirs in Meagher County: the Bair Reservoir on the North Fork of the Musselshell River and the Martinsdale Reservoir on the river's South Fork. 45% of the money for the project was a PWA grant. The reservoirs were built to store 23,000 acre-feet of water toward the irrigation of at least 20,000 acres.

Big Timber Pioneer reported in early 1937 on a CCC camp at Beaver Creek park south of Havre, Montana. The workers were "developing trails, cabins and other conveniences for the public enjoyment."

Then known as Butte Municipal Airport, the CWA, FERA, and WPA each contributed toward the finishing of the "best equipped landing field in the state." The Big Timber, MT Pioneer reported in Sept. 1937: "Definite plans were completed for the construction of an asphalt surfaced runway 100 feet wide and a mile long, by means of a WPA project, with the city of Butte and the county of Silver Bow co-operating equally in furnishing materials and equipment." 150 WPA workers worked tirelessly to ensure that the runway was constructed before the onset of winter. As Bert Mooney Airport's runway 12/30 is one mile long...

Billings architect J. G. Link designed the 1937 Monumental Deco-style courthouse that resides in downtown Hardin, MT. It was built using WPA labor. A nearby historical marker notes: "Constructed at a cost of $150,000, the project put over a hundred men to work. ... Simple cast concrete elements decorate the courthouse's rose-colored ashlar limestone, quarried forty miles south of Hardin. In addition to the courtroom, the two-and-one-half-story building housed a jail, public auditorium, living quarters for the sheriff, and county offices."

The WPA worked to improve roads throughout Blackfeet Indian Agency , Glacier County, Montana. $7,437 was allocated for such projects in July 1938 alone.

The WPA allocated funds for construction of a new school building in Bloomfield, Montana in 1938. The location and current status of the structure in question is unknown to Living New Deal. The allocation for the structure appears on Montana WPA Roll 24 under project number 665-91-2-2.

Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported: Emery C. Jones, WPA foreman, and a crew ranging from eight to thirteen men, have completed work on about four miles of Boulder road, in Natural Bridge hill vicinity. The work was principally cutting out rocky points and straightening curves.

A large allocation of WPA funds for school construction and improvement projects for the state of Montana was issued in late 1938. Among the construction provided for was a new school building in Boyes, Montana. The location and status of this structure is unknown to Living New Deal. The allocation for the building appears on Montana WPA Roll 25 under project number 665-91-2-62.

"Six miles northeast of Bozeman in Bridger canyon another camp has been built under the supervision of the forest service. Youths cleared underbrush from a three and one-half acre plot, thinned trees and placed tables and benches."

The 1935 county courthouse in Townsend, Montana was built with the assistance of PWA funds.

The WPA constructed the 9-hole Cameron Course at what is now Buffalo Hill Golf Club. From the Buffalo Hill Golf Club website: "In the early 1930’s, land was purchased where part of the Cameron 9 holes now resides. The Cameron Course is named after Dave Cameron, who donated land to the city for golf course development. The original 9 hole course operated until the late 1930’s when the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a nine hole, irrigated, green grass course; some holes are still in service today while others have been modified during subsequent expansions.”

A New Deal grant of $800,000 was given to Butte for the construction of a new high school. It is still in use today.

Seeley Lake is one link in a chain of five lakes nestled between the lofty Swan and Mission mountain ranges in western Montana. Two hundred acres of ancient larch trees surround the area, which has drawn visitors since the early 1900s. In 1924, the USDA Forest Service granted a permit to the Western Montana Council of Boy Scouts to construct a summer camp. The facility was originally a tent camp but by the late 1930s there was need for a more permanent facility. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), New Deal programs vital to the...

The WPA allocated $3,161 for "cemetery improvement" near Carlton, Montana in August 1938. It is presumed that this site is what's presently known as Carlton Cemetery, which is located behind the Florence Carlton Church along Old U.S. 93.

CCC company 2503 was stationed at Camp BR-57, one mile southeast of Ballantine, beginning in 1935. One of the camp's projects most likely included the CCC built Anita Dam and Reservoir located just five miles away. Whether remnants or historical markers remain at the campsite is unknown to the Living New Deal at this time.

The historic Chief Mountain (a.k.a. Glacier Park) U.S. Border Inspection Station on State Highway 17 northwest of Babb, Montana was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The rustic facility was completed in 1939, and also features a garage and pump house built around the same time.

The WPA allocated $15,019 for improvements at the Chouteau County fairgrounds in Fort Benton, Montana in August 1938.

"In Yellowstone County, the New Deal funded projects large and small. Money from the Public Works Administration helped build Billings' City Hall in 1940." The building has been extensively modified.

Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported: "Work on PWA projects in Polson is well under way. Construction of a new jail and fire house has started, adjacent to the new city hall which was constructed with a grant of federal funds last year. C. J. Loveland who was superintendent for the construction of the new city hall is again in charge."

Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in December 1938: "Rapidly nearing completion as a WPA project is the uniquely-designed $26,000 city hall at Red Lodge... This WPA project has provided jobs for an average of 28 workers since it was started in July. With $23,082 having been expended to date, thc job is now in its final stage, only interior finishing remaining before it can be taken over by the city to house all city departments including the jail. Total cost to Red Lodge for the building will be less than $10,000, officials say. Features of the unusual construction is the use...