FORT SHAW — The Sun River Valley Historical Society is preparing to move a century-old barn to the Fort Shaw National Historic Site, where it will serve as a teaching facility and house historical artifacts.
The barn, which dates back to 1903, was constructed from materials of another barn built in 1869 on an adjacent homestead.
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The structure will help fill a historical gap at the fort site, according to John Bennett, director of restoration for the Sun River Valley Historical Society.
"It's going to fill one of the gaps that we've had here. When the fort was originally here, there was a stable hill for 300 horses. And so we have a walking tour set up over there. And when we put that in place, it will be, teaching facility and it'll anchor her walking tour," Bennett said.
The relocation process will require dismantling the barn into sections due to its condition and size.
"We're going to have to move it in pieces. We cannot move as one piece. What we'd like to do is take the top floor off, move it as an assembly. The condition of the bottom of it is probably going to necessitate doing it a log at a time," Bennett said.
"We have some wagons. We have a blacksmith shop. We have farm tools and a whole bunch of stuff we're going to put in there that has been donated by people in the valley. And so it will commemorate their relatives and educate the ones that are coming up," Bennett said.
Burnette Batista, president of the Sun River Valley Historical Society, said the fort attracts many visitors, but the organization continues working to raise awareness among residents who may not know about the historic site.
"It's actually quite a tourist place for people. There are so many people that live in Great Falls and in the surrounding area, and they say we didn't know there was a fort there.
'We see the sign, you go through Fort Shaw, but we didn't know there was anything left.' So we are trying to promote what we have here, and people are just amazed when they come," Batista said.
The historical society is currently seeking someone to transport the barn to the Fort Shaw National Historic Site and has received a few inquiries about the project.
