by John Dowd
After years of work helping to preserve a local state park, Friends of Fort Owen has been recognized by the state for their efforts.
“This park preserves the early history of Montana,” said Margaret Gorski, president of the nonprofit organization. To her, and other members of the group, someone simply had to stand up and help.
The group was recognized by the 2024 Montana Tourism Awards, connected to the Governor’s Conference on Tourism and the Montana Department of Commerce. They were officially awarded the Heritage and Cultural Tourism Award on Monday, April 15.
Montana Tourism Awards describes prospective organizations worthy of receiving the award, on the montana.gov website, as being recognized as, “an institution, individual or organization for contributions to the promotion and celebration of Montana’s authentic and unique culture or natural history as an important attraction for visitors and Montana residents alike. Eligible nominees may include specific attractions (museums, historical or cultural attractions, libraries, events), individuals or organizations for extraordinary accomplishment in promoting the state’s heritage and cultural assets.”
Gorski said the efforts on Fort Owen have been truly a group project. “It’s a partnership between citizens of the community and the state organization that managed this place,” stated Gorski. To her, “Stevensville and Ravalli County are important historic resources for the state,” and the location is a powerful “tourism asset and site for historic education.”
According to Gorski, and the state park website, Fort Owen was an outpost established in the early 1850s by John Owen and his Shoshone wife, Nancy. The land was purchased from the Catholic mission that was established in the 1840s. The fort was never a military installation, and acted more as a trading post until operations ceased by the 1870s.
The site has the honor of being Montana’s first written conveyance of property, and one of the state’s earliest settlements. After changing hands several times, it ended up in the management of the Montana State Parks program under Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. However, the park system, in Gorski’s words, was, and still is, “woefully underfunded to preserve and manage historic sites in Montana.”
This is why, said Gorski, “it is important for individual groups to step up and help.”
This is what she, and several other community members did in 2018. They didn’t want the state parks program to turn away from the project due to lack of funding. They started the nonprofit, Friends of Fort Owen, to help. The organization fundraises, applies for grants and hosts presentations, all to promote and help preserve Fort Owen State Park. They also built, and maintain, the website for the park.
When the group started, there was only one parking spot and limited access to it as the park is located on private property. Around the same time, the property came under new ownership, and the new owner was much more interested in helping preserve and promote the site. Myra Yahraus, the owner, worked with both the state parks and the Friends of Fort Owen to preserve the park.
Through everyone’s efforts, the park has slowly been preserved and opened to the public. A big piece to this was a $500,000 grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, secured by Montana State Parks Foundation, for improvements to the site in 2020. The grant was among several others earned by the Friends of Fort Owen, all of which allowed significant improvement of the site.
One of these grants was a $30,000 Rapp Family Foundation grant, along with $30,000 match from a fundraising campaign, for roof replacement of the main building. Another was a $5,000 CARES Act grant to update a previous Assessment and Preservation Plan, with $5,000 match. This allowed the site access to a preservation specialist to address and prioritize repair needs. These are just a few of many grants and funds raised in partnership to improve the site for tourism and the preservation of Montana history. Gorski described the Friends of Fort Owen as a “small but mighty group,” impressed with what they have been able to do.
Since these projects, the park now has a new and much larger parking lot, numerous interpretive signs and installations, a decorative tipi out front to draw public eyes and more. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will be holding a grand opening in early June to show off the new additions. The Friends of Fort Owen organization has an annual upcoming work day, on May 23, “for anyone who wants to join in and help us buff up the fort for the summer season,” said Gorski. All participants attending that work day will need work clothes, gloves and hats. Lunch and water will be provided.
For more information on the organization, their efforts and Fort Owen State Park, interested parties can visit friendsoffortowen.org.