EBS STAFF
Montana’s first high school, an 1876-built schoolhouse in Virginia City, will become an arts center with the help of a recent state grant.
On May 6, the Montana Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office announced a $40,000 grant for the first phase of a project to convert the Virginia City Schoolhouse into a year-round arts education center.
The building is currently under lease by the Virginia City Schoolhouse Foundation. According to the organization’s website, the schoolhouse has been vacant for 15 years due to structural concerns and damage from the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake—a 7.5 magnitude quake.
In its first phase of restoration, the foundation will use the grant to work on masonry repair, gutter installation and French drain system.
Three other projects received funding from the Montana Historical Society to preserve their cultural, community, and heritage tourism purposes. Dayton State Bank in Dayton received $20,000, the State Bank of Terry and Prairie County Museum in Terry received $55,000 and the Western Clay Manufacturing Tile Plant in Helena received $41,720.
“The goal of this grant is to help reactivate underutilized historic buildings so that they can be used to strengthen communities socially and economically,” stated Lindsay Tran, historic architecture specialist, in a Montana Historical Society release. “Sometimes these buildings are architecturally stunning, sometimes they are more quotidian. But they are all important to Montana history.”
Montana’s 4% lodging facility tax supports the yearly grants and the public can comment on the four projects online until May 21.
