What do you do when you have a week of vacation to take before the end of March? ROAD TRIP! And that road lead me to 5 abandoned locations in Montana, near the Canadian border. Three schoolhouses and two churches. And first up, is the schoolhouse in Montana. I only planned to stop and see it as I was on my way to the motel. However, once I took a couple of photographs, I couldn’t stop and ended up being there for a few hours. Getting all the shots I needed from the outside, I looked to see if I could get inside. But no luck. I packed up my gear and started down the road. Just then, a pick-up truck was heading my way. I stopped and waved and he stopped as well. I asked him if he knew anything about the school and he did. He owns the farm right next door and his father used to be on the school board, which was abandoned in 1974. We talked for a bit and told me I was welcome to photograph the inside. I WAS THRILLED! After telling me that the front door was open (needed to pull the handle a certain way), I went back and I was like a kid in a candy store. I was so excited that if this was the only place I photographed, it was worth the whole trip. There where desks, books, and other odds and ends that I couldn’t believe were still there. I could have spent hours just going through some of the stuff on the shelves. But, I’ve always made it a rule not to touch anything or take anything. Only pictures. I had so much fun photographing this place and my trip had only just begun. Stay tuned next week for “Sunrise at the Cottonwood”.
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- Dated 1948
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- Dated 1951
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- Antifreeze dated 1929
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- I’m not opening the fridge!
Comments
Sandra Skwirut
Well, Steve, yet another group of great pictures!!! They are haunting beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Sandy Skwirut
admin
Thank you Sandy! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Steve
tcm3crewCherilyn
SO gorgeous. Thanks for preserving part of Montana’s history, Steve! We went to grade school and high school together, but I got out of Illinois and now live in northwest Montana. The history of many places is disappearing as towns blow away after the jobs have left.
Glad you took the time to honor this school and have fun playing!
admin
Thank you Cherilyn! If you know of any placing in your part of Montana, let me know! 🙂 Steve
Bob Dufner
Steve:
Enjoyed your excellent Savoy Schoolhouse pictures, and the accompanying comments. I attended that school in 1935. You motivated me to return and refresh my memories. Best part of the trip – rediscovering rural Montana Hospitality. Locals went out of their way to help a former Montanan rediscover a bit of his past.
Steve Hirsch
Bob,
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your story with me. It’s so neat that you were able to go back and visit this beautiful schoolhouse. I wish I was there to photograph your visit. Feel free to write more. I’d love to hear about it! Thank you!
Mike Hanning
Steve,
Do you have any idea when the Savoy school was built. My grandmother had her first teaching job in Savoy circa 1930.
Steve Hirsch
Hi Mike! Thank you so much for visiting my site and for the comment. Unfortunately, I don’t know the year it was built. If I find out anymore information, I will definitely pass it on. Thanks!
Dixie
Fantastic photos! Thank you for sharing your comments, too!
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