Baxendale Schoolhouse Rehabilitation
At Preserve Montana, we support and empower people to rehabilitate historic buildings and take on rehabilitation projects ourselves. Like the reuse of the Baxendale Schoolhouse, now our innovative preservation trades training center and workshop.
Built between 1895-1897, the Baxendale was originally located near the Holter Sawmill at the town-site of Baxendale near Helena. Classes were held at the schoolhouse until 1942 when the district voted to begin busing students into the Kessler School west of Helena.
Our Vision for the Baxendale Schoolhouse
Strengthening the preservation trades with a year-round preservation classroom and carpentry workshop that provides space for on-site restoration work, in-person carpentry classes and hands-on training opportunities.
Building Reuse
In 2019, we adopted and moved an endangered schoolhouse to serve as a workshop and home base for our Restoration & Training program. Now, it rests on a permanent foundation, with all utilities and systems in place. It went into service in May 2023. Moved three times prior to its current location and used as a school, polling place, and antiques shop, the Baxendale Schoolhouse illustrates the resilience of historic buildings.
Learning Lab & Workshop
Our new schoolhouse workshop is a hub of restoration activity and place to grow our training program. The restoration of the Baxendale School is a visible symbol of our advocacy for preservation and repurposing of historic buildings. Our restoration staff now have a staging place for restoration projects across Montana, and a workshop for teaching a variety of traditional building skills, where our trainees and community volunteers will learn by doing.
Support the Baxendale Schoolhouse Rehabilitation
We thank the many individual donors and grantors in Montana and beyond who have given to this effort and supported our vision. The Baxendale Schoolhouse rehabilitation is 75% complete. Roof and window replacement, exterior painting, and ADA accessibility still remain.
Support this innovative project with a gift today. Every dollar helps us get one step closer to a fully rehabilitated Baxendale Schoolhouse.
Partners Make It Possible
We are grateful to our project team for extraordinary work and generous pro bono contributions.
