Help Us Finish One of Our Most Meaningful Preservation Projects
The Baxendale Schoolhouse Preservation Center
The Baxendale Schoolhouse
Located just outside of Helena, the 1890s-era one-room schoolhouse has already begun its new life as a hands-on preservation carpentry workshop and learning lab—the headquarters of our restoration crew and the Preserve Montana Trades Corps.
Here, young adults learn traditional building skills.
They also build a critical workforce, communities gain access to preservation resources and services, and Montana’s historic places benefit from expert craftsmanship rooted in respect for the past.
We are so close to completing the final phase of the schoolhouse rehabilitation.
With your help, the Baxendale Schoolhouse will not only be
restored but fully realized as a statewide hub for preservation education and training—a place where people learn to save Montana’s built heritage.
Only $50,000 is needed to finish the remaining work:
- Completion of interior carpentry for high-quality preservation training.
- Restoration of salvaged wood windows to replace failing vinyl windows and improve energy efficiency.
- Repair of back landing and fabrication of exterior signage to provide safe access to the building and site.
- Exterior painting to protect the building for generations to come.
- Reinstallation of the belltower as the crowning achievement of this visionary project.
Will you help us complete the Baxendale Schoolhouse project and ring its bell once again?
- $50 purchases a container of linseed oil window glazing putty.
- $250 buys five gallons of paint to protect the schoolhouse’s wood exterior.
- $500 funds a full day of hands-on training for a Trades Corps member at the Baxendale Schoolhouse Preservation Center.
- $1000 supports the restoration of a salvaged wood window.
Your gift to Preserve Montana will make a real difference.
The Baxendale Schoolhouse is more than a building. It is an investment in people, in preservation trades, and in the future of historic preservation across our state.
Support the Baxendale Schoolhouse Rehabilitation
Every donation, no matter the size, directly supports young tradespeople, empowers rural communities, and safeguards the places that make Montana unique.
Thank you for believing in this work and for partnering with us as we preserve Montana—one place, one story, and one skilled set of hands at a time. Together, we preserve Montana.