Organizational History & Identity
Officially organized by a group of passionate historians and architects in 1987 as the Montana Preservation Alliance (MPA), we have been committed to serving Montana’s broad and diverse communities since inception. While our legacy, like many western states, is one of rural and small town independence, we believe that communities are strongest when we join together and work toward a common goal. In this spirit, we reach out to all corners of the state, particularly rural communities, to help level the field and connect everyone to the expertise and information that is more easily accessed in urban centers. Developing genuine and meaningful relationships in these places has always been the cornerstone of our work, and over three and a half decades we have been lucky to grow hundreds of friendships and develop dozens of partnerships. To successfully
advocate for historic preservation as a long-term solution and economic plan, we must first understand what the needs and desires of a given town or city are. By connecting with the individuals and places that we serve before our on-site work has begun and after it has concluded, our organization strengthens both small towns and growing urban areas, as well as the preservation network in our state and across the wider region. Place-based history lends character, vitality, and a sense of significance to our communities that can’t be engineered or added on. Each time a landmark Montana building is lost or overshadowed by new development, a piece of history disappears forever. Through advocacy, education, documentation, and restoration programs, Preserve Montana (PMT) works hard to provide world-class resources, trustworthy advise, and professional support to ensure that Montana's heritage, land, and historic places remain intact for generations to come, no matter their condition or location. In 2019 and 2020, we took time to review our mission, reflect on our methods, and celebrate 35-years of hard work. It was this hugely significant period that led to our updated name and refreshed appearance. Today, the Preserve Montana (PMT) office is located in the heart of downtown Helena where we are able to be an active part of Montana's historic capital city and provide support to all of our 56 counties, 7 major cities, and countless rural communities.
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Our Programs
Advocacy - Proactive leadership on policies that affect historic properties. We coordinate a legislative information network and champion protection and preservation incentives for historic places at the state, local, and national level. Documentation - Professional documentation in the form of research, inventory, photography, condition assessments, eligibility reporting, and interpretive plans. We serve current and future generations by recording the place-based history that Montana has today. Outreach & Education - Development of knowledge, expression of value, and growth of capacity. From workshops and conferences to newsletters and professional publications, we work to engage and empower Montanans with a heart for
history and preservation. Restoration & Training - Direction of projects to stabilize and restore deteriorated heritage sites. Through workshops, classes, tool lending, how-to publications, and public meetings we teach individuals the skills needed to revive and maintain historic sites to the highest degree of quality.
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Scope of Service
For more than 30 years, Preserve Montana (previously known as the Montana Preservation Alliance) has worked to save and protect Montana's historic places, traditional landscapes, and cultural heritage, with an emphasis on at-risk properties. By focusing on four main programmatic areas (advocacy, restoration, education, and documentation) we advance the humanities and a common understanding of our culture and shared history across the state. We have led over 50 educational workshops, and conducted rigorous historical research on thematic topics including tribal cultural landscapes, rural historic districts, marginalized communities, and conducted statewide studies on historic schoolhouses, barns, grain elevators, and other endangered properties. Our programs have been supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and over a dozen other federal, state, and private grant-making entities. Our work brings public history, academic scholarship, and community-based preservation issues together with professional expertise in architectural history, historical surveys, property inventories, landscape evaluations, and National Register documentation. We have baseline data from which we can evaluate significance, threats, and potential stewardship strategies to ensure that the historic places which hold the stories of our past remain intact and continue to shape us as Montanans. To share this rich scholarship we have published award-winning books on barns and schoolhouses, created interpretive tours, and hosted immersive community workshops, a biennial place-based history conference, and on-line on heritage sites. Each year, we partner with local, state, and federal agencies, private individuals and like-minded non-profit organizations to foster collaboration across disciplines and encourage stewardship of Montana history. Our research regularly engages universities and students from high school to the post-graduate level and we are proud to have hosted university classes, interns, professors, and students from 12 leading institutions and 14 countries. This has earned us a number of national and state level awards, and in 2017, our director was recognized with the Montana Governor’s Award for the Humanities.
