Building Facts

To compact the foundation backfill, 100 sheep were driven around the perimeter of the building 100 times.

Native gray sandstone was quarried between Helena and Great Falls, and transported by mule team and wagon to the site. The massive, rough-hewn stones were shaped at the site. The lower walls, which are thicker at the bottom than at the top, vary from four to five feet in width. These walls are load bearing and extend 16 feet underground to shale bedrock.

A four-faced clock tower dominated the central portion of the roof and was nearly as high as the main building. An early prediction that the building could not support the clock tower proved to be true. The tower was removed 20 years later because of its crushing weight.

A modified mansard style roof with the peaks cut off and the addition of gables describes the most distinctive feature of the building. The tin roof, designed to look like tile and now painted brick red, is supported by a series of trusses of tremendous size. The attic floor is suspended and supported by heavy-beamed, bridge-like joists. Huge iron clevises hold the ceiling beams to the bridge-joist construction.

Logs were floated down the Missouri River for construction of the stairways; the steps were fashioned from full logs, squared and finished with oak treads and risers.

The woodwork is solid oak with the original golden finish; all the rooms are surrounded by a wainscoting three feet high made of vertical cove molding.

Wide door casing with elaborate molded pediments surround the 2-1/2 inch thick doors, many of which still bear the heavy cast brass doorknobs. Note the occasional unusual door hinges.

Ornate cast iron radiators heat the rooms and cast iron filigree grates cover the vents. The building was originally heated by cottonwood at $5.75 per cord and pine at $5.95 per cord.

In 1913, when the brick annex was built, the boiler system was moved from the basement of the original building to the outside, between the two buildings, to serve both facilities. Legend has it that the former boiler room was converted into a swimming pool 10 feet deep at the shallow end. A few years later, a student drowned and the pool was condemned and used only for storage until 1977, when the annex was demolished and the boilers moved back into their current location. Research has not been able to prove or disprove this story. There are no official records of a pool in the original building nor of a student drowning on school property. There is documentation of a pool in the brick annex from 1913 to 1917, when it was closed due to a crack that would not allow the pool to hold water. However, several alumni have sworn that the legend of the drowning in the original building is true.

Stories of the custodian living in the attic with his family are numerous, but the exact years and number of families have not been documented. In August 1994, it was confirmed that one custodian had lived there with his wife and five children in the early 1900's. Evidence of the original paint and wallpaper can still be seen.