State of Montana Newsroom
Montana Historic Preservation Review Board Sets First Meeting of 2026
Helena, MT — Montana’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and State Historic Preservation Review Board will hold their first meeting of 2026 on January 23. The Board will review and forward National Register nominations to the Keeper of the National Register at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Board will consider five total nominations, including one multiple property document, for historic sites across Montana:
Mountain Brook School (Flathead County): Constructed in 1922, Mountain Brook School served as both an educational facility and community gathering place for rural Flathead County, with its significance tied to generations of local families who attended classes and participated in community events held at the property.
Northern Pacific Engine 1356 (Missoula): Built in 1902, Engine 1356 is significant for its routine Northern Pacific service and its role in evacuating hundreds of people during the devastating 1910 fires that swept across Idaho and Montana.
Big Hole Lookout (Lolo National Forest): Built in 1930, Big Hole Lookout is one of only two surviving log L-5 style lookouts designed by Forest Service engineer Clyde P. Fickes, representing the Federal Government's early fire protection and natural resource conservation efforts in northern Idaho and Montana.
Cambium Peeled Trees (Bitterroot National Forest): The Hughes Creek/Alta and Indian Trees Campground sites contain culturally peeled Ponderosa pines that serve as living artifacts of Indigenous cambium harvesting traditions, offering important information about community harvest activities, chronology, and seasonality.
The Board’s January meeting will be held virtually.
For more information on the nominated properties, and to find a meeting link, visit https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/index1. For questions related to the upcoming meeting, contact Melissa Munson at