SOS Committee proposes land swap for Big Arm school

Editor,

The plan offered to the District #23 school board in July 2006 to save or sell the historic Big Arm school and its land involves swapping a county-owned block in the Township of Big Arm with the school building and block #17. This is an incredible win-win solution.

With this plan the school and its land would be designated as “public reserve” ensuring its future as a Historical building to be used for the enjoyment of the community and the surrounding land to be turned into a park, and the school board will have an equally valued piece of property to sell at their convenience.

The school is in the middle of Block 17 of Big Arm Township.

Construction was between 1911-1917. Even though the school closed in 1952, the building continued to be used as a polling place, and housed community groups including the Big Arm Community Club, Saddle Club, an informal library, and the Harmony Club.

In 1974, School District #23 sold the building and land to the Harmony Club for $10.

For the next 21 years the community enjoyed potlucks, card tournaments and a wide variety of entertainment there. In 1995 the Harmony Club disbanded and keys were given to Ross Hoyt as caretaker of the building. Ross continued to inspect the building and community; members mowed the land around the building.

Early in 2006, inquiries were made into the possibility of leasing the building. The Save Our School committee met in June with the school board to discuss pros and cons of the proposed sale of the property. The board said the appraised value was $340,000 or more for the land. The chairperson said “it might be a candidate for a practice burn for the fire department.” The SOS committee tried to persuade the Board but no decision was made that night.

Concerned about the possible destruction of the school, the SOS committee contacted the State Historic Preservation Officer who recommended completing a Montana Property Record nominating the School to the National Register of Historic Places.

On June 14, the SOS committee met with the county commissioners to discuss a possible land swap, which the Commissioners supported. That same day the SOS committee met with the Flathead Reservation Area Historical Society and Country School Historians, who gave their unanimous support in a letter sent to the school board on June 30.

Press releases were sent and a petition was circulated; it now has several hundred names. The committee has been unsuccessful in having the matter placed on the school board’s agenda for further discussion and to be included in a committee studying the problem.

Preservation of the Big Arm School is important especially to the Big Arm community.

An excerpt from a Jan. 25, 2007, letter from the Montana Historical Society to the School Board stated, “… the school is a significant resource, conveying strong associations with the earliest non-Indian settlement of the area, the history of education, and architecture. These iconic buildings are rapidly disappearing from our cultural landscape, and we would like very much to help identify methods, resources, and options to keep the school intact.”

The SOS Committee asks the school board to join with residents of Big Arm, the Flathead Reservation Area Historical Society, the Country School Historians and the Montana Historical Society to take full advantage of the proposed win-win solution of a land swap to preserve this priceless piece of local history.

Alison Meslin

Member, SOS Committee,

Big Arm Association