Fort Connah: A window to the past
POST CREEK — Its view hasn’t changed much in 165 years.
The chiseled peaks of the Mission Mountain Range still dominate a landscape of rolling grassland and sweeping deciduous trees. Post Creek still flows nearby, running to the west from its origin in the mighty mountains. And Saturday, from the east-facing window of Fort Connah, you could see the hustle and bustle of the Rocky Mountain fur trade unfold before your very eyes.
Twice a year, in the spring and fall, the Fort Connah Restoration Society hosts a gathering, called a historical “Rendezvous” or trading fair re-enactment based on the early 1800s. Complete with target shooting, fur trading, hide tanning, bullet making and the like, the fun and frolic did not deter event organizers from their main mission — spreading the word and asking for help in funding the historical site’s restoration.
According to local historian George Knapp, Fort Connah is the oldest standing building in all of Montana. Located six miles north of St. Ignatius, the post was built in 1846 and is the only remaining building of the former Hudson’s Bay Trading Company post. The site was active until 1871 when the United States established its northern boundary and shut down all Hudson’s Bay posts within the U.S.
“It was built before homesteading,” Knapp said. “It’s surprising that there isn’t a whole lot of knowledge about what went on here — that’s one of the reasons we put this on.”
Event organizer Scott Cameron said he’s thrilled at the opportunity to bring folks from all walks of life together in such a historic place.
“The more we can share these things, the better off we are,” he said.
Since the restoration society began its crusade to resurrect the site years ago, three additional buildings have been relocated from across the Northwest, and placed where historical drawings and photographs indicate buildings once stood. A black powder shooting range sits on the site’s northern edge and a visitor center with informational pamphlets and artifacts welcomes guests.
“On Oct. 10, 2008, I moved another cabin here, and every year, we’ve added a new one,” Cameron said. “I’ve had people ask me, ‘What are you doing here with all these old piles of junk wood?’ Well, they’re all old buildings and if I can preserve them and restore them so they are historically accurate, what more can you ask for?”
It’s been anything but easy, Cameron said, working creatively on a tight budget to get the restoration work done.
“We’ve had donations of buckets of bent nails and me and George would sit here on a rainy day and straighten bent nails so we could have some work to do,” Cameron said. “I guess I really love it.”
In order to save Fort Connah, the society needs to restore the post to its original 1850 appearance, keeping it all as authentic as possible. Additionally, the site plans call for the building of a public interpretation center and provisions for public parking. The usual visitor services, including guides, will be provided once the site is complete.
“We’re looking at $6,000 here and $3,000 there,” Cameron said. “It’s big money.”
Cameron hopes to get an early start on planning next spring’s rendezvous, which he hopes will be bigger and better than ever before.
The event usually takes place the first weekend in May, he said. In addition to live re-enactments, educational instruction, historical costume and wares, there will be a traditional pot luck meal and camping at the site — a whole weekend of events planned for history-lovers of all ages.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and been all over the hills, but have never been here,” St. Ignatius resident Wayne Billings said as he watched his grandson, Devon Paulsen, learn to throw an atl atl, Saturday afternoon.
“As you go on, people get more interested,” Cameron said. “You find new people with new skills that they can bring to the event. We have all sorts of fun.”