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Property Details for Bitterroot School


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Profile Information

Government
249721
622 North Granite SHELBY, MT 59474
1.25
48.509399992651026 / -111.85273297682997
2
Kinsey, Julie
Kinsey.Julie@epa.gov
303-312-7065


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Property Location



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Property Progress


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CAs Associated with this Property

CA NameCA #StateTypeAnnouncement Year
North Central Montana Development District - Sweetgrass DevelopmentBF96892001MTAssessment2019


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Assessment Activities at this Property

ActivityEPA FundingStart DateCompletion DateCAAccomplishment Counted?Counted When?
Phase I Environmental Assessment$4,698.6206/07/202108/24/2021North Central Montana Development District - Sweetgrass DevelopmentN
Phase II Environmental Assessment04/01/2020North Central Montana Development District - Sweetgrass DevelopmentNFY23
Phase II Environmental Assessment04/01/2020North Central Montana Development District - Sweetgrass DevelopmentNFY23
Phase II Environmental Assessment$25,690.0801/04/202208/22/2022North Central Montana Development District - Sweetgrass DevelopmentYFY23


Is Cleanup Necessary? Yes
EPA Assessment Funding: $30,388.70
Leveraged Funding:
Total Funding: $30,388.70


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Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Planning or Assessment

There is no data for Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Planning or Assessment.


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Contaminants and Media


Asbestos
Lead
Mercury
Other Metals
NOT Cleaned up
NOT Cleaned up
NOT Cleaned up
NOT Cleaned up
Building Materials
NOT Cleaned up


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Cleanup Activities

There are no current cleanup activities.


Cleanup/Treatment Implemented:
Cleanup/Treatement Categories:
Addl Cleanup/Treatment info:
Address of Data Source:
Total ACRES Cleaned Up: 1.25
Number of Cleanup Jobs Leveraged:
EPA Cleanup Funding:
Leveraged Funding:
Cost Share Funding:
Total Funding:


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Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Demolition or Cleanup

There is no data for Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Demolition or Cleanup.


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Institutional and Engineering Controls

No


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Redevelopment and Other Leveraged Accomplishments

Start DateLeveraged FundingCACompletion Date
01/01/2022$350,000.00North Central Montana Development District - Sweetgrass Development


Number of Redevelopment Jobs Leveraged:
Actual Acreage of Greenspace Created:
Leveraged Funding:


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Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Redevelopment

There is no data for Climate Adaption and Mitigation – Redevelopment


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Additional Property Attributes

The history of the Shelby area dates back hundreds of years to the time when Native American tribes roamed the front range of the Rocky Mountains and the Marias Valley following the buffalo herds. The Gros Ventre, Blackfeet, Salish, Kootenai, Assiniboine and the Plains Cree crossed the plains to their sacred grounds in the Sweetgrass Hills, approximately 50 miles northeast of Shelby. The Hills have a significant traditional, historical and ceremonial value to the Native Americans of this area. The native Blackfoot and Blood names for the Sweetgrass Hills translates to "Place of the Sweet Pine", "Sweet Pine", "Sweet Pine Hills" or "Pine Needles Buttes", but the name was mistranslated into "Sweetgrass Hills". It was the Native Americans who first found gold in the Sweetgrass Hills, eventually leading hundreds of miners to the area in search of the precious gold dust. By 1886, 400-500 miners had come into the area.

The City of Shelby, itself had quite meager beginnings. Shelby was born with the coming of the Great Northern Railway in 1891. The railway builders threw off a boxcar at the site and named it Shelby Junction for Peter P. Shelby, then general manager in Montana for Jim Hill's railroad. Having been so honored, the general manager is said to have remarked: "That mudhole, God-forsaken place will never amount to a damn!" Despite Mr. Shelby's prediction, Shelby became the distributing center for a sizeable trade area with the coming of the Great Northern. It was a typical cowtown in which cowboys and sheepmen gathered for supplies and revelry. Within a short time, wheat fields began to spring up across the prairie as homesteaders followed the cowboys into the area.

Following the boom of World War 1, there came the dry year of 1919, and the vast area around Shelby suffered a time of drastic financial drought. Real estate and livestock evaluations sank, and the many small banks which had freely granted loans were being pressed for payment by eastern leaders. So desperate was the situation that a national magazine published an article about it entitled, "The Pain in the Northwest".

Almost overnight, the discovery of oil in the Kevin-Sunburst fields by Gordon Campbell in March of 1922 sparked an incredible economic boom for Toole County and the county seat, Shelby. Shelby was being hailed as the "Tulsa of the West". Headlines cited Shelby as the fastest growing city in the U.S. With this tremendous influx of oilfield workers and their families, The boom was short-lived. Drought periods came and went and area farmers found their niche in dryland farming. Ranchers found grassland for their cattle and sheep, oil production stabilized and area businessmen kept Shelby thriving. The railway system maintained Shelby as a distribution center and the coming of the interstate highway system further identified Shelby as a crossroads for the western region. Removed from much of the worldwide events, Shelby quietly survived depression and wars. The years following saw Shelby's population grow and decline, businesses came and went, but the courage and determination of those early homesteaders remained strong and loyal.

The North Side School was built as a neighborhood elementary school, dedicated September 30, 1938. Additions were completed in 1952 and 1957. The school was believed to be funded through the school district's issuance of bonds. The land was purchased from private individuals and Toole County between 1938 and 1941. The Bitterroot building served as an elementary school for 65 years. Originally the school was a 1st through 6th grade. In the early 1980's school funding dictated realigning the schools, making the Bitterroot School the K-3 elementary school in the community. The school remained operational until a new K-6 elementary school was building in 2003. The building is now abandoned.
Hazardous


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Release 3.0.1.2