The Elkhorn Landowners’ Association held its annual meeting on June 25 at the Elkhorn fire hall to discuss and start six projects to restore and maintain aspects of the historic townsite.
As part of the meeting, landowners helped with the restoration of the town cemetery. The Elkhorn Cemetery Board hopes to restore the Elkhorn Cemetery to its former condition, using a map from 1967 which identifies the graves in the cemetery.
During the association meeting, landowners worked under the direction of Bruce Bell and his father Fred to measure the distance between known grave sites to verify the scale of the map. The board plans to elevate sunken headstones and add markers to graves without them.
With summer officially in full swing, the Elkhorn landowners also took the time to inspect their fire engines and water pumps. Led by Bill Crenshaw, the group also filled the town fire suppression tank and repaired a broken water line.
During the association’s business meeting, landowners discussed the need for an outhouse in Elkhorn State Park for tourists The state has denied previous requests for a public restroom; however, with the transfer of the park’s management from Helena to Bozeman, the association hopes to have the request approved. If the state once again denies its request, the association has received donations to purchase a cement vault for an outhouse. Citizens of Elkhorn will then donate their time and efforts to build and maintain the structure of the outhouse.
In addition to providing facilities for tourists, the landowners’ association wants to install newer signs throughout the town with pictures and stories of the original buildings. So far, the Forest Service has been unable to fund the repainting or replacement of the existing seven signs, which the Rotary Club placed in the 1960’s. The association is seeking $5,000 in grant funding from the Jefferson Local Development Corporation to update the town’s signs. Identifying the businesses on old Elkhorn main street will require help from the Heritage Center.
To help keep access to Elkhorn open, the Jefferson County Road and Bridge Department plans to work on Elkhorn Main Street this summer. The department will likely increase the road base and level it out, helping to address the problems of dust and water erosion.
Efforts to rehabilitate areas of Elkhorn began in 2021 with the completion of a restoration of the Northern Pacific Water Tank. Bruce Bell spearheaded the operation with the assistance of Marks Lumber and various volunteers. That fall, the Montana State Parks replaced the roofs of the Fraternity and Gillian halls.
The Elkhorn Landowner’s Association was established to allow residents of the old Elkhorn townsite the ability to communicate collectively with agencies such as the Montana State Parks, local mining companies and the Forest Service.
