The old log building that stands at the corner of Highway 83 and Glacier Creek Road has been Swan Valley’s Community Hall for the past 84 years. Built from 1938-39, this treasured building is widely used as a central gathering place and is the cornerstone of our community.
The Swan Valley Community Hall is located on land that once had two unsuccessful homestead attempts beginning in 1916 by N.J. Frye and later by Joseph Griffin in 1917. A third attempt by Jesse Forster was successful after he filed on the 160-acre parcel in 1919 and proved up in 1923. President Calvin Coolidge signed the official documents in September of that year.
Jesse Forster allowed the community hall to be built on a portion of his land as part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project while leasing the site to Missoula County. Forster later sold his homestead parcel to the Newman family in 1952. Later in the 1980s, Bob and Gyda Newman generously deeded the land where the Swan Valley Community Hall is located to Missoula County.
According to historian Audra Browman’s research about the construction of the Community Hall, WPA provided the bricks and cement, Missoula County provided the lumber and windows, and local residents purchased the wood flooring. Many local folks worked on the construction including Fred Roll who was in charge of building the foundation. Forster rolled the logs up on the walls while Roxy and John Hollopeter, Walter Haasch, and other local men notched and fitted the logs into place using the “Swedish Cope” notching method. It is a testament to their skills that after eight decades the well-built structure still stands.
WPA records obtained from the Montana Historical Society show that the cost of labor and materials to build the Community Hall totaled $4,730.
In a letter dated Jan. 9, 1940, the Missoula County Commissioners approved the recommendation from the Swan River Community Club that Forster, Tauno Strom, and Carl Haasch be appointed as the first trustees of the Community Hall.
Many folks have special memories of the Community Hall. In an interview conducted by Suzanne Vernon, Mary Lou Wilhelm recalled the dances held at the community hall when she was a youngster growing up in the valley.
“They had lots of dances at the Community Hall. They had an old jukebox, and that is what we danced to. The dances were all just country western. That’s what everybody liked. My dad was a really good dancer. That’s how us kids learned to dance. He knew how to polka and schottische and all those old dances like that.”
Longtime resident Boyd Kessler also recalled the dances of yesteryear at the Community Hall in an interview with Vernon in 2000.
“Everybody would go there, and stay half the night,” Boyd remembered. “There was entertainment plus a little octane to help them along. Live music was by the Skillicorns,” he added. “Some of the locals were musicians, too, like Tuffy Anderson and Dale Conley with the squeezebox. Mary Lou Wilhelm and Virginia [Kessler] would play guitar and sing. We danced to polkas and all that. It was a little different type of music than what you see now!” he chuckled.
In 1989, Historical Research Associates compiled a Cultural Resource Survey report for the Montana Department of Highways researching the various cultural resources near Highway 83 prior to a highway expansion project. The survey included an inspection of the Swan Valley Community Hall. At that time, the building did not qualify for possible inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places due to changes in the roof and porch over time, as well as the newer library building being attached to the Community Hall.
This building has been a source of pride in the Swan Valley community throughout the years. Under the steadfast leadership of Ronda (Feucht) Craig, Becky Anderson, Dar Kearney, and others, the Swan Valley Community Club has led the charge for maintenance, cleaning, repairs, and improvements of the historic building, as well as the surrounding 6.18-acre community area that includes the rodeo grounds, beer stand, cook shack, and pickleball/basketball court. The Community Hall projects have included such things as adding insulation to the building’s ceiling and floor, installing a new propane heating system, caulking and staining on the exterior logs, repairing and replacing water lines, upgrading the plumbing, and much more. Future projects include installing a new handicap ramp, installing new doors, electrical upgrades, making one of the restrooms handicap-accessible, upgrading the kitchen facilities, replacing the windows, and a new roof.
Through the decades, the Swan Valley Community Hall has been the central meeting place for many of our community’s functions. The long list of events includes community forums, weddings, anniversary celebrations, memorial services, church services, community and government meetings, history exhibits, regular meetings for various community organizations, potluck dinners, dances, fundraisers, and other special events. At one such event, Sharon MacQuarrie summed it up best by aptly referring to the Swan Valley Community Hall as “the heart of our community.”
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