M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust Awards $300,000 Grant to Boone and Crockett Club for Restoration of Old Milwaukee Depot Headquarters

MISSOULA, Mont. – The Boone and Crockett Club announced today that it had received a $300,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to support the renovation of the historic Old Milwaukee Depot in Missoula, Montana. The grant will help provide additional funding to a major project that includes converting the entire roof to Spanish clay tiles to replicate the original structure as well as repairing soffits and gutters, masonry work, and more. As the Club’s headquarters building, the Depot provides office space for staff along with a Visitor’s Gallery that educates the public on B&C’s history along with the history of wildlife conservation, big game records keeping, and an in-depth look at our hunting heritage. Renovations will begin this spring and will be coordinated by an architectural firm with significant experience in historic preservation projects.

“We greatly appreciate the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust for supporting our efforts to improve the structural integrity of our headquarters building, which is an iconic building in Missoula,” commented Tony A. Schoonen, chief executive officer of the Boone and Crockett Club. “The Boone and Crockett Club was founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt and our organization has played a critical role in conservation ever since. The exterior renovations will have our building looking much as it did when TR visited Missoula in 1911 shortly after the Depot was completed.”

Located on the southern banks of the Clark Fork River near the Higgins Street bridge, the Milwaukee Depot stands as Missoula’s leading historical landmark. Designed by Architect J. A. Lindstrand and built in 1910 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad, the Mission Style building is one of the finest examples of early 1900 railroad station architecture in Montana. The Depot features a castle-like structure with two observation towers, mission-style parapet walls (using brick imported from China), Romanesque windows, and a Spanish-style roof. The Depot is individually listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places as it represents the era of railroad supremacy in contemporary development of Missoula. The Boone and Crockett Club purchased the Depot in 1992 and completed three phases of restoration, mostly to the interior of the building. The original ticketing and waiting area of the old train station was completely remodeled as offices, a conference room, and library and retains much of its former character with coffered ceilings and wood beams.

“With the grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust we have now secured more than half of the anticipated costs for the renovations of our historic headquarters building,” said Jodi Bishop, development program manager for the Boone and Crockett Club. Bishop will be leading additional fundraising efforts from historic preservation organizations, Club members, and individuals with a passion for railroad history. If interested in supporting the renovation project, please contact her at (406) 542-1888 x212 or at [email protected].

About the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust

M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to nonprofit organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington—that seek to strengthen the region’s educational, social, spiritual, and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways.