Return to Park History: Excerpts from the N.R.H.P. nomination

(Since there has been continued interest in the history of Beaver Creek Park, the Preservation Commission presents the following information we have collected. It is based on excerpts from the nomination of Kiwanis Chapel to the National Register of Historic Places.)

Beaver Creek County Park's beginnings coincide with the closure of Fort Assinniboine, located approximately 16 miles northwest of Camp Kiwanis.

Established in 1879, the 700,000-acre fort included a timber/water reserve in the Bear Paw Mountains, coal fields located north of present day Havre, and hay fields near present-day Big Sandy. The army conducted field exercises in the Beaver Creek Valley, in the vicinity of Mount Otis, west of Beaver Creek.

At present-day Dillon's Bottoms, a Beaver Creek campsite, located 4 miles south of the present-day Camp Kiwanis, is where the soldiers set up a camp. The large flat area around the creek, adequate trees for shelter and inspiring natural beauty enhanced the campsite. Also, there was a permanent canteen for use of the officers and their wives. Enlisted men brought fish to the canteen in canvas bags from Eagle Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River.

Frederick Remington, famous author and painter, wrote and illustrated an article for the Cosmopolitan magazine in February 1897 about the troops stationed at Fort Assinniboine, the famed "Black 10th Cavalry Regiment" that had fought Indian wars in Kansas, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Remington accompanied them on their rain-soaked maneuvers to the Beaver Creek Valley, along with the 25th Black Infantry. Remington wrote of "the flat plain where the camp was pitched under the Bear's Paw range. All about was an inspiring sweep, high rolling plains, with rough mountains, interesting coulees and a well brushed (Beaver) creek bottoms."

Vacated in 1911, Fort Assinniboine was subsequently transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The former fort holdings were divested in 1916: The state of Montana purchased 2,000 acres and the fort buildings with plans to open a college and agricultural experiment station. The Chippewa, under Chief Rocky Boy, and other landless Indians received 56,035 acres for the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation in the Bear Paw Mountains. The Herron family received their homestead north of the fort buildings in acknowledgement of their service supplying the fort with necessary milk and eggs during its period of operation.

Further, by congressional action in September 1916, the Department of Interior designated a 1-mile-wide by 17-mile-long park, briefly called Assiniboine National Park (later named Beaver Creek Playground), along with the northern slopes of the Bears Paw Mountains. This consisted of approximately 440 acres of watershed and 8,880 acres for park grounds. The city of Havre acted as custodian of the land. Despite its "national park" moniker, the property never became an official national park within the National Park System. Local officials applied for that designation in 1929 and in 1934, but the National Park Service determined that the area did not meet its requirements for national significance. At the same time, the park service instigated a program to foster planning and improvements for state and local parks as "secondary parks systems to meet the recreation needs of the country." The city could not afford to develop or maintain the park on its own, so the Greater Havre Area Chamber of Commerce and local Kiwanis Club became involved. These groups formed a Playground Committee which still operates as the Hill County Park Board. The county also contributed heavy equipment and surveying/engineering expertise, with assistance from the Montana State Park Board and the Fish and Game Commission. Eventually, in 1953, Hill County purchased the land and renamed it Beaver Creek County Park.

Prominent local Havre businessmen established a Kiwanis charter club in Havre on Nov. 23, 1923. The club initially consisted of 50 members, with attorney Victor R. Griggs the first president. The club soon became active in local enrichment programs, sponsoring lectures and other social events. Formal programs and committees provided outreach to both urban and rural families and included Salvation Army building projects, summer camp programs, a Christmas bell ringing program, blood drawing, scholarship programs, various clean-up projects, youth baseball programs, tree planting programs and the establishment of the high school Key Club and collegiate Circle K Club. The largest project, both financially and in terms of volunteer labor, however, was the establishment of Camp Kiwanis located at the present-day Beaver Creek Park.

In 1930, the Kiwanis Club of Havre received a 40-acre grant for a camp in the Beaver Creek Playground. The club used the camp for the entertainment of disadvantaged children, particularly those with muscular dystrophy, and children groups from the 4-H Club, Girls Scouts of America, churches, and Future Farmers of America, as well as school-age children in general. In May 1933, the Kiwanis Club members constructed a building as a meeting place for themselves and various community organizations. The club purchased $400 worth of lumber for the meeting hall from Glacier National Park. The Great Northern Railway shipped the material free of charge to Havre and volunteers trucked it to the site. Club members and their families and friends worked together to construct the building, assembling log slabs to give the appearance of a rustic post and beam log cabin. The Kiwanis Club dedicated the building June 23, 1933, with a celebratory dinner and dance. All those who worked on the building as well as many members of the community attended.

Upon its construction, the meeting hall was the only permanent building in the park, but a few others soon followed. The city of Havre, Hill County, state entities, as well as the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club, the Lions Club, the Rotary Club and local individuals lobbied for a Civilian Conservation Corps camp for the area. In keeping with its mission to serve the disadvantaged, the Kiwanis Club favored the CCC's arrival as well. One of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the CCC recruited thousands of unemployed young men "to battle against destruction and erosion of our national resources." Corps workers received $30 per month, $25 of which went to their families at home.

The CCC established a camp at the park in 1935. In cooperation with the National Park Service, the State Park Board, and the Fish and Game Commission, Company 535 from Kentucky arrived and set up camp about a half-mile north of Camp Kiwanis.

The CCC built housing for the workers, developed a fish hatchery with two ponds, and established a pheasant farm, a 120-unit campground, picnic sites, roadways, bridges and a perimeter woven fence. The CCC worked closely with the Kiwanis by providing equipment for bridge and roadwork, and helped develop an outdoor pond at Camp Kiwanis.

When the CCC camp closed in 1937, the City of Havre, Havre Chamber of Commerce, and Hill County officials secured the materials from four of the CCC buildings. The Kiwanis used these materials to construct two dormitories, a dining room, four smaller three-room buildings, and a caretaker's cottage north of the Kiwanis Meeting Hall at Camp Kiwanis. These building improvements allowed the Kiwanis to provide housing and entertainment for 200 boys and girls, and the meeting hall continued to be central to the growing camp's functions.

Several clubs became involved with the camp and used the Kiwanis Meeting Hall through the years and provided maintenance. The Rotary Club involvement started after their youth camp burned down, which was located at the bottom of Rotary Hill, approximately 2 miles north of Camp Kiwanis. The Lion's Club, United Methodist Men's Group, F.A. Buttrey's Relyon Club, Boy and Girl Scouts of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion all used Camp Kiwanis on a regular basis for meetings and events. Indeed, the Kiwanis Camp and its meeting hall were central to the activities of most of the fraternal and social organizations in the Havre area community.

However, as the other buildings were constructed, the Kiwanis Meeting Hall was utilized less for secular meeting related activities. Many religious groups from the area used the Kiwanis Meeting Hall and adjacent facilities for conducting bible camps. These included the Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans and the Salvation Army. The Kiwanis and other groups converted the hall to a nondenominational chapel, complete with pews, circa 1938. After that, it was a favorite gathering place used for church services and weddings for many years, until 1960.

Unfortunately the Kiwanis meeting hall and chapel, once so central to the camp's activities, sat unused due to many needed repairs but, fortunately, with help from the Havre/Hill County Preservation Commission, especially Becki Miller, and the cooperation of Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar, the building has been returned to its former rustic beauty.

The Kiwanis Meeting Hall played a crucial role in the history of the Beaver Creek Park and its development as a major recreational site for thousands to enjoy. This rustic building remains as a tangible reminder of the beginnings of Camp Kiwanis. The park facilities have evolved from this single rustic building constructed during the Depression, but its presence is still preserved in its natural setting. The Kiwanis Meeting Hall was constructed by the Kiwanis, volunteers and businesses who donated time and materials. It was initially built for the use and enjoyment of the children of the city of Havre and Hill County and that same use is continued to this day. The construction of the Kiwanis Meeting Hall represented a continuation of the fraternal organization's commitment to the social health of the Havre area community.