Abraham and Mary Walton Hogeland House

Abraham and Mary Walton Hogeland House. . In the 1870s, ranchers and prospectors looking for gold in the Judith Mountains clamored for military protection as they settled a region recently controlled by the Blackfeet. In response, the federal government constructed Fort Maginnis in 1880. Garrisoned by three cavalry and three infantry companies in 1882, the fort was home to five hundred men and ten women. Meanwhile, more Euro-Americans settled in the region, including Abraham Hogeland, who first traveled west as a surveyor for the Northern Pacific Railroad. According to his great- granddaughter, the author Mary Clearman Blew, Abraham loved the Judith Basin: "having seen no better country between Pennsylvania and Montana, (he) decided to make it his." Hogeland established a ranch on Spring Creek; his wife Mary and their oldest child joined him from Pennsylvania two years later. In 1895, the Hogelands purchased two officers' quarters from the recently closed Fort Maginnis. He had the buildings dismantled and moved twenty miles to Lewistown. This gable-front-and-wing residence was the larger of the two, reassembled as closely as possible to the original design. The Hogelands used it for a "city house," occupying the residence during the school year, so their children could receive an education. As time passed, Abraham and Mary, while still continuing to ranch, spent more time here. Abraham became increasingly involved in the Lewistown community, serving as superintendent of schools and justice of the peace as well as county surveyor. As of 2007, family members still own and maintain the property.