Huntley in Yellowstone County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Russian Style Barn

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2024

1. Russian Style Barn Marker

Inscription.
The building to your left is a Russian style barn, a century-old reflection of Volga German homesteaders who came to this area at the beginning of the 20th century.

The influence of Volga Germans on the Huntley Project is still felt today. Since they began settling here in 1910, Volga Germans have been a significant force in the population and growth of the Huntley Project.

This barn, constructed on the Huntley Project in 1911, was made from cottonwood trees cut down along the Yellowstone River to the north. Homesteaders Alex and Charles Kinmonth, who operated a sawmill, sawed the lumber for this barn, which was built by the Baum family using plans brought here from their home along the Volga River in Russia.

This barn is constructed of boards stacked horizontally. The tightly stacked boards were originally joined with wooden pegs, not nails, and tightly dovetailed at the corners. The barn was used on the Baum family farms until 1978, when it was donated to the Huntley Project Museum and moved to its present location.

The Baums were one of many families drawn to this area as an emerging farming neighborhood. Many Volga

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Germans were proficient sugar beet growers and were enticed here by the sugar company, which built factories in billings and Lovell, Wyoming, creating growing areas around each by bringing immigrants west on trains. A family could load their belongings in a rail car and travel west with their family, possessions and livestock.

Erected by Huntley Project Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Architecture • Immigration • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1910.

Location. 45° 55.58′ N, 108° 14.404′ W. Marker is in Huntley, Montana, in Yellowstone County. It can be reached from Railroad Highway 0.2 miles west of South 8th Road, on the left when traveling west. The barn and the marker are on the Huntley Project Museum grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 770 Railroad Highway, Huntley MT 59037, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Yellowstone Country

and in Greater Billings.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it

Marker detail: Sugar Beet Farming image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Sugar Beet Farming

is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Volga Germans on the Huntley Project (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Russian Style Barn (here, next to this marker); 1910 Homestead House (a few steps from this marker); Welcome to the Huntley Project Museum (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Little Yankee Road Grader (about 300 feet away); The Ruth Dredger (about 300 feet away); William Fricke's Carpenter Shop (about 400 feet away); Osborn Schoolhouse (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huntley.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . . Huntley: The Volga Germans (VolgaGermans.org).

Excerpt: The village of Huntley was named for S.O. Huntley, a partner in the stagecoach firm of Clark & Huntley. It was located at the head of navigation on the Yellowstone River.

3. Marker detail: Irrigation Canal
The first steamboat arrived there in 1875, but the river traffic was infrequent. Huntley lent its name to the Huntley Project, an irrigation project in southern Montana that was established by the United States Bureau of Reclamation in 1907. Huntley was settled by Volga German immigrants from Kautz.

(Submitted on August 26, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2024

4. Russian Style Barn Marker

This marker is the leftmost of two interpretive panels mounted on the adjacent modern barn structure. The historic Russian style barn is just beyond this image to the left.

Russian Style Barn image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2024

5. Russian Style Barn

Credits. This page was last revised on August 26, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 26, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.