History (Re) Photographed:
by Concordia College students in History 112HU, Fall 2016

A Town Lost in Time: Fort Peck, Montana




      While driving through an old town like Fort Peck, it is easy to overlook the beauty of the past. The buildings are old, and the town has few amenities. Time has essentially been frozen. The town of Fort Peck has been built and influenced by moments in history that ignited change, like the creation of the Fort Peck Dam, fueling a new era such as after the Great Depression. The town lost prosperity and has not seen significant growth since the creation of the Fort Peck Dam. The Fort Peck Dam project attracted thousands of workers and helped the economy boost, but was abandoned shortly after the project had been completed. The town thrived from the creation of the dam for a while, but eventually became a ghost town. Comparing the history of the town to the history of the nation can help one understand the changes that have taken place over time. 
      As a response to the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Public Works Administration, a part of the New Deal, planned to develop jobs by starting large-scale infrastructure projects such as dams, bridges, hospitals, and schools. One project included was the Fort Peck Dam.[1] The Fort Peck Dam was a project that strived to control the Missouri River for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation, flood control, and water quality management.[2] Construction started in 1933 and the dam was finished in 1937.[3] To this day, the Fort Peck Dam Project stands as one of the greatest achievements in the history of Montana.
     The Fort Peck Dam became the largest dam project in the history of the United States. It was five times larger than any dam that had been previously built. Before the creation of the dam, flooding of the Missouri River was uncontrollable. Winters froze the river which then prompted extreme flooding in the spring. There were also periods of severe drought. This made agriculture and expansion of these areas difficult, which caused suffering and economic loss.[4] The project also created jobs for thousands of people. Many families migrated to the country in order to find work under the project. Besides building the dam, other jobs were developed, such as those to build the growing towns. The building of Fort Peck Dam was a necessary project to control the river’s extreme conditions and was important in the regrowth of the economy after the Great Depression.[5] Without this project and projects like it, hundreds of thousands of people would have been jobless during this time. This would have set the country even further into economic despair. The Fort Peck Dam project sought to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people and resembles one of the era’s greatest achievements.           
     The Town of Fort Peck was built in 1934 and is located 2 miles north of the original construction town. It was intended to be a temporary government-owned town to support and house the many workers of the dam, but it had many features of a thriving town such as a recreation hall, a hospital, a theater, and a hotel. Men who were from Montana or married were hired first, and they usually brought their families with them.[6] This explains why the town grew in population and amenities rapidly. After the completion of the dam in 1940, many families sought work elsewhere and the area became less populated. Today, the two major components of eastern Montana’s economy are agriculture and recreation or tourism.[7]
     In the 2010 census, the population was 233. Today the town is mostly filled with tourists. There are many historical places in or near the town, including the Fort Peck Interpretive Center, the Fort Peck Summer Theater, Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge, and the Power Plant. At the Fort Peck Interpretive Center, there are many fossils that were discovered in the area. There is also memorabilia from workers of the Fort Peck Dam. Informational videos reveal what it was like for a person working on the massive project. The Fort Peck Summer Theater is a popular tourist attraction and hosts three shows every summer. The Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge is large and home to many species of animals. The Power Plant actually consists of two adjacent buildings that control the spillway and the release of water from the lake. There are free tours of the powerhouse offered daily. Even though the town has not had much growth, it is still a beautiful and interesting place to visit.
     The building in the image is a hotel, built in 1939. It has remained similar to its original design. The rural parts of Montana were only appealing to most people when there was a lack of job opportunity elsewhere. Most people were left without jobs after the completion of the Fort Peck Dam, and there were few jobs left to support the growing population. Most families left to seek employment elsewhere. In the old photo, there are cars lined up next to the building. In the new picture, there are no cars to be seen. This could symbolize the prosperity of the town. In 1959, the town was still prospering from the dam project, but today the town is lost in time. The trees have grown, which mostly signifies that there has not been construction around the hotel that would cause these trees to be removed. The hotel is a beautiful historical landmark and still hold its original design.
     Through hard work and great success, the Fort Peck Dam was built to serve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The harsh circumstances of the Great Depression jump-started an economic revolution that leads to the completion of many major projects that may have otherwise not succeeded. One of these major projects was the Fort Peck Dam which led to the creation of the town of Fort Peck. By examining Fort Peck Hotel, it is apparent that the town has not flourished since the original photo was taken. The building has remained the same over all of these years, reinstating the town itself has not changed over the years. Looking at the town of Fort Peck today is like traveling back in time to the economic rise after the depression. Fort Peck was built through the depression to help the economy, but it has lost prosperity over the years. It will be interesting to see what happens to the town as the population continues to decrease.
     [1] Fort Peck Dam, Directed by Scott Sterling, and Gene Brodeur, Aired April of 2013, (New York, NY: Public Broadcasting Service.)
     [2] Poff, Leroy N. and David D. Hart, How Dams Vary and Why It Matters for the Emerging Science of Dam Removal: An ecological classification of dams is needed to characterize how the tremendous variation in the size, operational mode, age, and number of dams in a river basin influences the potential for restoring regulated rivers via dam removal, Oxford University Press, (2002), Pages 659-668.
     [3] Fort Peck Dam, Directed by Scott Sterling, and Gene Brodeur, Aired April of 2013, (New York, NY: Public Broadcasting Service.)
     [4] Fort Peck Dam, Directed by Scott Sterling, and Gene Brodeur, Aired April of 2013, (New York, NY: Public Broadcasting Service.)
     [5] Fort Peck Dam, Directed by Scott Sterling, and Gene Brodeur, Aired April of 2013, (New York, NY: Public Broadcasting Service.)
     [6] Fort Peck Dam, Directed by Scott Sterling, and Gene Brodeur, Aired April of 2013, (New York, NY: Public Broadcasting Service.)
     [7] Fort Peck Dam, Directed by Scott Sterling, and Gene Brodeur, Aired April of 2013, (New York, NY: Public Broadcasting Service.)

Photo Credits:

Historic Photo: Wolff, Dennis. Coles Photo. “Hotel, Fort Peck Dam, Montana.” Photograph. Fort Peck: 1959. Accessed September 26, 2016, at http://www.fortpeckdam.com/gallery/showpic.php?id=184&size=mid

Contemporary Photo: Photograph by author

Written By: Brittany Ault
December 5, 2016