The Big Picture

Human cultures impact the land wherever they live.  People use the land for food and shelter, and adapt to surrounding landscapes and climate.  Eventually, landscapes become part of a people’s identity and affect their attitudes and values.

To American Prairie Foundation (APF), the northern Great Plains is a pivotal landscape shaping the development and portraying the spirit of America, as well as enhancing its ecological diversity.  APF explores human histories in the area as it creates a unique prairie reserve.  This endeavor reveals stories of settlement and habitation and seeks to honor the spirit of those who made the northern Great Plains their home.

Progress to Date

APF is committed to preserving the human history within American Prairie Reserve (APR).  Our first restoration project involved a piece of the area’s rich human story—the Prairie Union School, which is located about 50 miles southeast of Malta.  In service from 1943 to 1956, the Prairie Union School was built in 1912 for the Hockett family homestead.  In 1943 the schoolhouse was moved to the nearby Shores family ranch, where classes were offered for grades one through eight.  In 1948 the schoolhouse was moved again to its current site nearby.  Young teachers lived at the school where they slept on a fold-up bed and cooked their meals on an oil stove. One teacher did not leave the school for three months. Many former students received a wonderful education at the Prairie Union School and developed lifelong relationships with fellow students and their families. The Prairie Union School graduated its last students in 1956 and ceased serving as a community center for special holidays and events.  This small log school typifies many found on the prairie.

The renovation of the Prairie Union School was completed in 2005 due to the generous support of the Biehl family. A local company called Yellowstone Traditions offered its restoration expertise, and former students and the members of the community donated original school materials.  APF is pleased to showcase the Prairie Union School as a resource for future generations, so they may understand the courage and resilience of their pioneering ancestors. We are very grateful to the many donors and volunteers who made this restoration possible. Preservation of this one-room schoolhouse is dedicated to those who obtained their education at this and other similar schools across the regional grasslands.

Next Steps

APF plans to work with members of the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes to research their abundant history in and around American Prairie Reserve. This opportunity will focus on the traditional tribal use of APR land, the places significant to each tribal culture and preservation of these cultural sites for future generations.