Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 19 "There's definitely a sense of a void when one loses these rich landmarks that your grandparents maybe built," she says. "An entire community might build these structures to- gether, like an Amish barn raising. And as towns started pop- ping up in the west, one of the first things they would do is build a place to worship." But McDonald says people in the rural parts, like Sheri- dan County, may be accustomed to these losses because they have seen farmhouses, barns and homesteader shacks dete- riorate over time. But she says, it doesn't mean there isn't a real sense of loss. "For those who remember someone who was baptized or married in the church, or played in the tall grass around it, or heard stories from grandparents about it, it is still a huge loss," she said. Unfortunately, the fate of the Dooley Church is not all that rare these days. Across the state there are landmarks and his- torical markers of Montana's past that are disappearing ev- ery year. Weather, vandalism, and neglect combine to dam- age or destroy important historical and cultural sites. Others are erased because they stand in the way of progress. Many more vanish simply because of the lack of resources to save them. Half a state away in Hobson, Montana, two more old build- ings almost met the same fate as the Dooley Church. Two big old red grain elevators (there once was a third) have stood at the entrance to Hobson for more than a century. The railroad deemed them dangerous and too much of a liability. They simply could not afford to keep them standing any longer. So, they told the community they were going to tear them down. A sort of architectural euthanasia. The people of Hob- son had grown fond of these tall twin towers, which stood guard over the community since 1910. They were not only part of Hobson's skyline, they were Hobson's skyline. THE TWO RED GRAIN ELEVATORS AT THE ENTRANCE TO HOBSON, MONTANA IN RURAL JUDITH BASIN COUNTY. THE ELEVATOR ON THE RIGHT WAS THE FIRST TO BE BUILT IN 1908. BOTH OPERATED UNTIL 1961.

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