Serving Whitman County since 1877
COLFAX – The Port of Whitman County commissioners July 16 approved a donation of $50,000 to LaCrosse Community Pride for its rock house project.
The non-profit plans to restore the deteriorating structures built during the Great Depression, to convert them into bunkhouses, along with converting a service station to a heritage museum and an Ice Age Flood Center.
Total cost is estimated at $392,000.
At the Port's July 2, meeting Alex McGregor and Peggy Bryan from LaCrosse Community Pride joined by telephone to present information to commissioners John Love, Tom Kammerzell and Kristine Meyer.
Plans for the first phase of the project include restoring two bunkhouses and the service station along the north side of Main Street. LaCrosse Community Pride, a non-profit group, hopes to make the bunkhouses into overnight accommodations for tourists. The Port's funding will be used during this first phase.
A second planned phase includes restoring the remaining two bunkhouses on the south side of Main Street.
LaCrosse's rock houses trace their history back to the Great Depression. Local businessman Clint Dobson built the structures between 1934 and 1936 using basalt stones deposited by the Missoula Ice Age Floods.
The stones, which Dobson gathered from surrounding fields, provided an affordable construction material for farm and railroad worker housing.
Supporting the revitalization of these historic landmarks directly aligns with the Port's mission to improve the quality of life for all citizens of Whitman County.
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