Absarokee’s Historic Sandstone School Demolished After 6-Year Fight to Save It

A friend in Absarokee once offered to walk me through the Sandstone School and explain why it mattered so much to her. I told her I would drive out. Life happened, and I never made it, and I'm kicking myself because now the building is gone.

Absarokee School Board Approves $75,000 Sandstone School Demolition

Crews began demolishing the Sandstone School on October 15 and finished the following day. The Absarokee School Board voted unanimously to accept a $75,000 demolition bid after efforts to find someone to move the building brought no offers. Plans for the cleared site include a larger playground and more space for current students.

For the people who worked to keep the school standing, the loss goes well beyond an old building coming down.

Absarokee Sandstone School History: Built in 1910 and Expanded in 1915

The Sandstone School was built in 1910 as a two-room schoolhouse for first through eighth graders. The community expanded it in 1915 as its needs grew. Together with the neighboring Cobblestone School, it formed a school complex that served southern Stillwater County.

Both buildings were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination recognized their role in developing public education in Absarokee and their use of locally available building materials. In a time when families were spread across ranches and small mining towns, the schools gave the area a central place to learn.

The stone itself connects to a larger Montana story. A quarry near Columbus supplied sandstone for prominent buildings across the state, including the original State Capitol. The nomination says the exact source of the school’s stone is unknown but was likely quarried in the Columbus area.

The school served Absarokee students for more than 100 years before it closed in 2019.

Absarokee Save the Sandstone Group Raised Over $360,000 to Preserve the School

The Save the Sandstone group spent six years trying to preserve the building. Members raised more than $360,000 for repairs, including money to address the roof. They wanted the old school to serve the community again as a place for learning and local programs. Earlier plans included a preschool and daycare, plus room for educational programs and exhibits.

That work was about more than keeping a piece of Absarokee’s history on the skyline. The people behind it believed the town could make room for its future and still hold on to something from its past.

I wrote about that vision last year, when there was still real hope the school could be saved.

Get our free mobile app

Absarokee Sandstone School Loss: Why I Wish I Had Visited

I’m sad the Sandstone School is gone. I’m also sad I never stood inside it, especially now that I understand more about the history in those stone walls and what people hoped it could become.

I understand that communities have to make hard decisions about aging buildings, and I know the site will serve students in a new way. Still, I can’t help wishing the two goals had fit together, with room for students and the school that served Absarokee for generations still standing.

My friend and the other advocates gave years of work to that possibility. I wish I had made the drive while there was still something for her to show me.