Articles

By KATE HESTON
Daily Inter Lake | March 2, 2025 12:00 AM

The Blasdel Barn, a large barn over 100 years old southeast of Kalispell, has had an uncertain future after years of deteriorating on U.S. Fish and Wildlife land. In coming years, however, a generational family member hopes to find the funds to restore it.  

Shelbey Blasdel, granddaughter of Don Blasdel, whose family once owned the barn, is spearheading the effort.  

“My brothers and sisters and I, we all grew up in there,” reflected Don Blasdel at the end of 2024. “We milked cows, horses. Well, now we’re grown up... if it can be brought back to how it was when I was a kid then I think that would be good.”  

Born on Jan. 2, 1934 — “1234,” he joked — Don is the only surviving member of the Blasdel family who lived at the property. Don’s parents, Jesse and Ethel Blasdel, sold the property and barn to the Creston Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987, which has maintained ownership since.  

Built in 1908 by settler Frank W. Porter, the barn was such a design marvel that at the time valley residents threw a party upon its completion, according to Daily Inter Lake archives. Some still coin the structure the Porter Ranch Barn after its original roots.

The process of figuring out how to preserve or renovate has not been easy, according to Shelbey Blasdel, who started the nonprofit Blasdel Barn Reclamation to raise funds for the project. 

“It could be a long project but, no matter what, whether I get the grants or not, it's going to be a project and it's going to move forward, it's just a matter of timing,” Shelbey said.  

When she began the project, her dream was to create a community gathering spot. The large Lower Valley barn would have had a gift shop, massive entryway, a few overnight rental rooms, a restaurant and an informational museum about the barn. 

The original plan was to return the barn’s exterior to its original state while morphing the inside into something people can use. However, after a few months, Shelbey had to pivot after learning the barn with its location on waterfowl-protected land means it cannot be maintained for regular foot traffic.  

“It would've been wonderful if it could be... but unfortunately due to the waterfowl refuge there are black and white stipulations from the government about what can and cannot be there,” she said.  

Few commercial, recreational and research activities are allowed on national wildlife refuges and require a special use permit. The land is set aside to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitats, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The barn sits within the Blasdel Waterfowl Protection Area along North Somers Road, a 537-acre parcel in Somers. The barn is on the National Register of Historic Places.

 Right now, the Blasdel Barn is falling apart, weathered, graffitied and unused. Dubbed the most photographed barn in the state, Shelbey hopes a facelift will help keep the barn — and its historical importance — well into the future.

“Times change, and they change drastically and quickly and before you know it the barn will be gone...It'll be a piece of history that still won't be one of the most easy to find,” Shelbey said. “I’m hoping this initiative can change that.”  

Around 2010, U.S. Fish and Wildlife began conversations with parties about the possibility of restoring or moving the barn off the property, according to an earlier Inter Lake article. The efforts were put on hold. Another attempt happened a decade later but never found traction.

While a timeline and funding mechanism has yet to be decided, Shelbey is in the process of raising money, applying to grants and more to accomplish the feat.

She says that the project, which will be a complete restoration from its wood-slated windows to repairing the roof to painting the barn to its original shade of red, could cost anywhere from $1.5 million to $6.6 million, but specifics are still being worked out.

One grant that Shelbey is confident she’ll receive is from the Montana Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office, which is administering a grant to support the preservation of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The barn is on the state list. The historical society is providing grants between $20,000 and $100,000 to support preservation projects across the state. *  

Pete Brown, state historic preservation officer, said that the barn will need a complete revamp of its exterior.

“The grant we’re offering is not so big that it could take a building that is in the condition of that barn and pay for it to be a completed project,” Brown said. “I think it would be important to stabilize the building as a first step.” 

Although the funding mechanism is still to be determined, Shelbey is committed to seeing the project through.

“There’s no ifs, ands or buts,” she said. “It’s going to be restored.” 

Shelbey launched the Blasdel Barn Reclamation nonprofit, which can be visited at blasdelhq.com, to raise awareness about threatened historical sites and raise money for the reclamation of Blasdel Barn.

The goal is to preserve the history of local communities through preservation construction, she said.

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@dailyinterlake.com. 

* This paragraph was edited to accurately describe the grant.

https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2025/mar/02/restoring-blasdel-barn/