One of the first buildings constructed in Glacier National Park, the 1913 Ranger Station was constructed by the park's first Ranger, Chauncey Beebe. Near the Ranger Station is a log barn originally built in 1926 at the Lubec Ranger Station. In 1971 the barn was abandoned by the park and in 1977 it was dismantled and rebuilt at its present location by the Ranger Station. It replaces the original barn on the site, built in 1915 and demolished in the early 1960s.
Ranger Station and the Lubec Barn are set in a picturesque location isolated from both tourist oriented and maintenance buildings in East Glacier, at the south end of an unnamed road which runs south from Going to the Sun Road very near the eastern edge of Glacier National Park. At the end of the road is a loop and a good sized parking area. A walking trail runs south from the northeastern edge of the parking area, through a bit of forest to the Ranger Station and the Lubec Barn.
A plaque at the old Ranger Station, text from which follows, offers a glimpse of life at the station for the Ranger and his family, who lived in the building in 1918 and 1919.
An Office and a Home
This log ranger station, built in 1913, was among the first National Park Service buildings erected on the east side of Glacier National Park. At that time the main road into the park was below the station in the area of the current parking lot, and visitors passed by on their way to and from the nearby St. Mary Chalet and boat dock.
The station provided living quarters and a central working location for the St. Mary rangers until the 1930s and was later used as ranger housing. The building was restored to its 1913-1920 appearance in 1976. The ranger station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Resident Ranger
Ranger Chauncey Beebe lived in the St. Mary Ranger Station with his wife, Eva, and two small boys in 1918 and 1919. Many years later, Mrs. Beebe would tell stories of life at the ranger station including a mountain lion in the attic, skunks in the root cellar, and black bears shredding her laundry as it dried outside the station.
Lubec Barn
The original St. Mary barn was gone by the time the ranger station was restored. The current barn was built in 1926 at the Lubec Ranger Station along the southern border of Glacier National Park. It was dismantled and rebuilt at this location in 1977.
St. Mary Ranger Station
The following building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION AND EVALUATION:
The Old St. Mary Ranger Station is located on a level spot on a wooded hillside facing northeast over the east end of Upper St. Mary Lake... ...The 1½ story, full log wall design is unusual for a building of this modest scale in Glacier and unique among ranger station residences. Two 1^-story, log residences still exist on the west slope of the park (the Schoenberger and Doody homesteads) but this is the only known example on the east side. The construction is excellent, with well-matched and tightly fitted wall logs. The building is significant in the architectural history of Glacier National Park.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION: DATE OF CONSTRUCTION: 1913
The St. Mary ranger station residence, constructed by the first St. Mary District Ranger, served as both private residence and operational headquarters for the district. Meager fiscal budgets demanded that rangers use their own skills and ingenuity in constructing residence/stations. Until the creation of the National Park Service in 1916, the Department of the Interior administered Glacier. Only after that date was approval of park building design a mandate.
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE:
The St. Mary ranger station residence has both architectural and historic significance. Architecturally, it displays a unique design and excellent log craftsmanship, both of which were executed by local residents. The building typifies what National Park Service architects deliberately sought to achieve in Park Service rustic architecture in later years. Historically, the St. Mary ranger station is significant as one of the oldest administrative sites within the Park. The building is significant, both historically and architecturally, and is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under criteria a and c.
From the NRHP Continuation Sheet