County approves $66,000 Fort Belknap window project

Young County commissioners approved a $66,000 project Oct. 13 to replace approximately 19 windows at the Fort Belknap Museum, addressing gaps and weather exposure that complicate efforts to protect its historical collections.

The unanimous vote added $16,000 in hotel occupancy tax funding to $50,000 already budgeted for capital improvements at the fort.

Caretaker Jim Hammond said deteriorating windows contribute to climate-control problems inside a building that was not originally designed to serve as a museum.

“There’s still newspaper and cloth crammed in between” portions of the windows, Mr. Hammond told commissioners.

“That building was not made to be a museum, but there are some things that we can do to make it work as a museum, as far as preservation- wise,” Mr. Hammond said.

He presented a proposal from Monty Johnson, who previously built the museum’s display cases. Mr. Hammond said that work had made Mr. Johnson familiar with the building and its climate-control difficulties.

The request focused on replacing the museum building’s windows rather than continuing to work around their deteriorating condition.

Judge Win Graham said the project had been discussed for years and was needed to improve the building’s protection against the weather.

“The building’s not weather secure,” Judge Graham said. “There’s holes in the building, and this will help a lot of it.”