Parker Homestead State Park

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Categories:

Things to See,  City and State Parks

Keywords:

• Parker Homestead, 
• Montana State Parks

General info

This is probably the smallest park in the system and officially lists visitation as zero. In fact, if you weren't looking for it, you would just pass right on by. There is no sign marking the site, and no interpretative displays explaining its history. It is simply a sod-roofed log cabin tucked under a few large cottonwoods on 1.67 acres. The state brochure lists it as This sod-roofed log cabin is representative of the frontier homes of pioneers who settled Montana. It was built by Nelson and Rosie Parker and is a good example of log homesteads built in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The state originally had plans to repair the cabin, erect signs, and create a parking area. Those plans were abandoned long ago. The state tried unsuccessfully to give it to the county. It is still a state park costing the state literally nothing. There is no caretaker and the state collects no fees from the property. It is a fascinating place and offers a glimpse of life for settlers at the turn of the century.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife Parks has announced the Parker Homestead will no longer be a state park due to budget constraints.

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