Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1118440
e mission flourished until federal policy changed to favor government schools for Indians. In 1896, federal funding for Indian students was withdrawn from the school. e Jesuits decided to leave and to focus their efforts at Holy Family Mission, closer to the reservation on Two Medicine Creek. e Ursuline nuns took over the boys' school, which saw enrollment drop to 5 boys and 82 girls by 1904. e boys' school and priests' residence were destroyed by fire in 1908. e Ursuline Academy was opened in Great Falls in 1912, and the girls' school was moved from St. Peter's. Mount Angela remained open for Indian girls until it was destroyed by fire in 1918. e post office operated at St. Peter's until 1938. Area rancher, Frank Crabtree, and his wife, Bobby Jean, formed a local group to preserve the mission church in 2008. "I want the church maintained for future generations so that people can see what is le and understand what it took to build the mission," he said. e group has replaced the church foundation, filled in chinking, painted the outside, fenced the church and cemetery, and shingled the roof. A new outhouse was constructed by the Cascade High School shop class. Kara Royan with help from her mother and some friends, renovated the church's interior as a girl scout project in 2012. e cemetery is cleaned annually, and burials are still allowed for area families and those with ties to the mission. e site is occasionally used for weddings and baptisms. Catholic services are still held in the church at least twice a year. Siing in the same pews filled long ago by dedicated religious nuns and priests, the local ranching families, and the native children, is a unique experience. Sensing the spirit of those who labored there long ago, one reflects on the dedication and hard work that built the mission, an integral part of Central Montana's history. Frank Crabtree pointing out the unique corner construction of the hand-hewn logs. Photo: Frank LaLiberty The remains of a doorway show the intricate stone work used to construct the boys' school. Photo: Frank LaLiberty S MT SiG MT 58