SigMT

SIGNATURE MONTANA | 55 hen you arrive in Fort Benton, the handsome red brick three-story building guarded by gigantic coonwoods and flanked by the mighty Missouri will probably catch your eye. e historic Grand Union Hotel in Fort Benton, Montana, has undoubtedly earned her name as the Grand Old Lady, but if you know her recent history, you will find that there is actually another grand lady. Owner and operator Cheryl Gagnon will probably go down in the history books as the grand lady who saved the historic hotel. Aer 28 years of ownership, the Grand Union Hotel has sold, and she will pass the torch to new owners. e story begins in 1994 with a forced stop in Fort Benton when Cheryl and Jim Gagnon and their children Benjamin and Alexandra were home visiting their family farms near Chester. Plans were in the works to move back to the U.S. from Hong Kong, where Jim worked as a senior executive with a merchandise sourcing company and Cheryl in commercial interior design and historic restoration. When car problems caused a delay in Fort Benton and with time on their hands while they waited for a repair, they wandered downtown and spoed a "For Sale" sign at the three-story brick building that loomed over Main Street and the Missouri River. ey peered in the windows and joed down the realtor's number with plans to look at the dilapidated but intriguing old building. Jim agreed to meet with the realtor while at the same time declaring, "We are not buying this hotel." e next day they entered the hey wooden doors of the Grand Union Hotel into a stripped-down, empty shell that was strewn with broken glass, dust, construction debris, and varmints. "It was a disaster," Cheryl remembers. But they could envision something beautiful rising out of the dust. A few months later, in December 1994, they signed the sale papers, and the old hotel became theirs. e couple started planning while still in Hong Kong – Cheryl using her skills in restoration and design and Jim's in business. Cheryl made sketches of floor plans and began designing furniture and fixtures to replace the originals sold at an auction aer the building was stripped and abandoned in the 1980s. Jim worked on a business plan and structured a financial package to present to potential lenders. W In 1986, before the Gagnon's purchase and restoration of the Grand Lady, the building's contents were stripped and sold at public auction. Staying true to the building's Victorian architecture, Cheryl designed the furnishings combined with Victorian and Western charm. Owner Cheryl Gagnon travels down memory lane as she reviews conceptual drawings she created for the hotel restoration nearly 30 years ago.

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