Montana's DAR Markers . . . Honoring Where History Was Made

defensive structure. The wood was cut at the Moore Brothers’ sawmill,
a few miles north of the fort on the Smith River.
In late October 1880, when it was headquarters of two U.S.
Infantry companies, the Fort was abandoned by order of The War
Department and the garrison transferred to Fort Maginnis, near the
Judith Mountains.
Judge William Gaddis, the post sutler, purchased the property soon
after for $4,525 and started a ranch there, as well as continuing to
operate the store and post office. In 1938, Mr. Charles Gaddis tried to
interest the state of Montana in the blockhouse and original Fort Logan
lands for a state park, but the state lacked the funds for its purchase and
maintenance.
In 1946, Charles sold Fort Logan Ranch to Sidney and Arthur
Berg who donated the blockhouse to the White Sulphur Springs
Historical Society.
In 1962, the blockhouse was moved from its original location to the
center of the fort’s parade ground where it was set on a concrete base
and again restored.
The Berg family maintains the Fort Logan Blockhouse and several
other old military buildings on their property. The Bergs put a new roof
on the old blockhouse in 2013.
On October 6, 1970, it was added to the National Register of
Historic Places, site #70000360.
SOURCES
• Historic monument records, Office of the Historian General, Wash. D.C.
• Record of Tablets and Markers Placed by Montana DAR 1908-1947, by Mrs.
Fred E. May
• State Centennial History, MSSDAR, by Iris McKinney Gray, 1894-1994
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