Foundation acquires historic Mountain Brook School campus

From the time Mountain Brook School on Foothill Road in Kalispell was built on donated land using volunteer labor, the property has been a centerpiece and point of pride for the small community it serves. This July, another milestone was reached as the Mountain Brook Homestead Foundation assumed ownership of the campus.

With clear ownership, the Homestead Foundation is able to continue to operate the community library in the former school gymnasium while embarking on a fundraising effort to complete the renovations of the schoolhouse. According to board member Susan Horner-Till, having a clear title to the campus will mean the organization can now pursue historical and preservation grants in addition to soliciting for donations.

The story began in 1927 when Abraham and Neva Brown donated an acre of land along Foothill Road for a new Mountain Brook School. But the donation came with some strings attached. The Browns wanted to make sure the property would always be used for school purposes. Thanks to volunteers and community donors, the school grew. A second classroom and a teacherage was added, which housed the schoolmarm for many years. In 1968, when a gymnasium was needed, the community again rallied and constructed the building that now houses the Mountain Brook Community Library.

Mountain Brook School District was annexed to the Cayuse Prairie School District in 1992, and, shortly thereafter, discussions began concerning the fate of the Mountain Brook campus. For a few years, the school was still used for kindergarten through second grade classes. But by 2001, the building was used only during field trips to nearby Brown’s Creek.

In 2002, the Mountain Brook Homestead Foundation was established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Mountain Brook campus. The foundation leased the campus from Cayuse Prairie School and quickly established the Mountain Brook Community Library in the gymnasium building, using all volunteer labor and donated books. The collection is now more than 12,000 books and DVDs. The building is also used for a community center, including the popular Mountain Brook pie socials held twice a year. The group also continues to raise funds to restore the 1927 school building.

Last year, Cayuse Prairie decided to divest itself of the Mountain Brook campus. Because of the specifications in the original donation, the school district embarked on a quiet title suit to establish ownership. The settlement awarded title to the Brown’s great-granddaughter, Earleen Brown French.

Feeling that keeping the property in the hands of the community was “the right thing to do,” French has donated the property to the foundation. In addition, a small piece of land not part of the original grant was purchased by the foundation from Cayuse Prairie and kept as part of the campus.

Memberships in the foundation are available and all donations go to support the library, community center and reconstruction on the campus at 2353 Foothill Road, Kalispell.

For more information about the foundation, contact Horner-Till at 406-314-8232 or email the library at mtbrooklibrary@gmail.com.