Historic change
Ronan Arch to get major facelift
Rob Zolman
Crews secure the sign before taking it down.
Rob Zolman
Rob Zolman
The Ronan sign is deteriorating.
Rob Zolman
Crews from Access Montana and Mission Valley Power use a crane and a couple of boom lifts to bring the Ronan sign down.
Rob Zolman
Members of the Ronan community watch the sign being taken down from the arch.
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RONAN – The famed Ronan arch and sign are getting a much-needed face-lift.
Workers will spend the next few months taking the arch apart and restoring it. Restore the Ronan Arch Committee is the spearhead group for the restoration project. The iconic arch is the entryway to Main Street Ronan. It is known as the longest public arch in Montana.
The Ronan High School Senior Class of 2002 built the original arch. The logs used for the project have started to deteriorate and rot in the past few years.
The Committee is made up of community members, business members, city government and Ronan High School students and staff coming together in the preservation and restoration of the arch and sign.
On Wednesday morning, crews from Access Montana and Mission Valley Power started the renovation project by using a mobile crane and a couple of boom lifts to bring the Ronan sign down. “The sign will be completely rebuilt,” said Gypsy Ray, executive director for Lake County Community Development Corporation.
“The sign went to the Access Montana supply yard so the students of Ronan High School can rebuild it.”
The Restore the Ronan Arch project has a budget of $55,000. The replacement work will be completed in phases. According to the Restore the Ronan Arch project press release, $30,000 of the total has been raised from fundraising, private donations and grants from the Montana Department of Commerce Tourism, the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, a MEDA Mini-grant, and Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation.
The remainder of the project involves work on the sign, peeling and cutting the replacement logs from Dupuis Lumber and building a copper roof that will keep moisture out and any rot at bay. The work is scheduled for a May 2019 completion. The rest of the old arch, without the sign, will be disassembled, rebuilt, and reassembled on Main Street in downtown Ronan.
Anyone interested in lending a hand or donating toward the project may go to www.lakecountycdc.org or call 676-5901.
