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Car
with furs on the hood at the Braeburn Roadhouse
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Montague
Roadhouse was first built in 1900 in a different
location, on the other side of the present-day
highway, but burned down. A replacement was built
but burned in 1909. This log structure was built
in 1915 and was used as a roadhouse until the
1950s. The kitchen and eating area were on the
main floor and the bedrooms were upstairs. Two
woodstoves provided heat. The inside of the building
was lined with cheesecloth, both to lighten the
dark interior and to prevent the moss and dirt
chinking from falling into the rooms.  Staging
posts were built every 20 or 30 miles (30
or 40 km) along the length of the Overland Trail.
Each post was complete with roadhouse, stables,
storehouses and cabins. Roadhouses were large
two-story structures, often with an attached
shed at one end, and were a welcome refuge from
the cold. A stage would stop at two or three
roadhouses in a day and horses were changed at
each post. Passengers paid $1.50 for meals and
$1 for a bed for the night.
The
remaining shell of the Montague Roadhouse
has been
stabilized to preserve one of the last remaining
relics of the Overland Trail .
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