In the 1870s, as ranchers and prospectors seeking gold in the Judith Mountains settled a region recently controlled by the Blackfeet and sought military protection, the federal government built Fort Maginnis in 1880. By 1882, the fort was garrisoned by three cavalry and three infantry companies and was home to five hundred men and ten women. During this same period, more Euro-Americans moved into the region, including Abraham Hogeland, who had first gone west as a surveyor for the Northern Pacific Railroad and then established a ranch on Spring Creek. His wife Mary and their oldest child joined him from Pennsylvania two years later. In 1895, after Fort Maginnis had closed, the Hogelands bought two former officers' quarters, had them dismantled, and moved them twenty miles to Lewistown. This gable-front-and-wing house was the larger of the two and was reassembled as closely as possible to its original design. The Hogelands used it as a city house during the school year so their children could receive an education, and over time Abraham and Mary, while continuing to ranch, spent more time there. Abraham also became active in Lewistown, serving as superintendent of schools, justice of the peace, and county surveyor. As of 2007, the property remained in family ownership and care.