The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

(WINIFRED, Mont.) – After more than a century of serving the Winifred community, the Winifred Grocery, received recognition of its significance by being listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Bureau of Land Management Lewistown Field Office Archeologist Zane Fulbright presented store manager Eileen Stulc with the certificate recognizing the listing. Being listed in the National Register of Historic Places does not add additional protections, but is an important recognition of a property's historic significance.

Fulbright helped draft the National Register nomination with Jon Axline, and accepted the certificate at the Montana Historic Preservation Awards in Helena in January.

"Receiving the certificate from Lt. Governor Mike Cooney was quite an honor," said Fulbright. "The Winifred Grocery is an anchor in the community, and serves as a gateway to the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument."

The Milwaukee Railroad's North Montana Line arrived at Winifred during the height of the Homestead Boom in 1913. The Winifred Grocery, known historically as Stafford's Grocery, was built in 1914.

Stafford's Grocery is associated with the community's initial period of development as a railroad and trade center, when the store was one of several businesses constructed on Winifred's Main Street. Winifred Grocery has functioned as a grocery store and gathering center for this isolated community for over a century.

To read the Winifred Grocery National Register nomination, go to: http://mhs.mt.gov/Portals/11/shpo/docs/NRnoms/MT_FergusCo_StaffordsGrocery.pdf