In January 2016, after a severe windstorm blew off a portion of the roof and damaged the highhouse, Livingston’s iconic Teslow grain elevator was under demolition. Horrified by the thought of losing a building so crucial to their town’s history and skyline, a handful of citizen activists quickly organized under the rallying cry, “Save the Teslow!” in what became a nail-biting cliffhanger for all involved.

With community support, and that of key individuals, the press, and the Montana Preservation Alliance, Team Teslow (as the group called itself), halted demotion, then in a dramatic reversal, hired the demolition team to become a construction crew to make repairs to the headhouse. The group purchased the grand old building 210 years after it was built, then organized as the Teslow Preservation Group, a 501(c)(3).

One year later, on a blustery February day, local companies and angel donors gave the Teslow a new roof. It was a crowning achievement in historic building preservation that secured the Teslow from further weather damage and Livingston’s wily pigeons. It also won the group the 2017 Montana State Preservation Office award for Outstanding Preservation Advocacy. But the cliffhanger’s not yet over!