The Fergus County High School, located at 412 6th Ave., S., in Lewistown, Montana, was built in 1919 and expanded at later dates. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

It includes Renaissance Revival and Beaux Arts architecture.

Fergus County High School

Its first two units were designed by architect J.G. Link.

Fergus County High School

The building is also known as Old Fergus High School.

Fergus County High School

The current high school in the area is the Fergus High School.

1986 school shooting

On December 4, 1986, 14-year-old Kristofer Hans intended to shoot his French teacher at Fergus High School, for a failing grade. Instead, Henrietta Smith, who was substituting for LaVonne Simonfy, was shot in the face and died. Hans fired several other shots as he fled, wounding vice principal John Moffatt, and two students. He then ran about a mile to his home, where he was arrested after the police surrounded his house. A classmate said Hans had repeatedly threatened to kill Ms. Simonfy, saying, "I'm going to blow Simonfy's head off." He was charged as an adult, convicted and sentenced to 206 years in prison. However he was paroled in 2015 and now lives in Nebraska as of February 2018.

References

Bibliography

National Register of Historic Places in Fergus County, Montana

Renaissance Revival architecture in Montana

Beaux-Arts architecture in Montana

School buildings completed in 1919

1919 establishments in Montana

School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana