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 .
