Yellowstone Historic Preservation Board
|
TALES SPUN ALONG THE TRACKS: A HISTORY OF DOWNTOWN BILLINGS Downtown Billings Study Team
Downtown
has always been the heart of the Magic City, where the story of Billings
began. The sturdy brick business blocks and tall buildings tell a long and
interesting story, each like a page inscribed by many writers over the course
of a hundred years. Tales from two centuries are spun along both sides of the
city's railroad tracks. South of the tracks, it is a tale from the 19th
century: of dreams that rumbled in on a railcar. North of the tracks, a story
from the 20th century: of homesteaders with high expectations brought to the
plains on bands of steel rail. To
walk the streets of downtown Billings is to walk through those times again.
On Minnesota Avenue, a little nondescript building may be the oldest business
building remaining. Burned out early in its history, it somehow escaped
demolition and rubs shoulders with buildings of somewhat lesser age --
once-graceful brick and iron storefronts from the late 1890s and
turn-of-the-20th-century. Strung along the tracks in an architectural
procession, warehouses of the 1910s formed the tie between the railroad and
farmers, ranchers and manufacturers who labored in fields and factories as
Billings came of age on the prairie. Numerous hotels and small business
blocks from the same era relate stories of weary travelers who spilled into
town looking for the future - a piece of ground to call home. Birth of Billings
Born in 1882, the city of Billings was a
rail hub founded by the Northern Pacific Railroad on a site originally known
as Clark's Fork Bottom. The location was steered by a plan to develop freight
hauling up Alkali Creek to Ft Benton and beyond into the productive Judith
and Musselshell Basins. Still, this inauspicious spot, three miles from fresh
water on the alkali flats above the Yellowstone River may not, at a first
glance, seem the most desirable location to start a town. Nearby
Coulson, five years old and perched on the river's edge just to the
northeast, appeared a far more likely site. Settlers moving east from the
Gallatin Valley had farmed the flats around Coulson since 1877, and rejoiced
at the news that the railroad was coming their way. In the end, though,
Clark's Fork Bottom edged out Coulson, to the great disappointment of those
living in the settlement. The
reason lies in a twist of geography. During westward expansion, railroads
were given financial support by the U.S. government to build through the
remote territories. When the Northern Pacific charter was drawn up, the
company was granted lands along their route in a checkerboard pattern (an
unprecedented forty sections to the mile in Montana, the Dakotas and Idaho).
Every other section along the line became railroad land alternating with
property held by the federal government to be claimed or sold to the general
public. When the United States Government Land Office surveyed the
Yellowstone Basin, this pattern was interrupted. At a spot where two
townships lined out, by coincidence two sections of railroad land "lay
side by side, instead of cornering together as they did elsewhere." With
equal amounts of land to either side, the railroad stood to make a hefty
profit from land sales to hopeful settlers. Shrewd Northern Pacific officials
were able to double normal profits by siting a town across a plot of ground
twice as large as what the railroad normally could own. The rail line was run
close to the township lines at the exact center of the platted town, and
Billings, named for past NP president Frederick Billings, was born. Coulson
residents' dreams of being the next "Denver of the Prairie" faded
like the sound of a train whistle blowing out of town. In
an arrangement common during the era of railroad construction, capitalists
linked to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company controlled and profited on
townsite development. At Clark's Fork Bottom, Northern Pacific conveyed two
sections of land to sales the Montana and Minnesota Land & Improvement
Company. In turn M&MLI established the Billings Townsite Company, to lay
out a town and sell off town lots. Not surprisingly, the largest stockholders
and incorporators of M&MLI were and Heman Clark (general contractor for
the NP) president, Frederick Billings (former NP president), Thomas Oakes (NP
vice-president). Clark also became the first president of the Billings
Townsite Company. Billings
railroad ancestry is seen in its townsite configuration. Unlike mining towns
of the region whose contours traced the haphazard routes of streambeds and
ore bodies, railroad towns were orderly geometric affairs. Laid out on
rectilinear grids, the rail lines formed the spine of the townsite, with
streets for businesses and homes projecting away at right angles. Billings'
layout copied those of Bismarck and Jamestown, ND. However, taking advantage
of the unique way that Billings straddled two sections, Clark platted the
town to include two main commercial streets, paralleling and fronting onto
the rail line. These twin streets, named Montana and Minnesota for the mother
company that gave them life, formed the commercial center of the new town. On
April 1, 1882, Heman Clark arrived at Billings. Detailing the creation of the
Billings townsite, what he described was basically an instant city planned to
hold 20,000 inhabitants. Eight or nine sawmills, a 16-mile irrigation system,
rail spurs to nearby mines and money for the first bank in town came with the
package. The railroad's promise to pump massive capital into the town
"lit the fuse of a crazed land boom" , and when M&MLI agent G.
B. Hulme joined Clark the following week, the land rush was on. Hopes ran
high and speculation was rampant. By June 1, the burgeoning population was
estimated at 500, yet almost six times that number, 2900, reportedly vied to
purchase town properties, to the great frustration of locals. Lots that first
sold for $150-$250 almost overnight resold for tenfold that amount.
Meanwhile, other lots were rented for $50/month to business owners who
operated out of hastily thrown up tents. Skirting the townsite, real estate
investors who had the jump on most ordinary buyers (Frederick Billings held
the lion's share), bought up sections like hotcakes. Some, such as Foster and
P.W. McAdow platted their own additions to the community. These lots
immediately went on the market; in many cases selling ahead of the railroad's
own lots. Meanwhile,
work on the approaching NP line continued at breakneck pace. Henry Villard,
then president of the NP, was pushing hard for the transcontinental
connection. While rail crews built east from Portland, others continued west
up the Yellowstone valley. In August 1882, the line was completed to
Billings, and on September 8, 1883, spike-driving celebrations at Gold Creek,
Montana forged the final link in the NP's chain across the continent. Building the New Town By
May 1882, there were three buildings on the spot destined to become Billings.
They were headquarters to lodge railroad survey crews, H. Clark's townsite
office and mercantile, and a lone residence. Immediately, the building of
town began. Many of the first structures were tents that sheltered hustling
new businesses and town residents. Alongside them, cabins of rough-hewn log
sprouted in about equal numbers and rapidly replaced the tents. By mid-June
the first year, 79 tent shelters were in use, 81 houses were complete and
another 75 homes were underway. Buildings to house new arrivals were hastily
constructed south of the tracks, while commercial buildings and hotels were
planted close to the hub of railroad activities. To keep order in the midst
of the flurry, it was decreed that all dwellings be kept off the middle of
streets. In September 1882, E.V.
Smalley reported in the Century Magazine that: The new town, when I visited
it, consisted of perhaps 50 cheap structures scattered over a square mile of
bottom land…Many people were living in little A tents or in their
canvas-covered wagons, waiting for lumber to arrive with which to build
houses. When
it could be gotten, milled lumber was used, garnered at first from a sawmill
in Coulson or shipped in 20 miles from the west. Lumber was costly though, so
in Billings, as in thousands of frontier towns across the western
territories, many original buildings were constructed of log. Frugal
merchants striving to achieve a look of permanency applied false lumber
fronts to their businesses, typical in western towns. Sources of brick and stone were also
developed by late that first year. Equipment for the Heffner Stone Quarry
arrived at Coulson in 1882, one step ahead of Billings' townsite developers.
Up in the shadow of the rims, Heffner Stone workers were soon sawing out
giant blocks of sandstone for foundations and walls of the town's more
permanent buildings. Meanwhile, two brickyards opened on the outskirts of
town. CW
Horr reportedly erected the first brick building in 1882; [PHOTO P-3] and the
town's first sturdy business block was constructed in June 1883. Built of
brick, the building was the first in town to feature a plate glass
storefront. Boston investor Captain Henry Belknap, who also held ranching
interests in Wyoming, financed the Belknap Block. Streets
of the new town "were unpaved, sidewalks were but mere paths beaten down
by human footprints, and oil lamps in glass enclosures on corner posts was
the municipal lighting system of the time." Lining the streets were
modest tents, shacks and buildings. Beyond the Montana-Minnesota business
corridor, one rapidly moved into the residential areas, where small
gable-roofed houses of log and wood quickly became home to the growing
community. The
building boom continued, and by the end of 1883, the newspaper reported some
400 buildings, occupied by over 1500 citizens. Maps of the day reveal that
downtown encompassed about a nine-block area, split about evenly north and
south of the railroad tracks. However, on the south the buildings were all of
wood frame construction, while to the north, brick buildings were already
beginning to edge out first generation frame buildings. Beyond downtown, the
area south of the tracks became the first large residential neighborhood. On
November 19, 1888, a visiting reporter described Billings' progress through
her first half decade. In January 1882, Billings was a bright
prairie. Today it is a sprightly, live, energetic and aggressive town of
1,500 inhabitants. It has certain metropolitan characteristics such as a
splendid system of water works, electric lights, graded streets, efficient
fire department, excellent schools and churches, good society, an intelligent
class of people, wide awake and quick to respond to any demands upon their
purses in the interest of the community. The
future of the town depended on growth, and the railroad and business
community promoted the young city at every turn. Billings' population was
reported frequently, in articles and pronouncements intended to draw
settlers. The official U.S. Census tally of residents made in 1890 showed the
population faltering at 836, but slowly number crept up and ten years later,
the census counted 3,221. Despite high hopes, Billings' economy was slow to
ignite, slow to draw major investors and large industry. Toward
the century's turn, the population spread into the flats north of the
downtown and the north side neighborhood became increasingly attractive.
Homes of prominent citizens such as A.L. Babcock, David & Kate Fratt, and
Charles M. Bair (whose home at 3rd & Broadway was known as "one of
the finest in Billings" in its day) helped to anchor the neighborhood.
These were frame and sometimes brick homes, scattered in the blocks north of
the tracks. Transportation The
first train rolled into the city August 22, 1882 and from that day forward,
reaching the town was relatively easy. In the comfort of a NP coach, one
could travel from St. Paul to Billings in a few days. Completion
of the railroad marked the demise of other means of transportation, which
took longer and were far more arduous. By steamboat the closest one could get
on the Yellowstone was Huntley, about 15 miles down river to the east. And
for a time, daily coach connections ran from Fort Benton on the Missouri
River, 200 miles away. However, the days of steamboat travel were ending by
the time Billings was born. The third alternative, an overland journey, took
weeks or months. Because
the railroad company judged the first depot in town inadequate, passengers en
route to Billings disembarked at the Headquarters Hotel. This hotel, built to
lodge Northern Pacific field engineering crews, was enlarged and moved
trackside at the foot of 28th Street North in October 1882 to serve as a
temporary depot. At the end of that first year, its doors were thrown open to
the public and two other hotels - the International and the Park - were
completed and accepting lodgers. One of the early arrivals, Mrs. T.W. Polly
remembered that "it was the custom to shoot up the town for arriving
'pilgrims'. Cowboys, drinking and shouting, riding full gallop in slush and
mud, did all they could to act wild." Nearby,
an express freight depot and office were built at 26th Street and Minnesota
Avenue. The railroad served as a point of departure as well, particularly for
livestock and agricultural goods from outlying ranchlands and farms. In the
late summer of 1882, the Floweree & Lowry Cattle Co. trailed 2000 head of
sheep from central Montana, to the railhead at Billings. This first shipment
of sheep rolled out of Billings in September that year, marking the city's
future as one of North America's primary rail shipping points for sheep. Billings
was the economic hub for an enormous region. Early on, "all northern
Wyoming depended on Billings for merchandise. Heavy wagons, with 18-20
horses, freighted to Wyoming, Judith basin and Lewistown. Pack strings and ox
teams also transported needs of neighboring communities." And indeed,
much of the economy of Eastern Montana and Northern Wyoming revolved around
the Billings market. In
town, liveries and blacksmiths serviced carriages of the day. Cothron &
Todd, at 1st Avenue and 28th Street North, was one of the first liveries in
town. The Dark Horse Livery was located for many years on Billings' South
Side. Between
Billings and Coulson a small street railway was established. The first car,
horse-drawn and 10' long, made the trip on May 23, 1883, making it the first
in Montana. The line was recreational and figured prominently in the plans of
manager John J. Alderson's and company officer P.W. McAdow's scheme to sell
swamp land along the route. They touted the line as a connection between the
McAdow and Alderson Additions to Billings proper. Operating between 8:00 a.m.
and 10:15 p.m. the schedule between towns was reportedly somewhat erratic but
the line was initially popular - in part due to the free beer at the Coulson
end of the line, next door at Ash & Booth's Brewery. Coulson promoters
clung to the hope that the street railway would keep that town alive.
However, it also carried shoppers from dwindling Coulson into bustling
Billings. And when even the free beer couldn't keep the streetcar line from
folding in early 1885, the hopes for Coulson's future and land sales faded. On
March 3, 1891, Congress ratified a treaty with the Crow Nation that opened
lands in the Clark's Fork and Pryor Creek valleys to settlement by whites.
The following January, these lands were added to Yellowstone County. In 1893,
Burlington and Missouri Railroad secured a right of way from Sheridan,
Wyoming across the Crow Reservation. The
move connected the Burlington to the Northern Pacific line at Huntley,
breathing new life into the faltering NP line by connecting it through
Billings to Denver, Kansas City and St. Louis. The consolidation of the
railroads anchored the business of town down to bedrock. And it ushered in an
era of business growth and the bright future Billings' boosters had been
promising. Farming and Ranching In September 1883, Frederick
Billings, NP president Henry Villard, and former US President Ulysses S.
Grant stopped over in the year-old city of Billings en route to drive the
golden spike at Gold Creek. There they were greeted by displays of local
crops, livestock and minerals, along with the Fort Custer U.S. Army band. Livestock
reigned in the young Billings economy and was a lynchpin industry in the
Montana Territory. At the full swing of the open-range cattle era, Billings
sat dead center in a tremendous inland cattle empire. Mild winters in the
early 1880s enabled large ranches of central Montana to fatten thousands of
head of livestock. The new railhead in Billings gave them a gateway to
eastern markets. The first year alone, nearly 20,000 cattle were shipped out
of Billings. After cattlemen took a hard pounding through the winter of
1886-87, however, sheep growing increased and soon millions of pounds of wool
— up to 13,000,000 pounds through 1910 — was leaving Billings annually. The
first large experimental farm near Billings was established by Congregational
minister B.F. Shuart, acting secretly as an agent for Frederick Billings.
Shuart bought up small homestead farms in the valley, creating the 620-acre
Hesper Ranch. With butter and milk a scarcity, Shuart planned a dairy and was
first to market butter in the area. The farm was also first to plant alfalfa,
and to raise sheep on this feed. Dairy
farming on a larger scale made a slow start. Most families kept their own
milk cows, and for several years cow herders would gather up the cows each
day and drive them out to pasture. In April 1887, T.C. Armitage shipped in a
railroad car filled with Holsteins and started the area's first full-scale
dairy farm. Shuart's
relations with Billings soured and in May 1892, management of the ranch
turned over to M&MLI official, I.D. O'Donnell. O'Donnell had broad
ranching experience, and had worked for E.G. Bailey (Frederick Billings'
nephew) prior to his Billings career. Bailey and O'Donnell were recruited to
build Hesper into the showcase farm of the Billings' vicinity. They set about
the task, raising hay, grain, vegetables, apples, sheep and cattle.
O'Donnell, who bought out Bailey's interest in the farm a few years later,
was the mastermind behind the beginning of Billings' sugar beet industry in
the early 1900s. Industry Areas
south and northwest of Billings held rich metal ores, and attracted miners
and investors. By early January 1883, 90,000 pounds of silver bullion from
mining districts in the Judith and White Sulphur areas had passed through
Billings by rail. That summer, another 200,000 pounds came from the Cooke
City mines. In addition, coal reserves in the Bull Mountains and the Clark's
Fork valley drew investors who pushed for a branch rail connection to
Billings. By 1887, the promising Red Lodge coalfields were linked to Billings
via the Rocky Fork and Cooke City Railroad. Manufacturing
for the building trades continued apace. With a stone quarry, brickyards,
foundry and two lumber mills there was a steady supply for the growing town.
Thanks to the railroad, these manufacturers could also ship their materials
to other towns on the line. JR Hathaway's Montana Lumber Co. boasted it was
"the largest … between Fargo, North Dakota and the Pacific Ocean. And
manufactured building materials from other places could reach the Billings
market. The
processing of agricultural products was also established. Hulking warehouses
and factories for wool scouring, meat processing, tanneries, stock shipping
and flour milling all sprang up close to the railroad tracks. Culture & Entertainment Dance
houses and gambling saloons threw open their doors on Billings' main streets.
At first recorded count in 1883, there were 11 saloons and 3 billiard halls
on the main strips. Beyond these bawdy amusements members of the emerging
community sought to cultivate other forms of entertainment. The first
theatrical production was staged in July 1882, by the Boston Comic Opera. The
opera troupe rode in on the mail stage to perform in a makeshift theater lit
by "kerosene lamps and a fair sprinkling of tallow dips". An
enthusiastic crowd sat on borrowed chairs and planks in an unfinished saloon. Other
diversions that year included Mel Powers' Variety Theater advertising "A
Galaxy of Stars", the Billings Social Club's first dance and the
following June, Dan Costello's circus came to town. From December 1883 until
it burned in 1885, the Myers Block on Montana Ave. housed an entertainment
hall that doubled as a roller skating rink. On
February 3, 1896, A.L. Babcock opened the Billings Opera House on Montana
between 25th and 26th Streets. The sumptuous theater seated 800, and brought
high caliber performers to the city. Performers like Maude Adams, May
Sargeant, John Griffith and Madam Helena Modjeska, all widely known in their
day, were among those in the bright lights of the Opera House stage. Prostitution
was an inevitable part of Billings' society during the early years.
"Social clubs" and "sporting houses" flourished near the
rail yards, and were frequented by rail workers, cow hands, and undoubtedly,
a wide cross section of other gentlemen. Early Sanborn maps of Billings
unabashedly labeled a solid lineup of "female boarding houses"
along a 2˝-block stretch of Minnesota Avenue. There
were many memorable women in the trade. Kit Rumley was reportedly the town's
"first lady of the night". Ollie Warren, owner of the Lucky Diamond
sporting house, was one of the best known. She also ran cattle in Wyoming,
and was proprietor of Billings' Virginia Hotel. But Ollie was best remembered
for her flamboyant 4-horse coach and flashy sidesaddle rides through town. Education The
first school classes began in October 1882 and were held in makeshift rented
spaces. A log school building, completed on First Ave N, between 24th and
26th Streets opened to students in September of 1883. The following summer a
school board was elected, and School District #2 was created. The first
permanent school building - North School -- was built on land donated by
MML&I on 4th Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets. With a $4,000 donation
from Frederick Billings, the school officially opened in February 1886. Meanwhile
across the tracks, the South School was located at N 29th St and First Ave
South. Completed and opened in February 1893, it served the large residential
neighborhood on the south side of town. South School was a brick building
similar to its northern sister across the tracks. A
library association was founded in 1882, and a reading room opened with
several magazine subscriptions provided by Heman Clark. The first winter
witnessed the formation of a local literary society, which hosted musicals,
readings and spelling bees. In October 1901, the Parmly Billings Memorial
Library was dedicated on land leased to the city for $1 per year. A civic
gift from Frederick Billings, Jr., the library is a lasting memorial to his brother
Parmly who died of sudden illness in 1888 at age 25. Government The Montana Territorial Legislature
created Yellowstone County in January 1883, and on January 24 Billings became
the official county seat. On March 3, 1883 the first county commissioners
met. After
several failed attempts, Billings' voters approved a city charter in April
1885 and incorporated the town. The first City Hall and firehouse was built
on Minnesota and the northwest corner of S 27th St. In the1890s, City Hall
was located on the west side of Broadway and included a fire station. And in
April 1903, Billings' new city hall and fire station was dedicated at N 28th
St and 1st Ave North. The
local court was held first on N 26th St half a block off Montana Avenue. The
building burned in 1885 and a brick courthouse was erected on N 27th St and
1st Ave North. In 1903, voters approved a new courthouse and jail, and it was
constructed two years later in the 200 block of 27th at a cost of $125,000. Clubs & Organizations Boosting
Billings was high on the list of priorities in the early days and a series of
business groups was organized in the city. Expanding the road base to
Billings' outlying market areas and luring desirable businesses to town were
among the shared goals. In November 1882, the first Citizen's Committee
formed, to raise money to build a road to connect ranchers and miners in the
central Montana region to the Billings hub. This was followed by a Board of
Trade in March 1883 "to facilitate and promote the business interests
and general welfare of Billings." They championed improved rail and road
connections, particularly north to the stock raisers in the Musselshell.
Through the first decade the business community promoted and contributed
substantially to road and bridge building efforts, in hopes of expanding
their trade. A
number of fraternal organizations also held meetings in town. The BPOE Elks
lodge #394 was founded in December 1897 with A.L. Babcock the first Exalted
Ruler. The Masons Ashlar Lodge #29 at Billings, organized in July 1883 and
met for years on the second floor of the Belknap Block. Postal Delivery & Newspapers News
traveled rapidly to the burgeoning community of Billings, via postal delivery
and newspapers. The first postal deliveries to town were routed through
Coulson, for although Billings Post Office opened June 13, 1882, service
there did not begin for two months. The Billings Post Office was initially
located in a false-front building on Minnesota, then moved directly across
from the railroad depot on Montana Avenue. In later years it moved to the
rear of the First National Bank Building, to the Losekamp Block and to the
200 block of Broadway. In
April 1882, the five-year-old Coulson Post renamed itself the
Billings-Coulson Post in anticipation of the new townsite. Republican in its
leanings, it was founded by Abel Yerkes, the so-called "Poet of Sour
Dough Creek." The Post moved to Billings after a rival newspaper- the
Billings Herald - set up shop in the townsite and offered up the Democratic
view of the news. Presses at a third newspaper, the Daily Rustler began to
roll in November of 1884. In the spring of 1885, all three papers
consolidated under the Gazette Publishing Co., the very day of a raging fire
that destroyed their headquarters along with much of downtown. Finance Billings'
"First Bank", was organized in May 1882 by Stebbins, Post and Mund.
H.H. Mund, bank manager, became one of Billings' most prominent boosters. In
1884, Stebbins and Mund reorganized as the First National Bank, and that
November, they moved into a permanent stone-and-brick building. In January
1896, P.B. Moss was elected president of the bank. In
May 1886, Billings' second bank, the Bailey and Billings Bank, was formed by
Parmly Billings and cousin, Edward G. Bailey with financial backing from
Frederick Billings, Sr. Colonel A.L. Babcock reorganized that bank as the
Yellowstone National Bank in April 1891. Services Water
was one of the most urgent needs in the young town. The townsite on Clark's
Bottom was three miles up and away from the Yellowstone River and for the
first years, drinking water was available by delivery only, pay as you go for
25 or 50 cents a barrel. Several proposals were raised for well digging, and
in 1883, the Montana Artesian Well Company drilled a dry well to a depth of
nearly 900 feet before going belly up. During the summer of 1886, the
shortage of fresh water was resolved, when the Billings Water Power Co.
completed a canal and water works on the Yellowstone, which pumped a million
gallons of water daily into the city. Meanwhile, the Billings Land and Irrigation
Company began construction in 1882on a "Big Ditch" for irrigation
in town and the surrounding farmlands. Head engineer H.W. Rowley planned a
system with 9 wooden flumes and 5 drops. The first water trickled into the
ditch in July of 1883. In the years that followed, the irrigation system was
greatly expanded to water thirsty area farms. By 1894, Northwest Magazine
reported 278 miles of canals with lateral ditches adding hundreds of miles
more. And when area farmers purchased the canal in 1900 with backing from
P.B. Moss, it wound through farmlands from 10 miles below Park City to the
Billings city limits. Billings
Water Power Co. switched on electric lighting in town in 1887. The city's
first telephone system (under discussion since 1884) came on line in October
1890. It operated under various names including Independent Telephone Co and
Automatic Telephone Exchange (owners E.B. Hungerford, A.L. Babcock &
Charles Spear) until 1914, when it sold to Mountain States Telephone &
Telegraph. At the turn of the century, when a long distance exchange opened
to Big Timber, Livingston, Bozeman and Butte there were some 200 subscribers. Fires and Floods Fires
were a constant danger in frontier towns. Log buildings, wood stoves and oil
lamps (often given to exploding) led to frequent blazes. Buckets and axes
were a poor match for the fires that routinely consumed large numbers of
buildings. In 1883, Billings' first school buildings burned while the new
brick school was under construction. The following July, the entire block
(110) fronting Montana Avenue between 26th-27th Streets in the heart of
downtown burned to the ground. On May 3, 1885, a fire broke out in the
Farmer's Hotel and razed most of the 2500 block (111) along the north side of
Montana, a dozen buildings including the offices of the Billings Gazette. Two
months later, block 110 again went up in smoke. Following
these blazes, fire companies were organized, and locals promoted building
with fire resistant materials. Still smarting from their losses, the Billings
Gazette championed the cause of better fire protection for the city. Yet in
1890, the town's first hotel, the Headquarters Hotel on 28th Street North and
Montana, burned along with the old depot and telegraph office. The blaze gave
opportunity for the extension of 28th Street, which was renamed Broadway.
[PHOTOS - P-6-Broadway blocked by HQ Building and P-7- HQ bldg. fire] Spring
thaws in a number of years turned the streets of Billings into a muddy
quagmire, "too deep to wade and hardly enough to swim." Thawing
garbage and livestock carcasses turned into a health hazard. At the end of
the hard winter of 1886-87, warm chinook winds sent sheets of water washing
through town. Wooden sidewalks floated off their moorings, and the flooding
was so deep that many businesses and homes at the center of town were
inundated giving many in town "a decidedly humid outlook." Early Businesses After
the railroad and the land office, many of the earliest businesses in Billings
were those that moved lock, stock and barrel from the nearby town of Coulson.
Among these were the Coulson Post, Yellowstone (formerly Coulson) Bottling
Works and P.W. McAdow's General Store. McAdow & Covely opened a store at
Minnesota and 27th Street to vie with that of Heman Clark just up the street.
These major businesses helped anchor Minnesota Avenue in the fledgling
downtown. An early fire damaged McAdow & Covely, on what became known as
McAdow's Corner. It was repaired some years later and still stands today, one
of the earliest and most significant historic buildings in the downtown area.
[PHOTO - P-8-2702 Minnesota] Yegen
Brothers began their business empire in a small store and bakery in 1882. The
business failed after the rail workers moved on, but they started anew and by
1885, their business had regrown. Occupying the entire 2800 block on
Minnesota Ave., the Yegens expanded to include wholesale groceries, dry
goods, hardware, furniture and farm implements. These buildings still stand
but have been drastically altered. Today, the building that best commemorates
the Yegen's business empire is their ca. 1920 office across the street at 2 S
Broadway. [PHOTO-P-9-Yegen Bros. Office] While
some entrepreneurs opened their businesses to the citizens of Billings,
others shipped their goods out from Billings into the hinterlands. Heman
Clark freighted merchandise from Billings northwest into the Judith Basin of
central Montana, and south to Greybull in the Yellowstone Valley. By hauling
wool to the railhead on the return trip, Clark profited on both ends. Three
brothers -- Charles, Henry and James -- established Chapple Drugs. The store
was located on the first floor of the Belknap Block, on Montana and 28th St.
North. Henry and James were both doctors, and until St. Vincent's Hospital
was opened in 1898, they provided emergency health care out of the back of
the store. The
Grand Hotel, erected by J.J. Walk and O.W. Nickey on the corner of First
Avenue and North 27th St., opened in 1886 and "immediately became the
social center of town". Ten years later, in January 1896, George
Benninghoff and his sister Julia took over the business. Bottling
works and breweries were strong local businesses but the small operators were
eclipsed in March 1899 when the Billings Brewery opened across from the NP
depot on Montana. The building was a towering Romanesque factory, at one time
crowned by a huge illuminated sign depicting beer flowing from a tilted
bottle into an empty glass. Known as "the beer that made Milwaukee
jealous", the brew was sold from "Wyoming to Lewistown" and
from "Livingston to the Dakotas." A.L. Babcock completed the Yellowstone
Valley Flouring Mill in May 1895. Grinding flour under the "Billings
Best" logo, the mill had a daily output of 150 barrels. When the mill,
located just south of the railroad tracks, burned in May of 1900, Babcock
continued operations in the old depot building. Ethnic Groups The
railroad and the new townsite drew settlers from far and wide. Many of the
new arrivals came from other countries (the 1900 census recorded a quarter of
the population foreign-born), creating a cosmopolitan mix of people and
cultures in early Billings. Mrs. Joseph Sansome, an Englishwoman, arrived in
Billings in 1883. She and her husband migrated first to Toronto, Canada, but
soon were caught up in a "westward fever" drummed up by newspapers,
magazines and widespread talk of the great opportunities awaiting settlers
who came west. Joseph Sansome and his brother made the move to Billings and
the wives and families followed 8 months later. When they arrived on a dark
November night "it was 48° below zero…We had no idea where our husbands
were living or working when we stepped off the train. We stayed at the
Headquarters Hotel for three days until we finally located them." The
Northern Pacific employed many Chinese on their rail crews, and many took up
resident status in the new city of Billings. A police officer of the day
remembered there were some 90 people, mainly "laundry and restaurant
employees, born in China and with families still in China. The Chinese lived
close together, primarily at the east end of the townsite near Minnesota Ave.
Sam Lee, one of the most prominent Chinese businessmen, owned much of block
189 including the L & L Building which still stands at 2624 Minnesota
Ave.
In
1909, the Great Northern Railway built through Montana to Billings and
beyond. That same year, Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act, allowing
people to lay claim to 320-acre farms (double the previous size). What had
been a steady flow of settlement suddenly became a raging torrent. In the
heartland of dry farming, Billings was both a farm and rail hub. And from
October 25 - 29, 1909, the city basked in the homesteading spotlight when it
hosted the 4th Annual Dryland Farming Congress. Railroad magnates Jim and
Louis Hill brought along Hardy Webster Campbell, father of the
"scientific" approach to farming, who preached the dry farming
gospel to participants from all the western states, Canadian provinces,
Mexico and Russia. Dryland
farming formed the foundation of homestead practices in the Dakotas and
Montana, and drew thousands of hopeful farmers onto the dry prairies. In the
five years that followed, 10,000 homestead claims were filed in the Billings
Land Office, and an estimated 30-40,000 people moved onto the agricultural
frontiers of eastern Montana. Outside of town, some 100,000 acres were put
into cultivation, while greater Yellowstone County reported 2˝ million dry
acres were tilled for homestead farms. By the 1910 census, Billings'
population had shot to 10,031 ranking it the 6th fastest growing community in
the nation. In 1920, the census numbered 15,100 in town; and in 1930, the
number had crept to 16,332. At
the height of the railroad and homestead era, Billings was a bustling
railroad hub on the route of some 20 trains. Near the tracks, the agriculture
boom catalyzed local manufacturing. J.D. Matheson, editor of the Weekly
Times, first urged local farmers to experiment with growing sugar beets in
April 1890, and after I.D. O'Donnell demonstrated on Hesper Farm that beets
could be productively raised, Billings' sugar beet factory opened in 1906.
Just 5 years later they produced 60 million pounds of sugar. By 1914 the crop
was valued at over $1,500,000. Near
the tracks, warehouses and processing facilities for agricultural products
proliferated. On Montana Avenue, dairy farmers opened a depot for processing
and pasteurizing milk. They ran 5 milk wagons through town. In 1914, the
Billings Creamery produced 40,000 pounds of butter. Armour Wholesale Meats
established a cold house near the tracks and about 1912 moved into a large
new brick warehouse on Minnesota Avenue. The Billings Brewery building was
converted to a cannery in 1927. Newly
landed farmers clamored for much needed goods -- hardware and farm implements
sold briskly during this era. In November 1908, Billings Hardware (formerly
Babcock's Hardware) broke ground for a new and expansive building located at
Montana and North Broadway. Up the street, were the Connolly Bros., Saddle
and Harness Makers. They opened shop in 1913, and after 7 years in business,
bought a lot 25' wide on Montana, and built a brick building in April 1920.
Still in the 2900 block of Montana, Connolly's is one of the city's oldest
businesses. Banks
abounded in Billings, each a monument to local prosperity. By 1905, there
were 6 banks in town, with a combined capital of over half a million dollars.
In late 1912, the Bank of Montana (later First Northwestern National) was
formed with offices at Montana and 27th St. North. In September 1916, another
bank - Security Trust and Savings - opened. Shortly thereafter, it moved to
First Ave. North and North 27th St. where it remained for 35 years. The
Montana National Bank, a Neo-Classical building erected in 1917 at 201 N.
Broadway, is the last of these buildings to remain intact downtown. Downtown
was transformed during this "modern" era, and buildings of the late
19th century gave way to new, larger buildings that reflected the prosperity
of Billings in the early 20th century. The presence of the Burlington and
Milwaukee Railroad along the 5th Avenue North right-of-way drew downtown
development that direction, and northern portions of downtown became
increasingly urban. On
March 24, 1909, a new downtown "Union Depot" serving the NP, Great
Northern and Burlington lines opened to the public. Hotels large and small
sprouted at the heart of downtown to serve travelers to Billings. Most
prominent were the Northern and the Grand Hotels. H.W. Rowley and P.B. Moss
built the Northern, at First Ave. North and Broadway. Begun in May 1902, the
original 69-room hotel opened in February 1904. Additions in 1914 and 1916 enlarged
the building, all of which burned to the ground September 11, 1940. Nearby,
the Grand Hotel expanded with a large annex addition in the 1910s. And
reportedly following fire damage in 1920, the Benninghoffs replaced the
original portion of the hotel with a more modern building. Only the annex was
spared. Later owners added two more
stories. Both hotels remain today, and are two of the most commanding on the
Billings skyline. Smaller
hotels also grew up in the shadow of the depot. Along Montana in the depot
district, several small hotels were erected during the second decade of the
20th century. The Eagle, McCormick, Rex, Lincoln and Carlin are among those
that still remain. A
sign of changing times, Guy Stapleton & Son broke ground on Dec 8, 1904
for a large store, after clearing away the old Cothron & Todd stable. The
growing Hart-Albin store (founded in 1902 at 2617 Montana) was to occupy the
ground floor of this "monster building of four stories." The move
was in part calculated to take best advantage of the consistent northward
trend in downtown expansion. In 1911, a new Federal Building at First Ave.
North and North 26th St. was begun. Completed in January 1914, it housed the
post office, courthouse, and a booming U.S. Land Office. In 1912, the Montana
Power Company constructed the Electric Building, aglow at night with recessed
panel lighting. In May 1918, the Hart-Albin Building was completed and opened
for business at Broadway and Second Ave. North. Homes
and older commercial buildings in the way of the boom were quick to go. In
August 1916, James Ash razed the old Allen Lumber Co building at North 29th
St. and First Ave. North, to construct a three-story new brick building. And
two of the city's oldest houses -- P.W. McAdow's home at Montana and North
31st St. in July 1919, and Heman Clark's home at North 31st St. and First
Ave. North in April 1923 - were removed to make way for Wiggenhorn Brothers
new wholesale drug store. The Fratt family home was moved from Second Ave.
North and North 29th St., to build the David Fratt Memorial Building at a
cost of $150,000. (Architect J.G. Link took the home as partial payment of
his fee and moved it to 142 Clark St.) At
the same time, desirable neighborhoods rose up on the edge of the expanding
downtown. A stone mansion and carriage house ("The Castle") built
by Austin North in the 600 block of North 29th St. helped to set the pace in
this fashionable northern part of town. On the western side of town P.B. Moss
built a red stone house on Division, and I.D. O'Donnell built a large new
home at First St. West and Clark St. in 1904. In
the spring of 1904, lumberman W.J. Youmans bought Billings' first
"self-propelled buggy" (automobile). The following year, the town's
first auto dealership opened and the first car driving in from Red Lodge to
Billings made it in 5 hours. Drivers could fuel up at the Yegen Brothers or
even the Billings Laundry, pumping the same fluid used to dry-clean clothing
for 70 cents a gallon. Automotive
businesses proliferated. Soon, auto showrooms, tire shops, service stations,
garages, even auto wrecking companies, were squeezing out the horse and buggy
set. Agricultural equipment became
mechanized, and threshers and tractor dealers staked out space in the
warehouse zone. Freighting
companies also set up shop in the business district. Bruce Cook Transfer and
Storage was one of the longest operating. Located at Broadway and 3rd Avenue
North, his horse-drawn delivery wagon made the rounds from 1904 to 1956. After
thirty years slumber, streetcar transport was revived in town on March 1,
1912, when Billings Traction Co. introduced 6 battery-operated cars. The
Edison-Beech cars wove around town at 8 mph., and were temperamental. The
batteries needed a recharge at the end of each 12-hour shift. Occasionally,
passengers and passersby were enlisted to push cars whose batteries had run
low, while on snowy days, the cars were almost inoperable. [PHOTO -P-15
Streetcar on Montana Ave] The
Billings Chamber of Commerce redoubled its efforts to promote the assets of
Billings, creating exhibits to travel the country and firing off articles to
the print media. At the end of 1917, they reported a population of 17,901.
The Chamber reformed in 1919 as the Billings Commercial Club and purchased
the Elks Club building at 301 North 27th St. where, just 6 years before,
President Howard Taft had given a speech from the balcony. [PHOTO -P-16 Elks
Bldg.] After
the turn of the century, theater venues expanded; by 1916 there were half a
dozen large theaters downtown. When the old Opera House on Montana Ave.
burned that September, a new $150,000 Opera House was built right away.
Locals pushed for a new location (Montana was by this time a bit seedy) and a
site on North Broadway and Second Ave. North - formerly a tennis court - was
chosen. The newly reborn Babcock Theater opened December 23, 1907 with the
play Blue Moon. Designed by prominent Seattle theater architect, Edwin W.
Houghton, it seated 1250 and featured a $20,000 Wurlitzer Organ. After
the turn of the century, the building boom continued at a steady pace. In
1907 alone, five large buildings were in the works: the Opera House for
$150,000, the YMCA for $85,000, a Masonic Temple for $90,000, the Smith
Building for $50,000, and a major Northern Hotel Annex for $100,000. In
April 1891, another newspaper started up — the Weekly Times. Judge J.D.
Matheson was the editor/owner. The Democratic paper was sold in 1898 to
Micajah C. Morris who took it from a weekly to a daily by 1904. It was
located on First Ave. North & North27th St., site of the present-day
Sheraton Hotel. P.B. Moss founded the Billings Evening Journal in June 1906.
It merged with the Billings Gazette in 1908. In July 1907, the Billings Times
(formerly the Weekly Times) moved into a building at 2919 Montana Ave. It
went back to weekly publication and remains in print to this day. Small
merchants thrived in this bustling downtown scene. Fashions and luxury items
could be had on just about any street. Before prohibition came in 1917,
indulgences such as liquor and cigars were easy to find. In fact, local cigar
making became good business — between 1905 and 1910 there were 6 union shops
that kept a steady supply of hand rolled cigars to all area saloons. Three
were located on Minnesota and one was on Montana. Fires
continued to plague parts of downtown and the warehouse district. The old
Yegen Tannery burned in March 1917. In June 1919, the Cole-Williams block at
2716 Montana burned in the town's most devastating fire. Billings Sash and
Door warehouse burned in January 1922. The Hardware Building warehouse (which
held goods for Billings Hardware, Firestone Tire, Baker Transfer &
Storage) burned in 1930. The McCormick-Rowley Building burned in May 1932.
The Billings Packing plant burned in May 1934. In February 1935 two fires
just a day apart destroyed the second floor of the Marshall-Wells Wholesale
Hardware store, and then the Babcock Theater was completely gutted. The fire,
thought to have been the result of a carelessly dropped match, destroyed the
organ and the entire interior of the building. The theater was rebuilt by
August 7, with a new interior created by A.B. Heinsberger, a renowned
designer from California credited with many elaborate theater interiors of
the 1920s and 1930s. Toward
the end of the homestead boom, oil production began on the outskirts of town.
The Elk Basin oil field on the Montana-Wyoming border was located in
mid-1915, and by the following year, the first well near Billings was
drilled. Soon the Montana-Wyoming Oil Journal was in print to report on the
latest developments from the oil fields. Just 6 years later, natural gas was
also discovered in the basin, and plans for a pipeline to the city were
discussed. This industry helped pull Billings through the "bust" end
of the homestead cycle and through the 1940s and 1950s became a lynchpin of
the local economy. Famous Persons In
the history of Billings, there are a number of noteworthy individuals who
played a role in shaping the future. During the founding years, these people
were often were associated with the NP railroad and got a head start on
others through this connection. Such men as Frederick Billings (former
president), H.W. Rowley (surveyor & engineer), I.D. O'Donnell (engineer)
and Heman Clark (general contractor) were on the spot at the birthing of the
town, and took advantage of their position to speculate on land purchase. The
town's foremost father, Frederick Billings, was one of Billings' biggest
boosters. Former president of the NP when the town got its start, he was an
attorney in San Francisco, with a heartfelt attachment to his namesake.
Although he never lived in Billings, until his death in 1890 he supported
growth of the community, giving money to various civic causes and thus
improving the value of properties he held throughout the city and surrounding
country. After he died, the family made its most lasting contribution - a
public library. The building was a memorial to Billings' son, Parmly. Henry
W. Rowley came to Montana in 1880 as a surveyor and engineer for the NP
railroad. He surveyed water systems for new towns along the line, including
the 40-mile Big Ditch on the upper bench for Billings Land and Irrigation Co.
He became a business leader, designing and controlling the city's water and
power systems, and later an organizer of Billings Realty Co, Billings
Traction Co., and the Merchants National Bank. During the early 20th century,
Rowley and business associates P.B. Moss and I.D. O'Donnell shaped the
Billings agricultural economy, building Billings' sugar beet factory and
creating the Suburban Homes Company. With P.B. Moss, Rowley also expressed
exuberance for the downtown, erecting the Northern Hotel in 1902, one of
Billings leading hotels and most prominent buildings. I.D.
O'Donnell, came to Coulson in 1882, and went to work for E.G. Bailey as a
ranch employee. He then became manager of Frederick Billings' ranch near
Billings. In 1887, he took charge of building MML&I's irrigation canal.
In 1892 he and E.G. Bailey became partners in purchase of the Hesper Farm; he
bought out Bailey eight years later. The farm led the agricultural
development of the region, pioneering the growing of alfalfa, raising of
sheep, large-scale beet cropping and sugar production. He was a founder of
the Billings Sugar Company, and was associated with the Merchants National
Bank, Suburban Homes Company, Billings Creamery, Billings Foundry and
Manufacturing and the Big Ditch Company. He served as the first president of
Billings Chamber of Commerce. Perry
W. "Bud" McAdow was a leading pioneer businessman in Montana
territory who managed to be present at the birthing of several important
Montana communities. He was in on the first gold strikes at Gold Creek,
Bannack and Alder Gulch. At Alder Gulch, he set up a sawmill, and in 1865 in
the Gallatin Valley, he founded the first gristmill in the Territory. McAdow
moved eastward and established the townsite of Coulson on his land. When the
NP charted its way up the Yellowstone Valley, he remained committed to
Coulson but hedged his bets by investing in the nearby townsite. An unabashed
profiteer, he sold land between the towns during the settlement land boom;
and he built in the new town as well. The site of his early business in
Billings on Minnesota Avenue remains today one of the oldest standing
commercial buildings in town. Albert
L. Babcock was a 21-year old Illinois grocer when he read of Billings and
came to the townsite in 1882. An entrepreneur with diverse investments, he
first established a hardware business, Babcock & Miles. Miles moved on in
1892, and in 1903 A.L. Babcock sold out to Billings Hardware Co. From 1895
on, Babcock's Yellowstone Valley Flouring Mill was a keystone in the local
economy. He was a founder and president of the Yellowstone National Bank; and
in 1895 organized the Billings Telephone Co. Babcock contributed to Billing's
cultural atmosphere as well, as owner of both the Billings Opera House and
the Babcock Theater. He was equally involved in politics. A republican,
Babcock served as chair of the Yellowstone County Commission, and 6 terms in
the Montana State Senate. The
Yegen Brothers, who began with a tiny dry goods store, by the turn of the
century had built up the equivalent of a modern day mega-store, offering in
two solid blocks all manner of dry goods: hardware, harnesses, buggies,
furniture, clothing, notions, and wholesale groceries. Like many early
capitalists, the Yegens were active in matters beyond the day to day running
of their stores. Born in Switzerland, the brothers Christian and Peter came
to Billings in the founding year via North Dakota. Here they began with a
small bakery, and ultimately built a business empire, dealing wholesale and
retail in merchandise, groceries, hardware, and equipment. Eventually, they
founded a bank, and remained influential in Billings for years. Chris Yegen
served as mayor between April 1899 - May 1901. There
were other investors who arrived in later decades that read the cards of
future Billings and saw potential. It was their belief in the town's future, and
their substantial investment in downtown buildings that served to solidify
the downtown both visually and economically. George Benninghoff who purchased
the Grand Hotel in 1896 staked his hand on Billings continued growth. When
the original hotel became outmoded, he rebuilt on an even grander scale,
evidence of his unflagging optimism about Billings' future. Preston
B. Moss was a Missourian who arrived in Billings in 1892, and became an
influential financier as the young city entered the 20th century. In 1896 he
was named president of the First National Bank, a post he held for 18 years.
During his tenure he supported expanded farming in the Yellowstone Valley.
Moss helped establish the Billings Sugar Factory, and was a partner in the
Suburban Home Company. He was also an owner of the Billings Utility Company,
and a partner in the Northern Hotel. And the sumptuous home he built on
Billings' West Side set the pace in that leading neighborhood. The Moss
Mansion remains one of the finest residences ever built in the state of
Montana. Downtown Architecture Billings
architecture chronicled the life of the young town, marking changes in the
community as it came of age. During the founding years, modest log and wood
buildings reflected limitations of materials, resources and time. The
buildings of this era were characteristic of frontier settlements: 1 or
1˝-story buildings, shed or gable roofs, log or milled lumber construction.
Commercial buildings often had false fronts; residences often displayed
simple Greek Revival influences. Just
behind these came blocky stone or brick buildings designed to stand longer
and be more fireproof, especially in the business district. Again, these were
often low in height, window and door openings were arched, and stylistic
treatments were limited. However, within a few short years, these
buildings were joined by more substantial structures. Commercial buildings of
the late territorial and early statehood period sported Victorian high style.
Renaissance Revival, Italianate, Romanesque, and other Old-World-inspired
designs were in vogue and Billings was in step with the times. The downtown
streets were soon lined with solid buildings of 1-3 stories. Entrances were
often recessed within fully glazed storefronts, which maximized the window
display area. Good
railroad connections enabled many materials to be shipped in, including
exoticones. Glazed brick, unusual stone, and cast iron filled rail cars
headed for Billings. In fact, a brisk business arose in cast-iron building
parts - pilasters, cornices, and many whole storefronts were bought through
mail order from Mid-West foundries. Today buildings on Minnesota Ave. such as
the L&L Building and 2704 Minnesota still bear the nameplates of notable
makers including the Mesker Brothers of St. Louis and Gillette Herzog of
Minneapolis. During
the early 20th century, the Billings skyline changed as buildings became
dramatically more vertical, and began reaching 4-6 story proportions. Facades
reflected the prosperity and momentum of the day. Modern styles became
popular. The NP Depot dressed out in Mission Style, the Elks Club in Colonial
Revival, the Masonic Temple and Montana National Bank in Neo-Classical style,
the Art Deco Kress Building, and most dramatic of all, the Classical illuminated
Electric Building, all expressed the exuberance of the era. Finally, the City
Hall is an excellent example of the stripped down look of P.W.A. modernism. A
few prolific architects left an indelible mark on downtown Billings. Most
prominent was John Gustave Link. Bavarian by birth, Link studied architecture
at the Royal Academy at Landau. He came to the United States in 1887, and
settled in Butte, Montana in 1896. Link teamed up with Charles S. Haire in
1905 and the following year moved to Billings to establish an office. More
than any others, it was the vision of Link & Haire that shaped the
buildings of downtown Billings. The firm was responsible for many outstanding
designs spanning a period of four decades, from the Parmly Billings Library
1898 to the City Hall in 1938-39. In between there were well over a hundred
buildings, including such notables as the Billings Brewery (1899), Northern
Hotel (1902-04), Electric Building (1913), Stapleton Building (1904),
Hart-Albin Building (1917), the New Grand Hotel (1921). For
years, Link & Haire was the leading architectural firm in the state, with
offices in Billings, Helena, Missoula, Butte and Lewistown. They designed
over 1000 buildings statewide, including 18 of the 56 county courthouses. In
addition, they trained and employed a number of young architects during their
practice, and their influence was felt for many years. Following in his
father's footsteps, Elmer F. Link is credited with over 80 stores, warehouses
and residences in Billings. Most active during the 1940s and 50s, E.F. Link
took credit for the Fratt Memorial Building (1923) and the Greyhound Bus
Terminal (1944) among others. Reed
and Stem of St. Paul designed the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot (completed
in 1909). Charles A. Reed & Allen H. Stem were based in St. Paul,
Minnesota and designed railroad stations all over the country. They created
over 100 in all including Grand Central Station in New York City. Along the
NP line Montana, they did the stations at Billings, Livingston, Helena,
Missoula and Butte. Elsewhere
downtown, Bell & Kent designed the Yellowstone County Courthouse in 1902.
The firm was awarded the contract for the Montana State Capitol in 1898, and
designed a number of courthouses for other counties across the state at the
turn of the 20th century. Glenn
Charles McAllister trained in architecture in Butte, and ran an architectural
practice in Billings between 1901-03, and from 1905 on. In Billings he was
particularly known for design of the Elks Club (Old Chamber Building) in
1903, and of the South Side Fire Station. He also worked in Sheridan Wyoming,
designing among other buildings, the courthouse there. Conclusion It
is over a century since Billings took root on the dusty alkali flats of
Clark's Fork Bottom. Now a bustling metropolis, it has lived up to the
promises of town founders and railroad boosters. Billings still remains the
largest town and a market hub for eastern Montana and northern Wyoming. Tall
buildings and the business district of downtown Billings reflect the
prosperity of the present, but continue to tell the older tales as well. The
legacy of this past is what gives the town its own unique personality, and
shapes its future. Billings Historical Overview In
September 1998, I signed on with the Downtown Billings Architectural and
Historic Survey. Sponsored by the City of Billings and the Western Heritage
Center, the task was to select and research 20 downtown buildings and compile
an overview report on downtown history. In
1981, Johnson-Graham Associates conducted a Historic and Architectural
Resource Survey for Billings. Through this effort, a preliminary inventory on
a large section of downtown Billings was compiled and Billings' Depot
Historic District was created and listed in the National Register of Historic
Places. This
1998 survey built upon that prior work, by studying in far more depth some of
the best remaining historic buildings in the city's business district. The
focus was on buildings not recognized or Register-listed in the earlier
survey. Recommendations of individual buildings to be studied this year were
made following a review of existing documentation on downtown Billings, a
site visit and a study team meeting with the Billings/Yellowstone Historic
Preservation Commission (B/YHPC) and Linda Bourque-Moss of the Western
Heritage Center. Happily, we were able to increase the number of buildings to
be studied thanks to a donation of intern assistance from the WHC. The B/YHPC
made the final building selections. Buildings
studied lie within a pre-determined study area, concentrated in the downtown
area and easily visited along a walking tour route. The buildings were chosen
based upon strong historic significance, architectural interest and high
level of physical integrity. And with the exception of City Hall, they all
date to the period between 1882 and 1930. To gain the greatest amount of new
information about Billings' historic buildings, those that were already
documented within the Depot Historic District or listed separately in the
National Register were not included in this survey. In
contrast to earlier research conducted downtown, this survey dug deeply into
primary source materials to learn the early history of buildings being
studied. Many, many hours spent poring over original deed records, city
directories and historic downtown maps and photos enabled us to link up
original property owners, histories and accurate dates of construction for
each building. References For the building survey, information was drawn
from the following sources: Western
Heritage Center: manuscript, archival and historic photo collections Parmly
Billings Library, Montana Room Collections: vertical files, scrapbooks of
historic newspaper clippings, historic photo collections, city directories, manuscripts Yellowstone
County Courthouse: Clerk & Recorder's Office, Tax Records, Deed Records City of
Billings: Water & Sewer Records, Building Permits, Historic Preservation
Files Montana
Historical Society, Library: vertical files, historic newspapers, city
directories, historic maps Montana
Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office: National Register
files, 1981 Billings Survey files, Montana architect files Montana
Historical Society, Photo Archives: Historic Billings views To complete an overview on downtown history, in
addition to the primary building research, two sources were invaluable. The
first, Carroll Van West's Capitalism on the Frontier is an excellent
and comprehensive history of the foundations of Billings in the 19th century.
The second, From Tent Town to City by Myrtle E. Cooper gives a
chronology of news events that shaped Billings through its first half
century. |
|
Home | About Us | Projects & Programs | Historical Overview Virtual Tours | National Register Sites | Status List | Links | Contact Us |