Bozeman, Montana Historic Buildings Inventory
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BOZEMAN HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY: 2008 Revised Edition Prepared for: Planning Department City of Bozeman P.O. Box 1230 Bozeman, Montana 59771 Prepared by: Renewable Technologies, Inc. 313 Metals Bank Building Butte, Montana 59701 February 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS PROJECT BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................................ 3 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................................... 3 ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT ................................................................................................................. 4 2007-08 ADDITIONS TO THE REPORT .......................................................................................................... 5 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 6 THE GALLATIN VALLEY BEFORE SETTLEMENT .......................................................................................... 6 BOZEMAN’S URBAN DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................................................... 7 PHASES OF HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT .......................................... 9 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 9 TOWNSITE PHASE (1864-1872) ................................................................................................................ 11 VILLAGE PHASE (1873-1883) ................................................................................................................... 15 CIVIC PHASE (1884-1912) ........................................................................................................................ 17 PROGRESSIVE PHASE (1913-1929) ........................................................................................................... 26 NATIONALIZATION PHASE (1930-1945) ................................................................................................... 31 POSTWAR EXPANSION PHASE (1946-1970) .............................................................................................. 36 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 46 ENDNOTES ................................................................................................................................................ 47 - 2 - Project Background and Methodology Methodology This document was originally prepared in 1984, at the completion of a comprehensive historic architectural inventory of Bozeman, Montana. The methodology for that project is described below: ------------ The Bozeman Historic Resource Survey was conducted in two phases. Phase I of the report involved an intensive survey of the project area as determined by the Bozeman Planning Office and the State Historic Preservation Office. The area covered most of the original boundaries of the City of Bozeman and contained approximately 3,000 structures. Volunteers from ten neighborhood groups within the study area inventoried each structure using Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Forms. Photographs were taken of each structure and a photo log was kept. Phase II of the survey involved an extensive literature and records search of materials related to the City of Bozeman, the Gallatin Valley, and the project area. Tax cards at the Appraiser’s Office, land books, and plat maps in the Clerk and Recorder's Office were examined to determine ownership for each property inventoried. Sanborn Insurance Maps, tax appraisal cards, city directories, and sewer records were used to date the structures and determine their historical occupancy and use. Historical literature, government documents, and archival holdings (including cartographic and photographic collections) of the Museum of the Rockies, Gallatin County Historical Society, Montana State University, and the Montana Historical Society were examined in depth, as was the Avant Courier newspaper. Building research was limited because Sanborn maps did not cover all of the survey area, and because land books consistently lacked records of early property ownership necessary to determine original ownership of structures. Data collected from both phases of the survey were used to evaluate the significance of structures and potential historic districts in accordance with the National Register of Historic Places criteria found in 36 CFR 60.6. These criteria, established by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, state that a property is eligible for listing on the National Register if: …the quality of significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, - 3 - and objects of state and local importance that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship, feeling and association, and: a) that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or b) that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or c) that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic value, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or d) that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information in prehistory or history. Each structure also was evaluated in terms of its contribution (or lack thereof) to a potential historic district, based on the following classifications: 1. Primary: Properties of major historical and/or architectural significance and independently eligible for the National Register of Historic Places; 2. Contributing: Properties that contribute to the character of a potential historic district; 3. Neutral: Properties that have lost historic integrity and/or are of a neutral quality and do not contribute to the character of a potential historic district; 4. Intrusive: Properties that have an intrusive quality within a potential historic district. A color-coded map was prepared reflecting these classifications and used in establishing the historic districts in the project area. Organization of the Report This report attempts to explain the physical character of the city, especially its structures (public, industrial, commercial, residential) in historical and architectural terms. It does so (1) by tracing the development (particularly economic) that shaped the history of Bozeman, (2) by discussing the physical growth of the city, particularly in terms of structures and basic city improvements, and (3) by evaluating the architectural trends that characterized the city's development. Political history is discussed to the extent necessary to maintain a sense of historical continuity. Political, civic, and business leaders are mentioned who have been particularly significant in shaping the development of the city. In discussing specific structures, the report refers to historical structures that are still standing by providing the structure's historical name and location. - 4 - 2007-08 Additions to the Report In 2007, the City of Bozeman contracted with Renewable Technologies, Inc. to edit the original report and to expand the time period covered to 1970. The intent was to provide additional background and content in advance of potential field inventories that would record buildings from the 1950-1970 era. To accomplish this goal, a windshield survey identified architectural examples from this period to illustrate major trends in residential, commercial, and governmental buildings. In addition, some additional research was conducted using Polk directories, city records, and secondary sources to provide a general context for the postwar years. - 5 - Historical Introduction The Gallatin Valley Before Settlement The Gallatin Valley, with its fertile soil and abundant water, attracted and sustained native people for thousands of years. Rings of stones from tipis show that Indians lived at least seasonally in the valley. Many others, from tribes throughout a large region, came during the summer months to gather a variety of native plants, fruits, fish, and game. They also traveled through the valley on well-worn trails to hunt buffalo on the plains. By the early nineteenth century, the Indians were joined by non-native travelers who stayed for varying lengths of time in the Gallatin Valley. In 1805 members of the Corps of Discovery, led by captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, made their way to the headwaters of the Missouri River at the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin rivers, the present location of the Missouri Headwaters State Park. On the return trip east in 1806, Clark's party camped near present-day Bozeman. Over the next few decades, native and non-native people continued to visit and utilize the valley, especially as their travels led them to use Bozeman Pass as a gateway to the Missouri River Basin.i Permanent settlements took longer to establish and it was not until the gold discoveries in nearby Bannack and Virginia City during the early 1860s that the Gallatin Valley began to experience significant change. At that time, a few enterprising settlers saw the agricultural potential of the valley to raise