Dr. Theodore J. Benson House
Homesteaders who came to farm the Clarks Fork Valley in the early 1900s profoundly affected Fromberg’s growth, adding to its population and elevating its status as a regional trade and shipping center. Dr. Ted Benson, a recent graduate of the University of Minneapolis, saw Fromberg’s potential. In 1907, Dr. Benson set up practice in a two-room building (now relocated) adjacent to his newly constructed, one-story home. Expansion in 1912 added a second story and rear addition to the home, which was again enlarged in 1915. The front-facing gambrel roof with continuous dormers, wide eaves with decorative rafter and purlin tails, and a full-length front porch (enclosed circa 1927) characterize this architecturally sophisticated Colonial Revival style residence built by Edgar J. Schofield. A gable-roofed horse barn built in 1907 was enlarged in 1912 to accommodate the doctor’s Ford runabout. Two years before his retirement in 1950, Fromberg celebrated Dr. Benson’s seventy-fifth birthday, honoring him with a parade of 125 of “Doc’s babies,” a mere fraction of the some three thousand children the doctor delivered during his long practice. This attractive home today is a Fromberg landmark, representing the town’s early years and a tribute to a pioneer who served his adopted community long and well.
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