DeNayer House
The DeNayer House is a fine example of transitional Queen Anne/Colonial Revival style architecture. The combination hipped and gabled roof and irregular floorplan are characteristic of the Queen Anne style while corner pilasters and clapboard siding clearly reveal transitional Colonial Revival style elements. In February of 1899, Dr. J. B. “Doc” DeNayer returned to Stevensville with his family to reopen his water-powered sawmill on the west side of the Bitterroot River. DeNayer’s wife, Julia, purchased these lots in 1899 and hired G. L. Martin, a local contractor, to build this residence. Construction began the following spring and the DeNayers moved into their fine new home in August, 1900. Two years later the DeNayers built a second residence just north of their home. In 1907, Mrs. DeNayer exchanged these properties for a business building owned by H. F. Hooper and planned to open a restaurant. The property changed hands several times until 1918, when Dr. William P. Reynolds bought the home. Reynolds and his wife, Winifred, were both medical doctors whose commendatory reputations were based, not only upon medical skills, but also upon their benevolent care, “…serving anyone, any time, and they were never overly concerned about a patient’s ability to pay.” The home remained in the Reynolds family until 1950. Over the years the residence suffered insensitive alterations, including removal of the original porch, removal of the bay window area on the first floor, and replacement of the wood shake roof with heavy asphalt shingles. Major restoration conducted during the early 1990s returned this marvelous home to its former place of honor on Main Street.
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