Filed Under Forsyth

Harry and Frances Cornwell Residence

Forsyth Residential Historic District

Decorative half-timbering and an intricate roofline distinguish this elegant one-and-one-half-story home. Mary Philbrick had the residence built as a wedding present for her daughter Mary Frances and son-in-law Harry Cornwell, a hardware merchant. The Philbricks were a wealthy Rosebud County ranching family, and Mary reportedly gave “munificent gifts of property” to each of her three children on their marriages. Harry and Frances Cornwell married in Minneapolis in 1916, and the house was still under construction when they returned to Forsyth after a month’s honeymoon. One of Forsyth’s largest and most finely detailed Craftsman style residences, the home features many of that architectural style’s hallmarks, including large overhanging eaves, exposed rafter tails, wooden braces, and multi-pane windows. The Cornwells enclosed the front porch sometime after 1941. The couple raised two children in this home, and their son Howard, who later managed the Philbrick family ranch holdings, lived here into the 1990s.

Images

Harry and Frances Cornwell Residence
Harry and Frances Cornwell Residence Harry and Frances Cornwell Residence (PAc 91-51 Forsyth Roll03 F21). Front to side view of the house, facing west on the corner of North 13th Avenue and River Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: 1988

Location

310 North 13th Avenue, Forsyth, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Harry and Frances Cornwell Residence,” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/1813.