Filed Under Forsyth

Maurice and Mary Lord Residence

Forsyth Residential Historic District

When the Milwaukee road arrived in 1907, Forsyth boomed, and carpenter Maurice S. Lord decided to open his own business. “It won’t cost you anything to talk to me,” he advertised, “and if I can’t suit you as to price and quality, then give the job to the other fellow and we will still be friends.” A few years earlier, he and his wife Mary built this two-story transitional Queen Anne/Colonial Revival home. Lord likely constructed the residence himself. Its unusual T-shaped floor plan was a good advertisement for his skills as a homebuilder, especially since the house doubled as his office. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that business was slower than he hoped. Plumbers who added a bathroom in 1909 sued the Lords for payment, and three years later Richardson Mercantile temporarily attached a lien to the property. The Lords sold the home in 1912 and left Forsyth to try their hand at farming. By 1914, however, the family had moved to Columbus, where Maurice once again worked as a carpenter.

Images

Maurice and Mary Lord Residence
Maurice and Mary Lord Residence Maurice and Mary Lord Residence (PAc 91-51 Forsyth Roll04 F07). Front to side view of the house, facing west on North 13th Avenue. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: 1988

Location

357 North 13th Avenue, Forsyth, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Maurice and Mary Lord Residence,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/1814.