Filed Under Kalispell

Fry House

East Side Historic District

Isaac Yenne, a carpenter who lived next door, likely built this cross-gable house for his brother George, a Civil War veteran of the 14th Indiana Regiment. The residence originally featured a full-length front porch. Common to the era are the home's clapboard siding, decorative shinglework in the gable ends, and returned eaves. George Yenne arrived as a Flathead Valley settler in 1886 and moved here from Creston in 1901 after his wife's accusations of abuse made the newspaper's front page. By 1907 widow Sarah Jane Kelley owned the residence, where she lived with seven of her nine children. The three employed older children living with her undoubtedly helped support the family. The home's longest owners were Louis and Caroline Fry, who lived here between 1925 and 1943 and owned the property until 1950. Louis, a traffic manager for Kalispell Mercantile, helped found Kalispell's Peewee baseball league and led four teams to the championship in the league’s first eight years. A painter and private art teacher, Caroline was an early member of the Montana Institute of the Arts and a frequent exhibitor at their festivals.

Images

Fry House
Fry House Fry House. Front to side view of the house, facing northeast on 3rd Avenue East. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Oct. 1980

Location

911 3rd Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Fry House,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/2185.