Nannie Alderson came to Montana from Kansas with her husband Walt in 1883. They operated a cattle ranch for a decade but moved to Miles City in 1893 so their children could attend school. In 1895, Walt died from head injuries after he was kicked by a horse. Left with four children between the ages of two and eleven, Nannie built this home for her family. She scraped by, selling home-baked bread and milk from the family’s cow and catering meals. She also took in boarders. Nannie moved the family to Birney in 1902. Later in her life, Nannie earned wide acclaim for her pioneer reminiscence, A Bride Goes West, published in 1942. Her quaint wood-frame home retains its Greek Revival style footprint, once common in Miles City, but rarely preserved. Changes, including alteration of the front porch and the addition of side entry canopies in the 1910s, add an interesting layer. These reflect changing tastes and the growing popularity of the bungalow style in the early twentieth century.
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