Charles and Gladys Pelton House
In 1917, Charles and Gladys Pelton arrived in Stillwater County from Nebraska to become ranchers. Together, they created one of the most successful sheep ranches in Stillwater County. Charles “Charley” served as president of both the Stillwater Wool Growers Association and the Beartooth Stockgrowers Association. The Pelton family first lived in a small white house immediately south of here. In September 1927, they hired local contractor and mason Vern Garoutte, from Absarokee, to build this distinctive American Foursquare house. By February 1928, the Absarokee paper reported that the couple and their four children were “happily ensconced” in their new home, “a fine cobblestone two-story structure with basement, and … all modern conveniences, such as electric lights and waterworks and a fine fireplace. It is an ideal country home.” The American Foursquare was one of the most popular housing styles in the early twentieth century. The Pelton House includes all the style’s typical features: a square plan, a low pyramidal hipped roof with wide overhangs, two roof dormers on opposing roof slopes, and a full-width front porch. Yet it is the home’s construction that makes it unique; it is built with great skill of local cobblestones, many of which came from excavating the basement. The walls are twenty inches thick, and a massive cobblestone chimney dominates the north elevation. Gladys and Charley Pelton lived here until 1959. The Pelton House is an impressive example of cobblestone construction, skilled workmanship, durability, and beauty.
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