Samuel and Daisy McDowell built this Craftsmanstyle bungalow for $4,000 in 1913. Much of its original character remains today, embodied in the clapboard and shingle siding, front porch, and exposed rafters and knee braces in the eaves. Samuel and his brother Edward ran a successful bookstore and stationery shop downtown. While living here, the McDowells had one daughter, Alice. She later became one of Billings’ early female pilots, taught aviation at Billings Polytechnic, and was the only female member of the Billings Civilian Air Patrol. Anthony and Frances Donovan purchased the house in 1918. Anthony was manager of the Advanced Rumley Threshing Machine Co. and Frances stayed at home with their two daughters. In early 1923, retired Musselshell Valley ranchers Harry and Lilias Drum bought the house. Harry was a well-known, pioneer-era cowboy who tended cattle for Granville Stuart in the 1880s before starting his own ranch. In Billings, he became registrar at the U.S. Land Office and was an active member of the Eastern Montana Pioneers. Lilias often held Poetry Club meetings in the house. The Drums lived here until 1930.
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