Filed Under Great Falls

Bridgeman House

Northside Residential Historic District

Wisconsin natives Morris and Clara Bridgeman built this Queen Anne Free Classic style home in 1895. Morris operated a drug store while Clara stayed home with their three boys. Features like the attached nursery in the master bedroom, large dining room with built-in hutches, and spacious backyard made it a desirable family home. The house’s two-story tower, decorative scrollwork in the gable end, and stained-glass windows signified the Bridgeman’s social status. President William McKinley appointed the politically connected, Morris as U.S. Indian agent for the Fort Belknap Reservation in 1900. He spent two years there while Clara and the children stayed in Great Falls. In 1902, the Office of Indian Affairs dismissed Morris and prosecuted him for embezzlement. Consequently, he spent three years in state prison before returning home to open Bridgeman Drug Company in 1908. Morris died suddenly in 1918 while all three sons were serving in World War I. Clara kept the drug store running until her boys returned safely from Europe. After Clara died in 1925, dentist Robert Devney and his wife Ruth purchased the home.

Images

Untitled

Location

515 4th Avenue North, Great Falls, MT | private

Metadata

“Bridgeman House,” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/3333.