The North Elevation neighborhood’s “smooth graded roads” and building lots with space for a backyard and a garage likely attracted Argyle and Jessie Scott to build this Craftsman style home in 1914. Inside, rich wood floors, substantial mahogany columns between the living and dining rooms, and a brick fireplace framed by built-in bookcases exemplify signature Craftsman details. Argyle managed the Billings Land and Irrigation Co. and was chairman of the Billings Chamber of Commerce’s Good Roads Committee, which advocated for improved roads and encouraged automobile travel. In 1915, to promote travel along the Yellowstone Trail, Argyle drove his six-cylinder Chalmers from Billings to Columbus in record time. He was one of many drivers across the country who relayed a letter from Chicago’s mayor to Seattle’s mayor in less time than it would take to deliver it by train. By 1924, barber Frank Key and his wife Birdie had purchased the home. Frank died suddenly in 1925 and by 1932, their daughter Frances and her husband Wilbur Lenhart, also a barber, had moved in with Birdie. The Lenharts remained in residence until the early 1970s.
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