Filed Under Kalispell

Ragsdale House

East Side Historic District

Built in 1909 for blacksmith Howard Ragsdale, this cozy hipped-roof bungalow features a molded concrete block basement, narrow-reveal clapboard siding, and a small integrated porch. Its wide overhanging eaves and exposed rafter tails reflect the popular Craftsman style. Pharmacist William F. Halliday purchased the property in 1917. Halliday owned the Red Cross Pharmacy, which according to the 1910 Daily Interlake stocked "drugs, chemicals, patent medicines and … [a] hundred and one fancy toilet articles." A "modern, sanitary soda fountain" lured customers into the shop, which also sold Havana cigars, choice confections, books, stationery, and office supplies. By 1920 traveling salesman James Forter and his wife Lorinda had purchased the home. After renting it to widow Mary Richie and her daughters, Jennie (a schoolteacher) and Elizabeth (a librarian), the Forters lived here from 1922 to 1928. Percy and Audrey Metzner, owners of Metzner's Furniture Exchange, then purchased the residence, valued at $4,500 in 1930 (equivalent to approximately $56,000 in 2007). Later owners included R. Burt Johnson, chief clerk of Mountain State Power, and his wife Lucille, who lived here from 1940 to 1972.

Images

Ragsdale House
Ragsdale House Ragsdale House. Front to side view of the house, facing east to southeast on 2nd Avenue East. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Oct. 1980

Location

825 2nd Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Ragsdale House,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/453.