Three large, hipped roof dormers and a recessed porch define the look of the Ross House, a vernacular home built between 1920 and 1927. The dormers provided a stylish, but inexpensive way to expand the home’s living space; occupants received the benefits of a second floor without the cost of building additional exterior walls. The home was likely constructed as a rental between 1920 and 1927. Mrs. Emma Gregg, a fitter at the Kalispell Tailoring Company, owned the residence in the 1920s. Lynn and Isabel Ross were tenants from 1928 to 1934, when they purchased the home. They continued to live here until 1938. Lynn was a salesman with the Flathead Wholesale Grocery. In 1930, the Rosses and their two daughters shared the house with Helen Froese, a sixteen-year-old boarder who attended Flathead County High School only two blocks away. Rural schools only went to eighth grade, and families near high schools often rented rooms to farm children who moved to town to continue their studies.
Images