The 1898 “Bird’s Eye View of Bozeman” shows this large elegant home standing alone on the 600 block of Grand Avenue. The house is a fine example of the Shingle style, identifiable by the steeply pitched roof, intersecting cross gables, wraparound porch, and, most prominently, the asymmetrical façade covered with rows of uninterrupted shingles. The style originated in the fashionable seaside resorts of the Northeast, and it remained associated with architect-designed homes for the well-to-do. From 1900 to 1913, Nelson Story Jr. (son of Bozeman pioneer and millionaire Nelson Story) lived here with his wife, Etha, and their two children. Nelson Story Jr. founded several businesses, including Story Iron Works and the Story Motor Supply Company. He also built what was reputed to be one of the first true filling stations in the United States (“Only gas was sold, no horse shoeing.”) Active in Republican politics, he served in the Montana legislature, as mayor of Bozeman in 1905, and on both the city council and county commission.
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