Cattle baron, banker, and entrepreneur Nelson Story purchased this site in 1870 for $154. In June 1911 the United States Secretary of the Treasury took the land from Nelson Story Jr. and his family citing that public use required taking and holding the property. The Storys received $7,500 in compensation and the right to move their dwelling off the site. In 1912, the U.S. government began construction of Bozeman’s first federal building. Completed in 1915, the Neoclassical style facility served as the post office until 1964. In 1999, the Human Resource Development Council renovated the building as a Community Services Center. Interior work restored the walk-in vaults, the postmaster’s hidden catwalks for monitoring postal workers, and a grand oak stairway. Original exterior features include the sandstone parapet cap and cornice molding, decorative columns beneath the two monumental arched windows, and cast-iron light posts flanking the entry. This solid, impressive structure has long been a focal point of Bozeman’s historical streetscape and recently served as a backdrop in the movie, A River Runs Through It.
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