Bon Ton Historic District

17 Locations | Curated by Historic Montana

The elaborate homes of the Bon Ton Historic District reflect the tastes and aspirations of Bozeman’s economic and cultural elite. Its residents included the presidents and managers of successful businesses and the doctors, dentists, lawyers, and college faculty who formed the city’s ever-expanding professional class. The district’s character was established early, when developer William Alderson platted Central Avenue (now named Willson Avenue after pioneer general L. S. Willson). Alderson envisioned the wide, stately street lined with fashionable residences. After the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived in Bozeman in 1883, that vision became a reality. An article in the 1884 Avant Courier commented appreciatively: “Central Avenue is developing into a Bon Ton residential street in Bozeman.” This Victorian period expression means “the finest.” It is an appropriate title for the historic district as a whole, which grew to include 260 homes on South Willson, South Grand, South Third, and West Cleveland. A number of builders and architects shaped the neighborhood’s character and its unique blend of high style and vernacular architecture. However, none had more influence than Fred F. Willson. Educated in New York and Europe, Willson became Bozeman’s premier architect in the early twentieth century. His fine Depression-era work complemented the neighborhood’s earlier Queen Anne, Italianate, and Colonial Revival style homes with more contemporary Craftsman, Tudor Revival, and International style designs. In 1935, the city erected elegant concrete lamp posts along S. Willson Avenue and W. Cleveland Street. The posts are the only historically significant lamps remaining in Bozeman today.

At the dawn of the twentieth century Bozeman emerged the undisputed economic and cultural center of the Gallatin Valley. A growing number of businessmen and professionals settled in the residential area south of Main Street, where a few prominent citizens had built their homes in the 1890s. As they…
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Thomas and Anna Noble came to Bozeman in 1890 from Salesville. Thomas, an experienced logger, secured employment with the Prey Lumber Company. After S. C. Kenyon purchased the firm, Kenyon and Noble became partners in the business, furnishing early Bozeman with essential building materials. Noble…
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A handsome oak stairway is the centerpiece of this beautifully crafted Queen Anne style home built circa 1905. Dr. Louis Safley, a Bozeman physician, may have been the original owner, but prominent Pass Creek rancher Louis Accola and his extended family are the first documented residents. Accola…
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Optimistic Bozeman entrepreneurs John Dickerson, Walter Cooper, and Nelson Story (of cattle drive fame) platted the Park Addition in 1883. Despite the arrival of the Northern Pacific that year, the addition remained undeveloped until the late 1890s, when the economy rebounded from the Panic of…
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There were few houses in the neighborhood when Civil War veteran Edward Cornelius Kinney moved into this home circa 1906. Kinney, a civil engineer of some renown, was educated at Oberlin College in his Ohio hometown. As assistant chief engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad, Kinney oversaw the…
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Queen Anne style details distinguish this home built for civil engineer Fred M. Brown and his wife Mary in 1908. Brown’s father, J. N. Brown—a prominent local contractor and brick maker—likely supplied the brick, but the architectural details of other nearby homes point to A. J. Svorkmoe as the…
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Architect Hurlbert C. Cheever, fresh out of graduate school, designed this charming Tudor style cottage in 1934 for his university colleague, Merrill R. Good. Both young men were professors at Montana State College (now Montana State University), each on the brink of a stellar career. Cheever…
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Built in 1910, the Thomas Byron Story Mansion and Carriage House were designed by renowned architect C. S. Haire, known for his work on the Montana state capitol addition. Haire's plan for T. Byron Story, his wife Katherine Ferris, and their five children drew from many architectural styles,…
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The 1893 economic depression had ended when J. H. Beverly constructed this vernacular residence in 1899. Bozeman’s steady turn-of-the-century growth made his a sound investment. Frank Alderson, treasurer of the Avant Courier and the youngest son of Bozeman founder Reverend William Alderson,…
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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…
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South Central Avenue—renamed Willson Avenue in 1920—was the heart of Bozeman’s earliest residential neighborhoods. Elegant homes appeared along the avenue with the advent of the Northern Pacific Railroad. This home dates to that first period of growth. George Mardis, a warehouse clerk, came from…
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Built in 1904, this Colonial Revival style home reflects a renewed interest in America’s colonial heritage and combines elements of the emerging Craftsman style. The main body is a square with bay window columns on each side for balance and light. The Doric-inspired columns, corner boards, and…
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Attorney Charles S. Hartman deserves a prominent place among Bozeman’s early residents. He opened a law practice in 1884 and with his wife Mollie built this home in 1886. Hartman carved a stellar career that included serving as a delegate to the 1889 Montana State Constitutional Convention, as U.S.…
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Bozeman real estate and insurance broker Edward M. Gardner and city treasurer George Willson commissioned this extended family home in 1907. George was married to Edward’s stepdaughter Florence and the two families—including five Willson boys—shared the residence until 1910 when both Mr. and Mrs.…
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