Miles City in Custer County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Kelly Residence
East Main Street Residential Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 11, 2020
1. Kelly Residence Marker
Inscription.
Kelly Residence. East Main Street Residential Historic District. Sometimes called labors aristocracy, locomotive engineers were the highest paid workers on the railroad. That fact gave William Kelly, an engineer for the Milwaukee Road, the means to purchase this one-story home. In 1920 he lived here with his wife, Nellie, their three-year-old son, and his wifes sister. Building contractor Carl Anderson constructed the residence in 1917; he almost certainly took the design from a pattern book. These books of architectural plans allowed local builders to bring the latest fashions to relatively isolated communities like Miles City. A classic Craftsman style bungalow, the Kelly residence features a low-pitched roof; exposed rafter tails; wide, overhanging eaves; and a full-length front porch (now enclosed). Japanese architecture inspired its distinctive roofline. Japan widely promoted its art and architecture through the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair. Architects responded, incorporating Japanese elements into their residential designs. Anderson must have liked the exotic flavor of the flared eaves and molded gable peaks; he built several other bungalows in Miles City that sported similar pagoda-style roofs.
Sometimes called labors aristocracy, locomotive engineers were the highest paid workers on the railroad. That fact gave William Kelly, an engineer for the Milwaukee Road, the means to purchase this one-story home. In 1920 he lived here with his wife, Nellie, their three-year-old son, and his wifes sister. Building contractor Carl Anderson constructed the residence in 1917; he almost certainly took the design from a pattern book. These books of architectural plans allowed local builders to bring the latest fashions to relatively isolated communities like Miles City. A classic Craftsman style bungalow, the Kelly residence features a low-pitched roof; exposed rafter tails; wide, overhanging eaves; and a full-length front porch (now enclosed). Japanese architecture inspired its distinctive roofline. Japan widely promoted its art and architecture through the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair. Architects responded, incorporating Japanese elements into their residential designs. Anderson must have liked the exotic flavor of the flared eaves and molded gable peaks; he built several other bungalows
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in Miles City that sported similar pagoda-style roofs.
Location. 46° 24.521′ N, 105° 50.387′ W. Marker is in Miles City, Montana, in Custer County. It is on North Cottage Grove Avenue near Main Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7 North Cottage Grove Avenue, Miles City MT 59301, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Montana, in Custer Country and in the Powder River Basin. It is also in the American Mountain West, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, on the prairies, on the Great Plains, and specifically on the Northern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 11, 2020
2. Kelly Residence and Marker
The marker is at the right corner of the house.
Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 7, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 196 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 7, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
