History of the Story Mansion

Completed in 1910, the Thomas B. Story Mansion stands as one of Bozeman’s remaining architectural icons. Located equidistant from downtown Bozeman and Montana State University, at 811 South Willson Avenue, the 22-room mansion features a broad range of architectural influences, including Queen Anne Victorian, Tudor Revival, and Craftsman. At the time it was constructed, the local press called it one of Bozeman’s “most pretentious residences” and noted its estimated costs as $50,000. The mansion and the detached carriage house occupied a full city block and certainly underscored the reputation of the Story family in the community.

Born in 1876, T. B. Story was the son of Nelson and Ellen Trent Story, a successful entrepreneur who played a significant role in Bozeman's transformation from a frontier town to a center of commerce and cultural refinement. The Nelson and Ellen Trent Story Mansion was one of the most impressive homes between Minneapolis and Seattle. (Sadly, it was torn down in 1937). Like his father, Thomas gained success in the world , becoming president of the Bozeman Milling Company, a director in his father's Commercial National Bank, and the owner of a large sheep ranch near Bozeman. He lost much of his fortune when the agricultural economy of Montana sank into depression following World War I. Finding that he could no longer sustain the mansion, he and his wife sold it to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity at Montana State College in 1924.

The SAE fraternity owned the property for nearly three-quarters of a century.  Despite a well-earned reputation for organizing the best parties in town, the SAEs took excellent care of the house and the property until, in the 1990s, they, like other fraternities, began losing members. The cost of upkeep forced them to sell the property. Several development proposals–including some that would have added additional homes to the property–fired the imagination and energy of the local historic preservation community and several city officials. In 2003, the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board, along with other concerned citizens, persuaded the City Commission to buy the property and hold it for a potential purchaser who would put it to “the highest public good.”

Since that time, the City, with the support of Montana Senators Max Baucus and Conrad Burns, has received grants totaling nearly $1 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Save America’s Treasures Program. With those funds, critical restoration of the mansion has begun to take place.

Story Mansion Facilities

The Story Mansion property encompasses a full city block bounded on the east and west by South Willson Avenue and South Grand Avenue, and on the north and south by West College Street and West Harrison Street.

Return to regular view	Text-only	Updated: 2/22/06