Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 90 Between the 1862 Grant home and the 1890 Kohrs addi- tion, men made fortunes raising cattle, investing in mines and serving or cheating the government. Nelson Story had a mansion built in Bozeman which included copper cornices, cherry, black walnut and maple paneling. Kasota sandstone was brought from Minnesota, along with a contingent of stone masons from St. Paul. Don't look for those features in the Story Mansion in which graces Bozeman today. ey were part of his first Bozeman mansion, long since torn down. e Montana Historical Society Web site notes "Entre- preneur William Chessman built the original Governor's Mansion as a private residence in 1888." In 1891, he was found guilty of misusing funds from an estate of which he was executor. e judgment against him amounted to nearly $200,000 dollars. In that decade, bricklayers were typically receiving $5.00 to $6.00 per day; stone-masons, $5,00, plasterers, $6.00, carpenters, $3.50 to $5.00. It's not hard to imagine the sorts of comments Chessman's former workmen might have made upon reading that bit of news. Still, they could take renewed pride in their work when it became the Governor's Mansion in 1913. As businessmen prospered and communities grew, work- men came to be overseen by a builder who, himself, might be overseen by a general contractor. With even greater prosperity, a qualified architect often created yet another layer between the owner and the workers. "In 1903, entrepreneur Preston Boyd Moss (better known as "P.B.") built the Moss mansion." So reads the introduc- tion to the history of the impressive Moss Mansion in Billings. By then, it had become almost customary for Montana's wealthy citizens to bring in noted architects to design their homes. Moss engaged Henry J. Hardenbergh, among whose other works was New York City's famous Plaza Hotel. e masons, carpenters and others who did the actual building may never even have seen him, but it is possible they appreciated something they had in common: Hardenbergh designed for structural integrity, not simply a showy façade. at sort of integrity is important to skilled craftsmen who find a lasting reward for their work in the way it stands the test of time.

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