Bardon House

This narrow front-gabled dwelling was originally one of three identical residences on the half-block built as rentals between 1903 and 1910. Only this example retains the original full-width front porch with hipped roof and turned post supports. Shotgun residences like these, so-called because of their one-room width and linear floorplans, originated in early nineteenth-century New Orleans.

The form found its way west, often associated with railroad towns such as Kalispell. First owner Emma Proctor roomed elsewhere and rented the home to private nurse Agnes MacGariggan and Maud Pomeroy in 1910. Retired homesteaders Margaret and Martin Rising next owned the property, living in the residence from 1923 to 1926.

Central School teacher Florence Barton owned the home from 1928 until her death in 1941. Miss Barton shared the residence with Mary Bardon, a teacher at Linderman School, who then remained here until 1948. Recent renovation and landscaping by Alice and Bentley Blosser have revitalized this adorable Kalispell home, restoring its modest but delightful turn-of-the-twentieth-century appearance.