Catholic Parish / Bjorneby House

Now a Tudor Revival style home, this residence was originally a brick-clad, hipped-roof foursquare. Built before 1897, it served as the parsonage for St. Matthew's Catholic Church. Longtime Kalispell priest Francis O'Farrell resided here between 1907 and 1925, while overseeing construction of a Catholic hospital, parochial school, and grand brick church five blocks west.

In 1926, Fr. O'Farrell moved to West First Street, near the new church. Between 1928 and 1937, Emil and Margaret Bjorneby made their home here. Emil arrived in Kalispell in 1895, MT NATIONAL REGISTER SIGN TEXT 1990 TO APRIL 2019 working at various occupations before founding a flour mill with his brother George.

Before the Bjornebys moved in, renovations modernized the look, more than doubled the residence's living space. To transform the small foursquare into a fashionable Tudor, skilled contractors covered the brick with stucco and added a steeply pitched roof and matching enclosed entryway. They also incorporated many design elements associated with the Tudor style, including a prominent brick chimney; tall, multi-paned windows; and decorative half-timbering in the gable ends.