404 South Willson Avenue

South Central Avenue—renamed Willson Avenue in 1920—was the heart of Bozeman’s earliest residential neighborhoods. Elegant homes appeared along the avenue with the advent of the Northern Pacific Railroad. This home dates to that first period of growth. George Mardis, a warehouse clerk, came from Missouri with his widowed mother before 1880.

He built this residence as a single-family home circa 1883. By 1900, attorney George D. Pease was the longtime homeowner. Born on a ranch near Gallatin City in 1871, Pease served as both city and county attorney and was well known throughout the state. By 1918, the Pease family still owned the MT NATIONAL REGISTER SIGN TEXT 1990 TO APRIL 2019 home but rented it to tenants.

In 1933, Pease’s son Douglas briefly took up residence and opened a restaurant, The Rendezvous, on the premises. In 1940, three families occupied the property. By 1947, it had become a twofamily home. Like many residences in this neighborhood, the two-story main house has a large one-story wing. The home’s early footprint included an unusual side entry and offset orientation of the wing, which remains virtually unchanged since its construction.