{"id":1811,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:40:11","latitude":46.2695604000000031419403967447578907012939453125,"longitude":-106.67728149999999232022673822939395904541015625,"title":"E. A. Cornwell Residence","subtitle":"Forsyth Residential Historic District","fullsize":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/14db88e938ec7e74699f02a5ff9d1703.jpg","address":"389 North 12th Avenue, Forsyth, Montana","all_locations":[],"zoom":17,"creator":["Montana National Register Sign Program"],"description":"“E. A. Cornwell, the popular Forsyth merchant and banker, will move this week into the first cement block house ever built in Forsyth,” reported the Forsyth Times on October 3, 1907. “It is fitted with steam throughout, electric lighted, and modern in every convenience.” Relatively new technology in 1907, cement blocks cost less than wood or stone, came in a variety of finishes, and were easier to lay than brick. According to local mason and cement block manufacturer Carson Conn, the material was “the warmest in winter; the coolest in summer. Guaranteed against frost and dampness.” Nevertheless, in Forsyth the material was mainly used for foundations. In fact, Forsyth’s only other cement block home was that of prominent merchant E. A. Richardson, Cornwell’s uncle and employer. Clearly a fan of the new technology, Richardson owned the land on which this house was built and may have had some say in the home’s design. In 1909, Richardson transferred the title to Cornwell, who lived here with his wife, Edith, into the 1920s.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Private","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["Read about the Forsyth Residential Historic District","See photos of the Forsyth Residential Historic District"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/14db88e938ec7e74699f02a5ff9d1703.jpg":{"id":2544,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"E.A. Cornwell Residence","description":"E.A. Cornwell Residence (PAc 91-51 Forsyth Roll02 F23). Front to side view of the house, facing east to southeast on the corner of North 12th Avenue and Park Street. B&W. | Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society | 1988 | Photographer unidentified","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/14db88e938ec7e74699f02a5ff9d1703.jpg"}}}